Category Archives: Music

Live Music Every Thursday at the OG OTTO (Arts District)

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We’re bringing live music to Thursday nights at OTTO’s original 576 Congress Street location with a brand-new free concert series.

Each Thursday evening, enjoy performances by some of the region’s most talented musicians in an intimate setting — all while enjoying your favorite OTTO pizzas, fresh salads, and a full bar featuring the best in Maine craft beer on tap. The lineup features a rotating roster of great local acts, with a consistent schedule so you’ll always know who’s playing when.

Here’s the monthly lineup:

Location: 576 Congress Street, Portland, ME
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Admission: FREE
Menu: Full OTTO menu available, including local beer, cocktails, and wine

No ticket needed — just come as you are, grab a slice, and enjoy the show. Whether you’re in the mood for rootsy Americana, upbeat rockabilly, or something completely unexpected, Thursday nights at OTTO will deliver.

See you at the OG OTTO — every Thursday night!

16 Years of OTTO: Here’s How We’re Celebrating

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We opened our doors in 2009 with a single goal: serve creative, crave-worthy pizza made with care, using wholesome, high-quality ingredients. Sixteen years later, we’re still doing what we love thanks to you. All month long we’re throwing a birthday bash packed with pizza deals, live music, giveaways, and even a nostalgic playlist from OTTO’s founding year. Here’s everything on tap for June:

🎉 All-Month Deal (June 1 – 30)

The Masher — 16 % Off with Code SWEET16

Our Sweet 16 Bracket Challenge pizza champion, The Masher (Mashed Potato, Bacon & Scallion), takes a well-deserved victory lap in June. Get 16 % off every whole pie Masher order—dine-in, takeout, or delivery—when you apply promo code SWEET16 at checkout.

How to redeem:

  • Online: Enter promo code SWEET16 during checkout anytime you order a Masher via order.ottoportland.com in June.
  • Phone or in-store: Just tell our team you’d like the SWEET16 promo any time you order a Masher in June, and the discount will be applied.
  • Valid June 1–30 at all OTTO locations.

🎉 Sunday, June 8

Resurgam Music & Arts Festival Presented to OTTO
12 PM – 7 PM | Ocean Gateway, Portland, ME

We’re proud to present the Resurgam Music & Arts Festival: A FREE, day-long waterfront festival from the Maine Academy of Modern Music that brings together Maine’s vibrant music scene, local artisans, and community arts organizations for Portland’s premier summer kickoff event!

Headlining this year’s festival are The Fogcutters and Genevieve Stokes.

The Fogcutters—who will be joined by special guests Kenya Hall and Gina Alibrio—are Portland’s own eclectic pop-rock big band.

Genevieve Stokes is one of alternative pop’s brightest stars. A former MAMM student herself, Genevieve has recently been named among People’s “Emerging Artists” list, and is currently signed to Atlantic Records.

Learn more at resurgamfestival.com

🎉 All June at Select OTTO Locations

Bissell Brothers Summer Rise Pale Ale (Limited Release)

Brewed annually in collaboration with Maine Academy of Modern Music in celebration of Resurgam Music & Arts Festival, this easy-drinking pale ale is perfect for a day of Maine music and merriment.
Our beer-pouring Maine shops will be serving it up as soon as it arrives, and until it’s gone.

🍺 Learn more about Summer Rise here.

🎉 Wednesday, June 18 – In-Store Sweet 16 Birthday Bash

All OTTO locations | All day

We’re turning every shop into party HQ:

  • $1.60 slices (any slice, all day)
  • Free OTTO swag (while it lasts!)
  • Enter on-site to win:
    🍕 Free pizza for a year (1 winner)
    👕 OTTO T-Shirt of your choice (10 winners)
    🧧 $20 OTTO gift card (10 winners)

No purchase necessary to enter the drawing—just swing by, grab a slice, and celebrate with us!

🎉 All June – OTTO Sweet 16 Playlist

Relive 2009 with a curated Spotify mix of the songs we blasted while throwing dough in those early days. Hit the link below to listen anytime (and be sure to follow us!):

Thank You for 16 Sweet Years ❤️

Your ongoing support and your friendly faces are what keep us going after 16 sweet years. Thank you for being a part of it! Whether you join us for a slice on June 18, catch some live music on the waterfront, or crank the playlist while ordering online, we can’t wait to celebrate with you all month long.

