National Sawdust

Williamsburg isn't quite dead yet. Or that's the claim implicit in new-music venue National Sawdust, which opened in October 2015. The space can accommodate 170 people seated or 350 standing and includes two bars and a restaurant helmed by James Beard Award–winning chef Patrick Connolly. While the brick building’s exterior (and the name of the sawdust factory it once housed) remains, Brooklyn design studio Bureau V completely rebuilt its interior with an eye toward presenting both acoustic and electric music. With composer Paola Prestini as the creative and executive director—and a host of curators that span classical and indie-rock spheres—there’s little doubt the nonprofit space is in good hands.