M. Ward will play hometown shows at Portland, OR’s McMenamins Crystal Ballroom from May 3-5. These shows will celebrate the grand opening of the venue’s new sister building, the Crystal Hotel. The Crystal Hotel will be located directly across from the Crystal Ballroom and share a long history with the venue. A statement explains:

Located just across the street from the legendary Crystal Ballroom, the building has had an incredible history since its construction in 1911. The site changed hands and names many times, offering a hotel (Hotel Alma, Hotel Georgian, Hotel Tait, Majestic Hotel), mens’ bath house (Club Baths, Club Portland) and night club (Club Mecca, The Desert Room, Stark Street Station, Flossie’s, Silverado), among other uses.

Interestingly, connections between the new hotel site and other McMenamins properties abound. For example, the land on which McMenamins Edgefield hotel now stands was owned in the 1850s by Hiram and Hannah Smith, who lived in the same block as the new hotel lot. In another uncanny example, a child named Grace Connelly lived in a home on the site of what is today known as Ringlers Annex pub, adjacent to the new hotel site; Connelly later taught elementary school for 43 years at what is now McMenamins Kennedy School hotel.

Here’s some additional information on M. Ward’s shows at the Crystal Ballroom

May 3: M. Ward / The Corin Tucker Band / The Lord’s Own Choir May 4: M. Ward / David Bazan / The Lord’s Own Choir Thursday May 5: M. Ward / Doug Martsch / The Lord’s Own Choir