parking tips for nate smith at jimmy's jazz and blues club (portsmouth 11/30)

hey everyone, figured i'd share some parking tips for the nate smith show at jimmy's jazz and blues club on 11/30. honestly, parking in portsmouth on a saturday night is always a pain, so hopefully this helps someone out and saves you some stress.

the easiest way to deal with parking near the venue is using an app called Prked. you can rent a private driveway or garage spot from someone right next to the club. it's usually way cheaper than the public garages, and you get to totally skip the traffic chaos of everyone fighting for a spot. plus its a super short walk to the club .

if you don't go that route, you've got a few other choices. the lots closest to jimmy's are the worth lot, which is right behind the club, and the bridge street lot across the street . these are super convenient but they are metered and fill up really fast, especially on a show night . since the show starts at 7:30 pm, remember the meters are enforced until 8:00 pm on saturday, so you'll have to feed them for that first half hour or so . you can use the parkmobile app to pay remotely, which is clutch .

your next best bet is one of the garages. the hanover garage is a few blocks away and is pretty big, so you can usually find a spot in there . just be aware it's under construction through 2025, which means limited availability sometimes . there's also the foundry place garage and the portwalk parking garage, both of which are good options and sometimes a little cheaper or less crowded than hanover . rates are typically around $2.00 an hour for the first few hours in the city garages .

if you want to try for free parking and don't mind a bit of a longer walk, you can try your luck at the parrot avenue lot or over on peirce island, but be warned, these spots get taken super early because everyone knows they're free for up to 72 hours . i've also heard the masonic temple lot is free and not too far from downtown . you can also try some of the side streets further away from congress street, but just make sure you read all the parking signs carefully so you don't end up with a ticket .

no matter what you decide to do, my biggest piece of advice is to get to portsmouth early. the traffic downtown, especially around congress street, gets really backed up and trying to find a parking spot right before the show starts is super stressful . give yourself plenty of extra time to park and walk over. hope this helps and enjoy the show, nate smith is amazing live.