A new Eastern Kentucky music venue is giving artists a home while serving ‘John Wayne’

Although Eastern Kentucky has produced many great musicians, venues for the area for these artists to play have often been few and far between.

There’s the Brickhouse and Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg and Broken Throne Brewing and Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, but not much else.

Now add the Alley On Main, 241 Main St. in Paintsville, to the list. Opened in early August last year by Jordan and Lindsey Pelfrey, the music club has already hosted some of Appalachia’s top talent including Nicholas Jamerson, Abby Hamilton, John R. Miller, Sierra Ferrell, 49 Winchester and the Kentucky Headhunters, among others.

“For years I’ve said we needed a dedicated music venue in Paintsville, especially with the US 23 Country Music Highway Museum in nearby Staffordsville and all of the talented artists in the area,” said Jamerson. “The few venues we do have in Eastern Kentucky typically cater to bigger bands rather than smaller acts looking to hone their craft, so I feel like the Alley On Main has answered many of our prayers by giving those artists a place to grow.”

With room for up to 300 people, the Alley features high ceilings, original brick walls, a second floor balcony and majestic chandeliers for ambiance. It also features three specially themed green rooms for artists in another building separated by a small parking lot that the venue used in September as the site for its first Alley Fest music festival.

The green rooms were designed by Lindsey, who worked in event operations and hospitality for Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire. According to her, all the decor in the rooms was taken from antique shops in downtown Paintsville.

Rooms include the “Black And Gold Room” (a rock ’n’ roll room inspired by Bowling Green-based band The Josephines that has black and gold everything), the “Kentucky Room” (full of memorabilia of Kentucky and Paintsville-based artists like Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers and others) and the “Vinyl Room” (with the walls lined in vinyl that all performers at the Alley sign.)

“Our number one priority is making the artist feel special,” said Lindsey Pelfrey. “The second they step foot in the green rooms or enter the Alley we want them to feel like the stars that they are.”

Originally envisioned as a full-scale restaurant and bar by Jordan’s father Cliff as early as 2017, the project made the pivot to music venue in February.

Alley on Main menu

However, the venue still does serve up a small menu of mostly finger foods including burgers, street tacos, flatbread sandwiches, wings, meatball subs, loaded tater tots and more. One of their most popular entrees has been the “John Wayne Burger”, which comes topped with bacon, an onion ring and a bourbon barbecue glaze.

“The response to the menu has been very positive,” said Lindsey Pelfrey. “Many of the artists who’ve performed here have joked that they can’t wait to come back to the Alley not just to play, but to eat more of the food as well.”

Long known as the Arcade Theatre, the structure was built in 1921. Back then the building had an alley with storefronts running through it that housed a variety of businesses including a barbershop, a drug store, a pool hall and a cafe. The name Alley On Main is a homage to that history.

“It’s an honor to bring a building with so much history in Paintsville back to life, especially in an area with as much musical talent as there is here,” said Jordan Pelfrey. “My hope is that we can act as a springboard for many of those talented artists to go on to have long and successful careers.”

Alley on Main

Where: 241 Main St., Paintsville

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-11 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday, 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Saturday, closed Sunday

Online: AlleyOnMainKy.com