Here’s to many more years—and many more pizzas!

—Team OTTO

Pizza Powering Music Education

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Music has fueled what we do since we opened the first OTTO in Portland’s Arts District in 2009.  We have employed, supported, and fed creative types for the past 14 years. We’ve hosted live music, sponsored live music events, and we personally program the music we play in our restaurants every day. Music is an essential ingredient for us.  We’ve seen first-hand how music can foster creative collaboration, encourage the exchange of ideas, and build community, and in 2023 we are committed to making an impact, at a time when music education funding is being reduced or eliminated. 

Maine Academy of Modern Music

One dollar from every Seasonal Special pizza sold in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will be donated to local non-profit organizations working to make quality music education available to students. 

In Maine, $1 from every Seasonal Special pie sold will be donated to the Maine Academy of Modern Music, a nonprofit organization serving over 2000 students statewide – over 1600 of which access quality music programming at a free or reduced cost. Additionally, MAMM regularly provides music education programs to schools, civic organizations and other non-profit organizations throughout Maine. 

In Massachusetts, $1 from every Seasonal Special pie will go to Berklee’s City Music Boston, a nonprofit program that provides music education to 4th-12th graders in underserved communities in Greater Boston (and beyond).  

In New Hampshire, $1 from every Seasonal Special pie is donated to the Portsmouth Music & Arts Center, a nonprofit community music and visual arts school with a 21-year history of building community through the Arts. PMAC currently serves over 1,000 students, providing access to education experiences for all, regardless of age, ability, or economic status.

City Music Boston

OTTO’s Seasonal Specials rotate on a quarterly basis, often utilizing a creative mix of fresh, in-season toppings.  Many of these quarterly signature pizzas have become customer favorites over the years, eventually finding their way onto our year-round menu.

We are excited to kick off this partnership with MAMM, PMAC, and City Music Boston.  Next time you order one of our Seasonal Specials, know that you are helping to power music education, one pie at a time. 

Place your order today! 🎶🍕

Monday Night Bluegrass is Back at OTTO

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Three years ago, the acclaimed bluegrass player Joe K Walsh started a Monday night tradition in Portland’s Arts District: Bluegrass Night at OTTO.

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Photo by Gabe Souza/PPH

Joe and Friends have been a staple at the 576 Congress Street location, laying down some of the best performances (of any genre) you will find anywhere in Maine.

We’re pleased to announce that, after a short winter hiatus (while Joe was on tour with Mr. Sun, his band with Darol Anger, Grant Gordy, and Ethan Jodziewicz), Bluegrass Night is back, starting Monday, March 28. The first edition of 2016 will feature Joe, along with Steve Roy, Lincoln Meyers, and Lukas Pool.

For the uninitiated, Joe Walsh was the first student at Berklee College of Music to graduate with a degree in performance specializing in mandolin. He currently teaches at Berklee, where he serves as Managing Director of the American Roots Music Program.

The world-renowned fiddle legend Darol Anger called Walsh “one of my favorite musicians on earth.”

Joe has played in several renowned bands, including Joy Kills Sorrow, the New England Bluegrass Band, Northern Lights, and the Grammy nominated Gibson Brothers.

Writing in the Portland Press Herald, Bob Keyes wrote, “Walsh is the most in-demand mandolin player in Maine, and one of the most sought-after in America. He could easily live in Nashville, Austin or any other acoustic music hotbed, but chooses Portland because he loves the city and is well-treated here.”

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Photo by Gabe Souza/PPH

And he loves it so much, each Monday night he assembles a handful of the best roots musicians in Maine, or in America, for a fireworks-display of fretwork, lonesome harmonies, and good times.

Some of Bluegrass Night’s past guests have included members of Crooked Still, Della Mae, the Josh Ritter Band, and the Ray LaMontagne band. You never know who might pop up, but you can always expect to be blown away.

And to boot, the shows are 100% free.

So, grab your family and friends, pop over for a few pies, some local craft beer, and take in some of the very best bluegrass you’re likely to hear anywhere.

Celebrate OTTO’s 5th Birthday with Elliott Brood at One Longfellow Square

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Join us for an unforgettable celebration of food, friends, music, and community

We don’t usually make a big stink about birthdays, but we’re coming up on our 5th, and it just seemed wrong to not throw a party.

