Be Down: Portland’s newest Black-owned music-centered bar aims to foster community, creativity

When guests step into the Horizon Enterprise Building in Portland, The Downbeat is not immediately visible.

Similar to a speakeasy, visitors must enter a building marked by a sign of a treble clef sitting atop a cocktail glass and venture down a flight of stairs to arrive at The Downbeat.

Inside, the lighting is dim. A stage is set with a drum kit, bass and guitar, standing front and center beneath a fluorescent spotlight.

To the left of the stage is a full bar and kitchen serving Jamaican, Caribbean and Southern-inspired cocktails and dishes, all named after musical terms or songs by Black musicians.

Instead of appetizers, small plates are called “openers.” Main courses are labeled “headliners” and desserts are “closers.”

A cocktail called “Stunting Like My Caddy” is a Hennessy sidecar named after the 2006 Birdman and Lil Wayne song “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy.”

Framed photos of R&B and soul singers like Sade, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole adorn the walls.

As the band plays its rhythmic set, guests watch from the crowd, swaying to the beat.

It is in this music-centered bar, just below street level, that a universal language is spoken: music.

“I don’t live in Portland. I live in Corvallis and have been wanting to come here ever since,” Jamon Jordan, a community member in attendance at The Downbeat on March 19, said. “I didn’t think Portland had something for Black people, and so to see this be done by Black people, I think, is so cool and dope.”

Tucked away at the intersection of Northwest 4th Avenue and Glisan Street in the heart of Old Town-Chinatown is a new Black-owned, music-centered bar, restaurant and live performance space. It welcomes all forms of creative expression and aims to foster a community for Black musicians and creatives. For owners Cyrus Coleman and Adewale Agboola, opening The Downbeat was an important step toward revitalizing the arts for Black artists in a city where they have historically been marginalized.

“The first step is just having a space, right? So that’s been the biggest hurdle for us. Over the past five years, we’ve been trying to get this thing off the ground. Now, we’ve got an amazing community,” Cyrus Coleman said. “We’re just music lovers, in general, trying to create something unique across generations and genres.”

The Downbeat officially opened its doors on February 5, but the prelude to that first note ringing underground began in December 2021, when Agboola and Cyrus Coleman bought the building for $2.1 million.

Before The Downbeat opened its doors, the two knew they wanted it to be more than just a bar.

The creative partners envisioned a community-driven, multidisciplinary space rooted in togetherness, cultural expression and freedom.

“The entire building itself is a gym for the creative mind,” Agboola said. “I’ve always loved people and loved my community, so The Downbeat is a reflection of that: that togetherness.”

And in Portland, where Black residents have historically been displaced, creating a space for the Black community, and other people of color, carries an even greater significance, Cyrus Coleman said.

Multiple neighborhoods in Portland, including the historic Albina neighborhood and areas of Northwest Portland, once nurtured a thriving musical ecosystem.

In the 1960s, Albina was home to numerous Black-owned music venues such as the Texas Playhouse, Upstairs Lounge, and Fred’s Place. Those venues hosted national touring acts and supported Portland’s local music scene featuring dozens of soul, jazz, funk and R&B bands, according to the Albina Music Trust.

But a culmination of systemic drivers, such as gentrification and urban renewal throughout the 20th century, led to the erasure of Black-owned music venues.

It created an urgency for a space where Black people, musicians and creatives could exist.

“It’s a beautiful way to realize we’re a part of something bigger than ourselves,” Cyrus Coleman said. “Imagine if, when we moved here, this existed. The city would have been a lot less daunting and culturally shocking. To have this space where we can be seen and felt and heard and safe, to be able to be a part of making the change that you want to see, as opposed to waiting around and hoping somebody else will make it, just felt like a no-brainer.”

Half step

On the night of March 19, bandleader, musician and drummer Tony “T.C.” Coleman, who is Cyrus’ father, played a set of upbeat blues songs with his band at The Downbeat.

“It’s infectious. If you’re not feeling happy and you come to The Downbeat, you’re going to feel good, forget all your problems and troubles, and we’re going to make you happy and have a good time,” T.C. Coleman said. “Like I said earlier, we’re inclusive, not exclusive. You don’t have to feel judged or out of place. We’re just all about humanity.”

T.C. Coleman spent his career touring the world with renowned musicians like blues guitarists Albert Collins and Buddy Guy, and vocalist Etta James.

For 25 years, starting in 1978, he was the drummer for American guitarist and singer-songwriter B.B. King.

The two played over 300 shows per year together before King died in 2015.

“I’ve been to 98 countries around the world, not only with B.B., but with all of those artists, touring together and playing music together,” T.C. Coleman said. “In some countries, we can’t speak the language. We don’t understand each other verbally, but musically, we can communicate with a smile. Smiles are infectious. It takes less energy to smile.”

Now, T.C. Coleman resides in Oregon. Watching The Downbeat come to fruition has been a great source of pride, he said.

The bridge

While The Downbeat occupies the basement floor, there’s more to the building.

Each floor serves as a stepping stone in the creative process, starting with The Downbeat.

From there, guests ascend to the first floor, where a maker space invites creatives of all disciplines to bring their ideas to life.

The journey continues on the second floor, where the Contrast Gallery lives, a space showcasing local art.

Finally, the third floor houses a photography studio.

“Maybe the second floor is where it all starts. You ideate something, you bring it to life, and then you go to the third floor and basically photograph it or bring it to mass media,” Agboola said. “So the entire thing works in tandem.”

Agboola, who was born in London of Nigerian descent, said his path toward creativity was not immediately clear.

His family had expectations of him to become a doctor or a lawyer, but his heart was somewhere else.

The Downbeat represents what he wanted, but didn’t always have while he was young: a place to express himself and be free of societal pressures, especially as a Black man.

“I wish I had had someone who fostered my mind at a younger age to become an artist, because I would have enriched myself,” Agboola said. “So for me, it’s important that we foster the youth in the community. We bring them into the building, they get to do whatever they want, run around, and actually create art.”

“We just keep moving.”

It has been a little over two months since The Downbeat opened. Like many new business owners, Agboola and Cyrus Coleman are still learning what resonates with the community.

So far, the two have heard nothing but positive feedback.

“Everyone’s happy. The biggest thing I hear is, ‘Yo, it doesn’t feel like we’re in Portland,’” Cyrus Coleman said. “It’s like a living room set, but with world-class performances. You walk down, you enter this space, and you feel transported. It’s all we could ask for.”

The Downbeat, 433 NW 4th Ave, is currently open Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and on Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Going forward, The Downbeat will continue to host events that foster creativity, including art gallery exhibitions, brunches, game nights, and wine tastings.

But keeping the spirit of music, happiness and belonging for Black people in Portland remains top of mind.

“There are Black folks here, and even the culture and spirit of Black folks are embraced and appreciated by people who aren’t us. Our ancestors came from a world where we have done so much with so little for so long that we can do anything with nothing,” T.C. Coleman said. “We don’t cry, we don’t complain. We just keep moving. We shake it off and keep moving.”