The city shut down performance venue Little Wing Music Space April 15. According to Land Use Director Matt O' Reilly, who oversees the Permit Division and Inspections and Enforcement Division, the division's director, Mike Purdy and former (he retired this week) Fire Marshal Angelo Ortega ordered the venue's closure until it meets assembly requirements. According to Little Wing Director Ross Hamlin, all Little Wing events, which include a wide variety of music and other performing arts, have been canceled or moved to other venues.

O'Reilly says the space has a "number of problems," including a lack of fire alarms, sprinklers, dual bathrooms and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

The above are necessary for events with more than 15 people.

The building is zoned for general commercial use.  According to O'Reilly, the zoning is fine. The problem lies in the "construction of the building and the uses they are trying to put it to."

Ross says that due to cost issues, financing the updates is unlikely.

O'Reilly says Little Wing came under investigation after organizers applied for a Special Dispenser Permit from the City Clerk's Office so they could serve alcohol. The clerk "became concerned and contacted [Purdy] and the fire marshal who did inspections."

The fledgling music and education venture opened in 2010, as a project of Hamlin and The Candyman Strings & Things. Though some of its events have drawn upward of 50 people, often, Hamlin says, under 15 attend.

Hamlin is considering "operating [Little Wing] more as a retail thing and less of a concert venue," though he's unsure of the details as of yet. He is currently in the process of finding other locations for Little Wing's performances, working with Warehouse 21 and After Hours Alliance to do so.

Macedonian/Turkish music act Avenue East will play 8 pm Saturday, April 23 at O'Shaughnessy Performance Space at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Slumgum and UFO Ensemble play 7 pm Friday, April 29 at Santa Fe Performance Exchange.