Our origin story

Going back to the Woodshed

And what had started as a fun project for people to play some shows in Nate’s house, and an intimate setting for the audience, quickly became a showing in the importance of community, both to this growing group of artists and patrons, and to Nate and Ricky and the rest of the Woodshed staff.

The house concert experience is certainly nothing new, we didn’t come up with that idea at all. However, we are a group of people who love the arts in all its forms, and we want to provide an experience to our patrons that brings together the best qualities of both this beautiful venue, and providing the best sound utilizing the natural acoustics, as well as a little bit of PA assistance, as always provided by Skeen Sound. We also wanted to have another reason to bring people into Baltimore that don’t usually come here, or for people in the city to have a different night than they would typically have.

“The Woodshed” has always been a phrase used to describe the place musicians go to practice; a place outside of their own home where they could express freely, be raw, be vulnerable, and we wanted to bring that to an audience to see a little more “behind the curtain” view of how our artists really work.

These shows are always different, we try to have a different genre every month, and all of our artists are acoustic, or a more stripped down version of their typical show, with some great story telling. We always have catered food for our events, as well as an open bar of beer and wine, served by our lovely bartenders Kathy & Kate. Patricia, or as we all affectionately call her “Sparks” will greet you when you come in the door to check your reservation, and help you with any questions you may have upon arrival. Rick rounds out the staff as our house photographer/videographer for these events, and all of the photos and video you see on our website were shot by him as well!

From singer/songwriter, to jazz, to classical, to bluegrass, to hip hop, and everything in between, The Woodshed At Nate’s Place is your favorite musical destination, and you don’t even know it yet, so why not come join us and see what it’s all about for yourself!

This all started with Ricky Wise meeting Nate McCoy in 2021. The two had met in passing a few times, but solidified a bond at Nate’s first 4th of July party at his house. The day was filled with music, not only piped into speakers throughout the house, but from Nate himself, playing a Chopin piece that moved Ricky to tears; a scientist friend of Nate’s, who sang and played “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, her voice ringing through the house. Ricky mentioned to Nate, “You should be doing this more often, ya know?” And, SO, they began planning The Woodshed at Nate’s Place: An elevated house concert series. Immediately, the idea was to have a listening room (a venue where ideally the audience is attentive and attuned to the performance and they, ahem, listen) for local or touring artists to be able to come play their show, but also have a space to try out new material if they felt like it. Our first test concert was in September of 2021, featuring Ricky, and his duo partner Warren Boes, opening the show for Eric Scott and Dan Leonard. We sold the house out, we borrowed some folding chairs, we had some platters of food made by Ale Mary’s here in Fells Point, and we went for it!

Everyone’s response was so overwhelmingly positive, that the boys knew they were onto something special, so they began to plan out the rest of the year.