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Tacoma has pined for a solid new music venue for a minute now. Well, George Reed-Harmon has answered the call. With conservative hopes of an April opening, Reed-Harmon, partner Neil Harris, and a third, unnamed partner are now putting finishing touches on The New Frontier, which will open kitty-corner from Freighthouse Square.

If anyone in Tacoma can pull off the feat of seeding a proper music venue, it’s George Reed-Harmon, who plays guitar for psychedelic pop sensation Mono in VCF and knows the gig game from the inside out. His vision for the spot involves regular shows with local talent, peppered with national and international acts. His dream show? The Flaming Lips and Erykha Badu (please, God, make his dream come true …). Expect leanings toward Americana and guitar-driven pop in a 21-plus lounge atmosphere, he says.

“Neil and I would both like to see a music venue where you can show up and experience something positive that they might not have experienced before,” says Reed-Harmon. “I want this to be more than the everyday ‘Let’s go see another band’ place. We’ll start with weekends, along with whatever strikes our fancy. I don’t think we have enough people to have shows every night, at least for now. But we’ll definitely have a lot of shows.”

The New Frontier’s menu will have a “turn-of-the-last-century feel” says Reed-Harmon, and will start small. Details about individual menu items were not made available.

“We’re going to try and focus on the getting the music up and running,” says Reed-Harmon. “And then after a year, if it’s flying, we’ll expand the menu.”
The mysterious turn-of-the-last-century menu is inspired by some unique historical architectural elements that were savaged from the soon-to-be New Frontier building. The bar back will be fashioned from an old Masonic altar. The restored front doors were found in a crawl space beneath the building. A main wall will be adorned with bead board salvaged from the same dusty crawl space.

“It’s going to be pretty rustic looking,” says Reed Harmon. “We’re trying to use a lot of found objects.”

Though details about possible musical guests were sparse, Reed-Harmon says he has a few big-name aces up his sleeve. Emphasizing that nothing is in the bag, Reed-Harmon has his sights set on acts such as the Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanigan and blues-rock machine Robert Ross. He promises not to forget the locals, too.

“I think there are a handful of really interesting bands in the area,” he says “I’d like to try and get acts in the area that are part of the community that the audience is part of.”

Beyond music and good food, Reed-Harmon hopes to use New Frontier as a platform for civic involvement.

“I like the idea of taking care of the community that’s already here,” he says.