While we have multiple events and surprises planned for the weeks leading up to our actual birthday (June 18) and beyond, this is the big one — a celebration of food, friends, music, and community at One Longfellow Square on Saturday, May 24.

Brood_1Some of you may have seen a little three-piece band from Toronto called Elliot Brood at OTTO’s Munjoy Hill location about 18 months ago. And if you were ever in our original slice shop back in the day, chances are you heard Elliott Brood blasting while we cranked out pies. You might even say they fueled a lot of what we have built over the past five years.

An absolute favorite of OTTO owners and staff, Juno Award-winning Elliott Brood is a powerful three-piece specializing in an artfully unique brand of alt-country guaranteed to move you — physically and emotionally.  Whether churning out urgent, boot-stomping sing-alongs or lyrically-rich soot-stained ballads, these guys are the real deal. You really don’t want to miss them.  We’re thrilled that they agreed to be part of our celebration.

Sharing the stage will be Sympathy & The Lion, an alt-folk duo out of Lancaster, PA.

There will be giveaways, prizes and other surprises.

In case you need additional incentive:

“Elliott Brood shows are known to be lively affairs.” – Washington Post

“Elliott Brood knows how to get a crowd off its laurels.” – SF Weekly

“Elliott Brood holds fast to the notion that a great story-song sounds even better played fast and rough, propelled by frenzied strumming and rattling percussion.” – The Onion’s AV Club

Get your tickets now.  It’s gonna be a good time.

Joe Walsh & Friends: Free World-Class Bluegrass Every Monday Night at OTTO

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179759_559817904030144_1944109_nOTTO’s Arts District location (574 Congress St, Portland) is extremely proud to host mandolin-picking wunderkind Joe Walsh every Monday night at 8pm.

For several weeks now, the acclaimed bluegrass player (not to be confused with The Eagles guitarist) has been helping OTTO break in the new dining room and bar expansion. We’re not sure how long we’ll be lucky enough to host Joe & friends, but it has certainly been a treat.

For the uninitiated, Joe Walsh was the first student at Berklee College of Music to graduate with a degree in performance specializing in mandolin. He currently teaches at Berklee, where he serves as Managing Director of the American Roots Music Program.

The world-renowned fiddle legend Darol Anger called Walsh “one of my favorite musicians on earth.”

While in Boston, Joe played in several bands, including Joy Kills Sorrow, the New England Bluegrass Band and Northern Lights. Since 2007, Joe has called Portland home. He is currently a full time member of the Gibson Brothers, recently named the 2012 IBMA Entertainers of the Year.

Joe Walsh Press ShotAlthough Joe is certainly one of Portland’s busiest and most celebrated musicians, he has found time to pull together an enormously talented rotating group of friends to perform each Monday night at OTTO. The performances are loose and fun, but certainly not lacking in fireworks.

And to boot, the shows are 100% free.

We can’t think of a better way to spend a Monday night.

Grab your family and friends, pop over for a few pies, some craft beer, and take in some of the best bluegrass you’re likely to hear anywhere.

Here’s a taste of Joe’s playing, from a recent performance at One Longfellow Square:

Pizza In Music: From The Classics to The Inexplicable

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Perhaps more than any other food item, pizza has found its way into they lyrics of countless songs. Sometimes, pizza serves to elicit a sensory response — to bring a setting to life. In this way, pizza is poetry. Other times, pizza serves as the entire reason for the song’s existence. (Some bands really, really like pizza.)

Whether it’s an elegant staple of Italian dining, or a raucous celebration of everyone’s favorite party food, the consensus is unanimous: pizza is awesome.

We have selected a wide array of pizza songs for your your enjoyment. A few of these are transcendent. One or two of them will never be forgotten. And several of them are simply inexplicable.

Feel free to add your entries in the comments section.

“That’s Amore” – Dean Martin


“The Pizza Song” – Bouncing Souls


“Eat To The Beat” – Blondie


“Pizza Day” – Jonathan Coulton


“Pizza Pie” – System of a Down


“Krusty Krab Pizza” – SpongeBob SquarePants


“Pizza Nif” – Horse The Band


“Pizza Song” – Brak (Space Ghost)


“Pizza Girl” – Jonas Brothers


“Imagine (There’s No Pizza)” – Herman Cain


“Gimme Pizza” – Olsen Twins

Who is Elliott Brood? And Why Should You Care?

