Old Forge has always been a summer town — a Main Street of ice cream stands, paddleboards, and families passing through on their way to the Fulton Chain of Lakes. What it hadn’t had, until recently, was a proper stage. Outer Space changed that in the summer of 2025, turning a courtyard behind the town’s new SPACE marketplace into an open-air music venue where regional and touring acts play under the Adirondack sky.
A New Space on Main Street
The venue grew out of an ambitious downtown revival. SPACE Old Forge opened over Memorial Day weekend 2025 inside a long-vacant former lumber store on Main Street (NY-28), reborn as a marketplace of roughly two dozen local vendors under general manager Hayly Smith. Behind the building, Tom Greco built Outer Space, the property’s outdoor concert courtyard, inspired by open-air music venues he’d encountered elsewhere in the country. That same June, a taproom from New Hartford’s Grow Brewing opened on-site, giving the courtyard its own beer program from day one.
The Courtyard
Outer Space is a family-friendly food-and-drink courtyard by day and a live-music venue by night. The lawn holds games and a sandbox for kids, while the kitchen turns out gourmet grilled cheeses, flatbread pizzas, salads, and deli sandwiches alongside a full bar and non-alcoholic options. Every show is all-ages — guests under 18 are welcome when accompanied by an adult — which makes the room a genuine departure from the bar-stage circuit. This is a place built for a summer evening with the whole family as much as for the music.
Saranac Thursdays
The anchor of the calendar is the Saranac Thursdays summer concert series, a partnership with the Saranac beer brand (Utica’s Matt Brewing) and distributor McCraith Beverages that runs through the warm months into early fall. The programming leans deliberately wide — country, reggae, blues, classic-rock and yacht-rock tributes, ’90s throwback nights, and regional favorites all rotate through the courtyard. It’s the kind of mixed, crowd-pleasing booking that fits a tourist town where the audience changes week to week.
Getting There
Old Forge sits on NY-28 in the central Adirondacks, the gateway to the Fulton Chain of Lakes. It’s about an hour north of Utica and the Thruway, and roughly 90 minutes from Syracuse — an easy day trip for a summer show. The courtyard is behind the SPACE marketplace on Main Street, with town lots and street parking nearby.
Where to Stay
Old Forge is a summer resort town, so a night at Outer Space pairs naturally with a weekend on the Fulton Chain of Lakes. Lodging clusters along Route 28 through the heart of town — lakeside inns, family motels, and cabin rentals within a few minutes of the courtyard — with more options up the road in Inlet and Eagle Bay. Summer Saturdays fill fast around the lake traffic and Enchanted Forest Water Safari crowds, so book early if you’re making a weekend of a show.
Browse hotels and lake rentals in Old Forge →
Know Before You Go
- Address: 3022 NY-28 (Main Street), Old Forge, NY 13420 — the courtyard behind the SPACE marketplace
- Shows: All-ages; guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult
- Tickets: Required for all events, including free shows — sold through TicketWeb
- Food & drink: Grilled cheeses, flatbreads, salads, and deli fare, plus the on-site Grow Brewing taproom and a full bar
- Family setting: Lawn games and a kids’ sandbox make it an easy outing for all ages
- Season: Outdoor venue — programming runs through the warm-weather months
- Contact: info@spaceoldforge.com
For the current lineup and tickets, visit spaceoldforge.com.