Quinn’s opened under new ownership 8 years ago, keeping the decor and much-loved vibe of the diner-like eatery, but changed the focus to be a destination for jazz music and live performances. The menu also changed to offer renowned Japanese homestyle cuisine, a case of craft beers, sakes, whiskies and much more. When the pandemic shut them down, the music scene stopped as well, starving musicians from the live audience they crave.

Until now….Starting on Saturday, September 11th, Quinn’s is turning on the lights and setting up the stage for an fully stocked musical lineup on Saturdays and Mondays Jazz Sessions, with a sprinkling of performances on those days by people named Joe. Quinn’s is dubbing that “Joevember”

Kicking it off on Saturday, September 11th at 9am will be Beacon punk band Ate Bit, featuring the long-running Hudson Valley band Social Standards opening. The following Monday, September 13th at 8:30pm, the first Monday Jazz Session will be alto saxophonist Mike Dopazo, leading a trio featuring Adam Coté on bass, and Dave Berger on drums.

Quinn’s Is A Destination In The Jazz World & Other Genres

Quinn’s is one of the premier live music venues in the Hudson Valley. Beaconites may not realize what jazz gem is located behind that iconic brown brick wall decorated with pictures of Ramen dishes. To help you realize, we went to one of the - if not the - top jazz critic in the country - Nate Chinen. Nate is a former Beaconite who left this place for Philadelphia in order to have better commute to his radio job as Director of Editorial Content for WBGO 88.3FM, as well as a bigger yard for his family and pandemic dog.

To give you a background on Nate, so that his quote has context: Nate was a music critic for The New York Times for 12 years, and helmed a long-running column for JazzTimes. In addition to his editorial work for WBGO, Nate works with the multiplatform program Jazz Night in America and contributes a range of coverage to NPR Music. He is author of Playing Changes: Jazz For the New Century (buy it at Binnacle Books in Beacon! they can order any book for you), published in hardcover by Pantheon in 2018, and in paperback by Vintage in 2019. Hailed as one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, GQ, Billboard, and JazzTimes, it's a chronicle of jazz in our time, and an argument for the music's continuing relevance. It has also been published internationally, in Italian and Spanish editions.

Nate is coauthor of Myself Among Others: A Life in Music, the 2003 autobiography of festival impresario and producer George Wein, which earned the JJA’s award for Best Book About Jazz.

And while we're gushing, Nate is a 13-time winner of the Helen Dance–Robert Palmer Award for Excellence in Writing, presented by the Jazz Journalists Association, as well as a co-host for the podcast Jazz United for WBGO. Here’s what he had to say to ALBB about Quinn’s reopening for live music:

“I moved to Beacon from the West Village in 2009, and assumed that my days of walking down the street to a world-class jazz gig were over. I got here just in time to catch the tail end of Quinn’s as a diner (great blueberry pancakes!) — and then, after a dormant period, it reopened as a music venue. To my great and pleasant surprise, it became a go-to stop for improvised music, often featuring the very same artists I would see in the city, like Mary Halvorson, Matt Wilson and Joe McPhee.

“Beyond the extraordinary quality of the booking, Quinn’s is remarkable for its atmosphere — what’s probably best described as a “vibe.” The no-cover policy means that anyone can enjoy the music, and it creates a festive feeling in the room. If every American city the size of Beacon had a room like this, you wouldn’t hear so much about the plight of jazz in our culture. I wish the best to the club as it reopens, and look forward to my next hang there.”

Other artists who have performed at Quinn’s include: “Wilco guitarist Nels Cline to Japanese pop-punk icons Shonen Knife; from the Malian Tuareg rockers Mdou Moctar to Czech avant-garde violinist/vocalist Iva Bittová; from psychedelic free guitar freak Eugene Chadbourne to MacArthur ‘genius’ grantee Mary Halvorson; from Captain Beefheart/Jeff Buckley guitarist Gary Lucas to Downtown jazz legend William Parker; from otherworldly power trio Sun of Goldfinger (Tim Berne/David Torn/Ches Smith) to the Colossus of Poughkeepsie himself, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, among many other outstanding artists. Mike Faloon's celebrated book The Other Night at Quinn's details many of these unforgettable performances.”

COVID-19 Cautions: Quinn’s Is Monitoring

While we are in Year 2 of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and some people vaccinated, restaurants are trying to avoid shutdowns, and their customers are just as eager to have the option to continue to dine and dance inside. They state in their press release: “Please note: we are closely monitoring the ongoing COVID Pandemic and, based on guidance from the CDC and state health authorities, may be forced to revise our schedule without notice.”

Keep up with their changes and announcements, as well as food features at Instagram and Facebook.

The Musical Lineup

Quinn's is located at 330 Main St. in Beacon, NY and its phone number is (845) 202-7447. All listed concerts are no cover, but donations for the artists are requested and greatly appreciated. Bring cash, as the artists walk around to collect from everyone in attendance.

As of today, Quinn’s schedule is as follows:

SATURDAY CONCERTS:
9/11: Ate Bit/Social Standards
9/25: Knock Yourself Out — final KYO performance (!!!)
10/2: 100 and Zero/Wall of Ego
11/13: KYO Surfers — Butthole Surfers tribute w/ former Knock Yourself Out members + special guests

MONDAY JAZZ SESSIONS:
9/13: Mike Dopazo Trio — w/ Adam Coté and Dave Berger
9/20: Eric Person's Music of Ronald Shannon Jackson Project — w/ Neil Alexander, Robert Kopec + Dean Sharp
10/4: Two Sisters, Inc. — w/ Claire Daly, Dave Sewelson, Dave Hofstra + Michael Sarin
10/18: Pete Levin Trio — w/ Mike DiMicco + Jeff "Siege" Siegel (the last musicians to play Quinn's in March 2020!)
10/25: Adam Lane Trio — w/ Nick Lyons and Vijay Anderson
12/6: Matt Pavolka Band w/ Ben Monder, Santiago Leibson + Allan Mednard
12/13: Ted Daniel's International Brass + Membrane Corps — w/ Charles Burnham, Joe Daley and Newman Taylor Baker
12/20: Karl Berger Group

JOEVEMBER!!!
All Mondays in November to be led by musicians named Joe, including:
11/1: Joe McPhee 82nd Birthday Celebration
11/8: Joe Giardullo
11/15: Joe Daley Exploratory Project
11/22: Joe Fiedler's Open Sesame — w/ Jeff Lederer, Sean Conly + Michael Sarin
11/29: Joe Hertenstein

Other Live Music Venues In Beacon

Other established eateries have turned on the microphones as well. Towne Crier Cafe has reopened their famous stage for live music, and on the other side of town, the stage is also lit at Dogwood. Open Mic Nights are abound, including on the back patio of Beacon Bread Company.