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Elliott Brood is on tour and playing a bunch of shows in the northeast before heading over to Europe.

Music is an important ingredient at OTTO Pizza – we listen to it all the time. We listen to music while we’re setting up shop in the morning; it’s playing during the day when we’re taking care of our customers, and we crank it up at night while we’re cleaning up the shop to do it all over again the next day.

Some of the folks who work at OTTO Pizza are musicians themselves, and there are a ton of local bands that we love as well, but every once in a while, a band comes along that really grabs us and maybe we go a little crazy.

Elliott Brood is such a band. These guys are amazing. But don’t take our word for it. Check ’em out for yourself.

And apparently, Elliott Brood is on tour right now, which is great. Anybody else really like Elliott Brood? Why don’t you drop us a line at ottopizza668@gmail.com?

OTTO Pizza’s Lady Zen Has What It Takes — And More

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Lady Zen delivers some spoken word truth at the OTTO Pizza Christmas party in December 2011, which took place at the OTTO Pizza on Munjoy Hill.

The folks who work at OTTO Pizza are an eclectic bunch, no doubt, but it’s not often that one of our own gets a cover story in a well-read local mag.

Lady Zen, a jazz singer and poet who also happens to work at OTTO Pizza‘s Munjoy Hill shop at 225 Congress St., in Portland, Maine, got a helluva write-up this month in The Bollard, a monthly magazine in Portland that’s become a must-read for anyone who wants to keep up with the lowdown on what’s going on culturally in this town.

Not only did The Bollard’s publisher, Chris Busby, who wrote the piece himself, manage to convey a compelling account of her life story, he also delivered a convincing argument as to why her shows are quickly becoming can’t-miss events wherever she plays.

From The Bollard piece:

The most powerful voice in Portland belongs to a 40-year-old Brazilian Buddhist from the Bible Belt who makes her living slinging pizza. Her name is Alzenira Santos Amaral Quezada. You may know her as Lady Zen.

Lady Zen’s music mirrors her life: both have been all over the map. On the heels of a heartbreaking year, Lady Zen is poised to make her strongest music yet in 2012. She’s learning how to meld her influences into a sound that’s uniquely her own.

You’ve never heard anyone like Lady Zen around here. And you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.

Lady Zen, who works the OTTO Pizza kitchen on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and also takes a turn hosting on Friday nights, has a couple of gigs coming up that promise to showcase different aspects of her amazing talent and engaging persona.

The first is set for Feb. 14, (Valentine’s Day, ya know) at The Big Easy, where she’ll recreate Erykah Badu‘s phenomenal record, “Baduizm,” in its entirety — for the first set. In the second set, she and her band will present a complement of her original tunes, which she said she’s reworking specifically for this performance.

“We’re rearranging the songs to reflect the feel of Erykah Badu’s album, so the show will flow,” Lady Zen said. “This isn’t going to be some sit-down jazz thing, it’s going to be a get-up-and-shake-your-booty kind of thing.”

The second gig on the horizon represents something else entirely — exactly what, however, remains to be seen: Lady Zen will be participating in the Space Gallery’s 48-hour Music Festival, with a show set for Saturday, Feb. 18.

What, you make ask, is the 48-hour Music Festival? Let’s let the folks from the Space Gallery answer that one. From the Space Gallery’s webpage:

Thirty adventurous artists from different Portland bands of all genres agree to step out of their comfort zones and be randomly shuffled into 6 supergroups, announced on Thursday afternoon. No members of these newly formed bands are allowed to have previous musical history with one another. From there, each band has exactly 48 hours to construct and practice a 25 minute set of material, culminating in the Saturday performance.

So, mark the dates down in your datebooks, folks, and try to hit at least one or both, if at possible.

And if you find yourself on Munjoy Hill sometime, stop in at OTTO Pizza, grab a slice and a refreshing beverage, and introduce yourself to Lady Zen — and maybe you’ll be able to say you knew her when …

In the meantime, you can check out a couple of tunes from her recent gig at the Big Easy at The Bollard’s website, or you can go straight to the source at her own website.