Florence Bank Donates $100,000 to Iron Horse Music Hall

FLORENCE — Florence Bank recently announced it has donated $100,000 to the Iron Horse Music Hall, supporting a $750,000 capital campaign for renovations and updates to the well-loved music venue in downtown Northampton, which reopens on May 15.

Chris Freeman, executive director of the Parlor Room Collective in Northampton, which purchased the Iron Horse last fall and has been updating it since, said the bank’s gift will help fund ongoing work to the venue at 20 Center St.

He explained that the collective has already expanded the Iron Horse into a storefront next door that formerly housed a Christian meeting space, and is in the process of moving the bar into that new space, along with 10 bathrooms. The bathrooms in the basement of the venue will be updated and reserved for visiting artists only; the remainder of that downstairs space will be remodeled to be “more artist-friendly,” and artists alone will be able to access the area, Freeman said.

Other work being undertaken at the music hall includes the installation of a new sound system, lighting, flooring, and an HVAC unit for cleaner, fresher air.

“Florence Bank is a big community supporter. They were our first corporate ask,” Freeman said, noting that the Parlor Room Collective is running the capital campaign for the Iron Horse through the bank. “Florence Bank understands our mission, our vision for what the Iron Horse can become. We’re so grateful they stepped up in such a huge way.”

He added that, when the Parlor Room became a nonprofit, it leaned into Florence Bank for funds to start an open-mic series, a program that has since become self-sustainable. “Without that early gift from Florence Bank, we wouldn’t have been able to get it started,” he said.

The Parlor Room is a small listening room in Northampton, founded 11 years ago as a facet of the Signature Sounds record label. Freeman was a musician in a band that recorded on the Signature Sounds label in those days, becoming more involved with the Parlor Room after the pandemic. In 2022, the Parlor Room became a nonprofit and is now known as the Parlor Room Collective.

Florence Bank President and CEO Matt Garrity said the Iron Horse has been at the core of the local music scene since its founding in 1979, and the bank is proud to support the Parlor Room Collective’s revival of the venue.

“We value the collective’s mission-based approach to the return of the Iron Horse,” Garrity said. “The Iron Horse has long been a space in which local patrons and musicians from far and wide can celebrate art, music, and community, and we look forward to the return of that energy.”

The Iron Horse is still seeking donations and sponsorships. Learn more at ironhorse.org/revive-the-iron-horse.

“It’s such a fun cause to fundraise for,” Freeman said. “So many people have memories about being at the Iron Horse. It’s an amazing spot. We’re incredibly grateful to the bank and the whole community.”