A State-of-the-Art Listening Lounge is Coming to Providence This Winter

Photo courtesy of Cornish Associates / InDowncity

Photo courtesy of Cornish Associates / InDowncity

This news is music to our ears. Literally. This week Cornish Associates announced that Murmur HiFi Lounge will move into the ground floor of the historic WIT Building (in Rhode Islander speak: where Aurora used to be) in downtown Providence later this year.

The concept behind the new high fidelity, analogue listening lounge takes after Japanese jazz kissatens, aka a traditional tea-drinking/coffee shop, from the 1920s. These venues were specially designed to enhance a customer’s music experience via a “sonically superior” space. Co-owner Robert Troutman was first inspired to recreate this model for Rhode Islanders’ benefit following a trip to Tokyo.

“Downtown Providence has such a rich and storied music history and we’re excited to start writing a small chapter of it,” he says. “And given the greatness of the previous occupants of our space at 276 Westminster–Black Rep, Roots Cafe, and Aurora — we are truly standing on the shoulders of local giants.”

Photo courtesy of Cornish Associates / InDowncity

Troutman and fellow Murmur co-owner, Alison Johnson, are transplants from Minneapolis and Philadelphia, respectively. After meeting and matriculating in Providence schools, they laid down roots and never looked back. While Johnson is an architect by day and Troutman works as a graphic designer, the two also share a passion and knack for music — the former is a guitarist, and the latter is a pianist. As such, on any given evening, Murmur promises to showcase a variety of musical genres in the main space. A private listening room will also be available for the ultimate listening experience.

But good tunes and vibes aren’t the only offerings on the table. Like the kissatens, there will be food and drink. But unlike its predecessor, Murmur’s focus will not be on tea or coffee, but rather unique cocktails. The listening lounge’s bar manager and beverage manager, Parker Luthman, has curated a menu of unique spirits, sakes, beers and wines. The bar will also feature the popular-in-Japan but rare-to-New-England Toki Highball machine. For the less familiar, these machines are hailed for creating a perfectly blended Japanese whisky highball that “drinks more like a glass of champagne than a mixed drink.”

Photo courtesy of Cornish Associates / InDowncity

As for the grub pairings, Murmur’s food program will be designed by Samantha Kundrat of North notoriety.  Loosely izakaya and yakitori based, the menu will feature a seasonal rotation of skewers, dumplings and sandos that highlight locally sourced ingredients.

Music aficionados hopefully won’t need to wait too much longer for this new hotspot: Murmur expects to open sometime in December 2025. The space will be open six days a week, Wednesday through Monday, from 4 p.m. to close. The owners also hope to eventually roll out brunch service. For more information and updates, follow Murmur on Instagram here.