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Jenna Juredine, who has run the Barking Spider since her father and co-owner Martin died in 2011, and co-owner Bruce Madorsky on Thursday announced that the venerable institution and haven for live local acoustic music would shut its doors after the 30th anniversary party this Sunday, Sept. 18.

(John Petkovic / The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Barking Spider, one of Cleveland's best and most beloved live acoustic music venues, is closing.

Jenna Juredine, who in 2011 took over running the club opened by her late father and Bruce Madorsky in a carriage house on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in 1986, made the announcement Thursday.

The club's 30th-anniversary party on Sunday, Sept. 18, will be its last day.

"My father created a safe house for music lovers and musicians and everyone has been so supportive,'' Juredine said in a release announcing the closure.

"We are a huge family and that is hard to come by in any business,'' Juredine said "It's been an honor to be a part of such an important part of the music scene in Cleveland.''

Juredine, who recently wed Cleveland musician Brent Kirby, is expecting their first child, and said in the release that she felt her new life circumstances would make her "unable to dedicate the amount of time needed to keep it going.''

The future of the site is up in the air. But Juredine said in a separate email that you won't see a for-sale sign on it anytime soon.

"As I'm telling everyone, The Spider is not for sale. It was/is a family business, and so it will remain,'' she wrote. "I do not know what CWRU has planned, and don't want to speculate without casting a shadow. I want this to be as positive as possible.''

That's difficult for a lot of people who love the venue.

"It's beyond tragic, it's criminal. Places like that should ALWAYS exist,'' said Cleveland musician Chris Ilcin in a Facebook post upon learning of the closure. "It was almost as open as their doors, if that's not a belabored point. Like a great record store, or a dive bar, a vaguely hippie, vaguely Bohemian, vaguely college bar with new music to discover almost by accident should always exist.''

Last Saturday, as headliner Rachel Brown and the Beatnik Playboys took the stage, Juredine spoke to the overflowing crowd in what Brown -- a teacher herself -- called Juredine's "teacher voice,'' admonishing them to be quiet and listen to the music. Doing so was a sign of respect for the music and the musicians.

It was typical of Juredine's style and love for the musicians and music itself. And, frankly, for the Spider as an institution. She has fostered the vision Madorsky and her father had for the venerable club.

The Spider has always been a simple place. Yes, there are spirits, but it's never taken credit cards. Its paneled walls, festooned with prints of classic paintings, its 1970s-era "ski lodge'' fireplace, straight-backed chairs and serene setting amid the CWRU campus made it a sanctuary for lovers of all kinds of acoustic music.

That seemed to be the key to a Spider performance: Yeah, the musicianship usually was outstanding, but it was the lyrics and the vocals that always stood out. Juredine, who ran the sound system herself, ensured that.

It was rare to meet the musician who didn't love playing the Spider. It wasn't the pay. Only the 10 p.m. band or artist was guaranteed a penny. For the most part, payment came from a bucket that was passed around the audience between sets.

But there was always a love-love-love relationship among the musicians, the audience and the Spider itself.

"The Barking Spider was the one place I knew I could always get a gig just by asking,'' said Cleveland musician James Brentar. "It was the one place where even if I'd never heard of the act playing there, I could go and know I'd enjoy it.''

"I have recordings of my gigs at the Barking Spider Tavern in my archives going back all 30 years,'' said veteran Cleveland folk musician Jim Schafer in a Facebook post. "I courted my wife there. I premiered so many of my songs there. I have laughed there, cried there, been sucker-punched off a barstool there, been inspired, humbled, entertained and encouraged there.

"I'm having trouble internalizing the Spider's closing,'' he wrote. "There will be a huge hole in many lives.''



"Martin Juredine was my friend, my motivator, my role-model for grace under pressure ... and he was a huge fan of my music,'' wrote Schafer. "He was a huge fan of ALL of our music. He made us believe we were doing something special and worthwhile with our music.



"He inspired that same love and respect for local music in his daughter, Jenna,'' Schafer said. "Together they created and maintained a comfortable home for hometown musicians.''

"There will never be another room like the Spider,'' said local bassist Mike Pella in another Facebook post. "You can have a venue with live music anywhere, but the vibe in that building was amazing -- full of love and music and the spirit of Martin.

"Jenna Juredine did us all a huge service by keeping things going after her father passed on, but I understand how sometimes life requires change,'' Pella wrote. "I love Brent and Jenna and wish them a happy life. We will all miss the Spider.''

For Juredine, the closing marks a bittersweet moment.

"I love the Barking Spider Tavern in such a deep, personal way that it will be difficult not to walk through these doors everyday,'' she said in the release.

"But I know in my heart [that] my father is proud of what I have done and what I'm about to do.''

Updated at 2:11 p.m.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.