Attempting to go beyond the standard bar bands, area breweries and a vineyard in Newtown are trying to give a boost to local musicians and provide customers with something a little extra.
“I love live music and we wanted that to be a part of the atmosphere and the whole experience,” said Neviana Zhgaba, who with her husband Ardian Llomi owns Aquila”™s Nest Vineyards. The Newtown operation, which opened in November, offers music on Thursdays and weekends.
“It”™s mostly jazz,” Zhgaba said. “A lot of guitar or piano, some sax. Wine puts people in a good mood, and having music as well makes it even better.”
Although the vineyard opened in the middle of both winter and a spike in Covid cases, she said, “Some people felt they had nowhere else to travel and we had open space outside with fire pits so we stayed pretty busy. We were not expecting to be very busy at the start.”
Bracing for a possible business drop-off during the hot months, as more people get vaccinated and arguably are willing to travel out of state after being stuck at home for so long, Zhgaba predicted that Aquila”™s Nest will be busiest in the fall. The vineyard also has a full rotation of yoga, Pilates, karaoke and other events to draw crowds.
Live music has been so successful at some breweries that they are in the midst of expanding their performance space. Reverie Brewing Co. in Newtown, which opened in 2019, is refashioning what had been a storage space across the parking lot from its main taproom as a special events room, while Nod Hill Brewery in Ridgefield, which opened in 2017, is building both a larger event space inside and a beer garden outside to capitalize on its steadily growing popularity.
“I”™m a musician myself ”” I”™m in a band that”™s played here ”” so we pretty much always have had live music here on weekends,” said Nod Hill co-owner David Kaye. “We want to feature original music, both talented local groups and touring bands as well.”
“We didn”™t want to be your typical music bar,” Reverie co-owner Ryan Broderick said. “But we definitely draw a live-music crowd on weekends.”
Reverie has only offered live entertainment outdoors due to the pandemic, with weather always posing a threat. Having the opportunity to add an indoor space has been doubly advantageous, Broderick said, as returning to the practice of even a single guitarist in what had been a customary corner of the taproom would mean removing a couple of tables. Reverie has basically halved its indoor capacity and eliminated seating at the bar, which could hold up to 20 people, he said.
Scott Vallely, owner and brewmaster at Danbury”™s Charter Oak Brewing Co., which opened in 2018, said he too has added a beer garden, partly to make more room for bands on weekends.
“We want to support local talent,” he said, “and some of them already have a good following ”” and the quality isn”™t bad.”
“The biggest shock for me was how many people around here are in bands,” Broderick said. “There”™s 40,000 people in Newtown and 10,000 bands ”” how does that work?”
Headbangers? No thanks
The establishments all tend toward jazz, pop and rock; those hoping for heavy metal, thrash and other more outré genres should look elsewhere.
“We want something that fits the room acoustically and stylistically,” Kaye said. “We”™ve found that people come out specifically for (music) but it”™s not like they have to be quiet while someone”™s playing.”
“People may like live music, but it can”™t be too loud,” Vallely laughed. “You don”™t want people to have to scream over the music in order to have a conversation.”
Acts are paid on a flat fee basis ”” no cuts of the receipts during their performances ”” and are required to submit either audio files, links to their social media containing performance videos, or on rare occasions play a live audition.
“Word-of-mouth has traveled very fast,” Zhgaba said, “and we have relationships with some managers and bookers. That helps us to make sure we”™re getting the right kind of act.”
“There”™s a link on our website for how to play here,” Broderick said. “It”™s too difficult to deal with people walking up and asking me about it, or calling us ”” they have to do it on the website.”
Meanwhile, Vallely ”” who said he”™s already got performers booked into December ”” said that Charter Oak benefited from being known as a reliable, safe space that offered live entertainment throughout the pandemic.
“The fact that the governor and the local government allowed us to set up outside, on sidewalks or whatever, was a big help,” Vallely said. “I”™m really thankful for it. Unfortunately distribution is still hurting, with restaurants still trying to get back to where they were. A keg of beer equals seven cases, so that takes a toll on us.”
“We all talk,” Kaye said of the state”™s brewing scene, “and I know there was some frustration because we were required to sell food, which most of us don”™t make on the premises. But we have good relations with several food trucks and they really came through for us in a pinch. For us it was kind of okay.”
Reverie, which also features food trucks, took a dimmer view of the Lamont administration”™s lumping breweries in with restaurants when it came to Covid restrictions ”” even going so far as producing a doppelbock beer called “Fries Aren”™t Food” in a swipe at the edict that breweries had to provide something beyond snacks.
“It”™s not like there”™s only a handful of us,” Broderick said, noting that there are now approximately 120 craft breweries in the state, according to the latest Connecticut Brewers Guild data. “There should be separate health regulations for breweries.
“But the town did a great job,” he added. “The economic development department, the health department, they were all very helpful.”
