Nestled below a boutique clothing store Motto in Harvard Square, Club Passim’s brick exterior is  recognizable to most people involved in the local Boston music scene. But for newcomers, walking through the door brings them to a uniquely intimate listening room.

In the performance space, 55 two-person tables face a stage. The walls are decorated with black and white photos taken by local photographer Jon Strymish, showing many artists who have called Club Passim home throughout its 64-year history, including Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks. But instead of gushing on legends who have graced the stage over the years, the staff at Club Passim stay focused on discovering new talent. 

“[Public relations] and marketing people are like, ‘Can we talk about [our most famous musicians]?,’ Can we not? Because that just makes us a museum piece,” said Matt Smith, the managing director. “What about the people in the last 20 years that [have] gone on to be as successful? When you look at Regina Spektor or Lake Street Dive or Anaïs Mitchell, [they] have made a very big impact in the music world [just like] those from way back.”

Smith has worked the sound booth at Club Passim for decades and collected a treasure chest of stories. He ran sound for one of Mitchell’s first performances of Tony-award winning musical Hadestown, celebrated his 50th birthday with a one-of-a-kind musical showcase from 17 of his favorite local artists and hosted a visit from rock and soul artist John Oates. 

But when he started out 26 years ago, Smith was a bright-eyed college graduate from University of Connecticut with an English degree and extensive CD collection. 

“For me, it was not born out of anything but my desire to hang out here. Not being a great musician or songwriter or anything like that, this was my way to hang out with the cool kids,” Smith said. 

Club Manager Abby Altman initially discovered the listening room on a trip to Boston in college when a friend took her to see a performance. Over the years, Altman has learned how to oversee a great show by making musicians feel at home and “matchmaking” eager audiences with new performers.

“I immediately fell in love [with the space]. I just walked in and was like, ‘I didn’t even know I needed this in my life,’” Altman said. 

On any given week, audience members can attend Club Passim’s six to seven performances. After picking up tickets at the box office, the lights inside the listening room are dim as the show begins. On the right side of the stage are the general admission seats, termed the “artist hang,” usually filled by friends of the artist and Club Passim regulars. 

“You can tell how good a show is going to be by how many artists are also walking through the door,” Altman said. “[Artists] trust this room. They trust that they have an audience that’s actually going to listen.”

Club Passim also hosts many loyal members who trust that those behind the curtain will always bring talent to Cambridge. 

“There are people that come to shows here two or three times a week,” Smith said. “They [either] know what it is or are willing to experiment and try out something that they don’t know. Those are the best audience members: the ones that love what you do, but also will go on a [new] journey with you.”

At the start of the show, the sound booth introduces not only the performer but all the employees in the venue that night. The servers move through the room “like ninjas,” careful not to interrupt the show, Altman said. 

“Crying is par for the course here,” Altman said. 

Once the encore is over, familiar faces say hello as concertgoers grab their coats and thank the musicians for their performance. 

“Without the aid of a huge jumbo screen, you can see the artist’s space. You can see when an artist looks over at their bandmate and makes eye contact because something happens during the course of the set” said Executive Director Jim Wooster. “You feel like you’re in somebody’s living room. That’s what makes seeing music seem so special is because it is so intimate.”

But the organization is not just a performance space. In 2000, Club Passim founded the Passim School of Music for adults to take workshops and private lessons in areas including mandolin, Cajun music and songwriting. Most classes are taught by performers at Club Passim, creating an opportunity for beginners to learn from their idols. 

As a venue that was run by college students in the 1960s, Club Passim has since earned its nonprofit status and grown its philanthropic endeavors to establish the Iguana Music Fund, an annual grant program funded by anonymous donors, Altman said.

“Every year, we get about $40,000 in grants to New England-based musicians to help with new projects or to help them get to the next level in their career,” Altman said. “Whether it’s an artist who has done all of these demos but has never had the chance to make a studio album or someone who has gotten to the point that they’re going to start touring but they don’t have a car that works … or funding a songwriting camp so it can pay its teachers, anything like that.”

Every person involved with Club Passim supports the organization because of their love of local music. Although it may seem simple, there is an intrinsic quality of music that creates community in a performance space, Wooster said. 

“Music is very mysterious, right? It sort of comes out of the ether. … For people who are not musical, it’s really mysterious, right? Because you’re seeing people on stage doing something that you don’t understand anything about,” Wooster said. “Then there’s the communal experience of getting together and enjoying music and appreciating artistry with other people.”