“People said it wasn’t gonna work,” recalls co-owner Cory Plump about when he and his partners opened Midtown Kingston underground music venue Tubby’s in 2018. “You know, ‘This isn’t Austin, Texas!’ or whatever. I shrugged it off.” Five years later, even after the pandemic, the club is thriving, having presented dozens of touring and regional acts, with many highly notable names among them. And now, to celebrate, the bar is throwing a three-day party featuring some veteran and fast-rising artists: Tubby’s Five-Year Anniversary Weekend, which will take place September 29 through October 1.
The fully stacked weekend kicks off on September 29 with appearances by cult-fave singer-songwriter Bonnie “Prince” Billy AKA Will Oldham; Austin postpunk quartet Hidden Ritual; Michigan indie poppers Idle Ray; and, from Brooklyn, electro/sax rockers P.E., noise punkers Weeping Icon, and dreamy electronica project Zenizen.
September 30 promises monumental avant jazz bassist William Parker and his trio; Austin free rock collective Water Damage; angular New York rockers Weak Signals; Neil Young-ish Connecticut foursome Mountain Movers; Brooklyn emcee Akai Solo; influential slowcore pioneers Codeine; and New York trance/ethnic/jazz juggernaut the 75 Dollar Bill Little Big Band, whose 2020 Live at Tubby’s double LP greatly helped to put the venue on the international map.
October 1 closes out the occasion in fine style with sets by returning downtown Manhattan legends the Bush Tetras; Big Apple rap duo Armand Hammer; Chicago psych jammers the Bitchin’ Bajas; New York hip-hopper Billy Woods; Brooklyn producer/rapper Elucid; ex-Dum Dum Girls/Vivian Girls/Crystal Stilts member Frankie Rose; Kingston space rockers Ultraam; Hudson Valley electronica artist Photay; South Korean drone act Tenngger; Egyptian vocalist Nadah El Shazly; and enigmatic Chicago outsiders ONO.
“We’ve had bands that play 1,000-capacity rooms and the next night come and play here,” says Plump, citing Tubby’s bookings of ballroom-packing names like Black Midi, OFF!, and Protomartyr into what he describes as a “small, 100-ish-person show space.” A major part of what keeps the cool bands coming back—and keeps attracting new ones—is the empathetic treatment that featured artists enjoy at the club, whose staff includes musicians from the same DIY touring community.
“The first time I played Tubby’s, in November 2018, I felt immediately welcome and at home,” says Codeine’s Chris Brokaw, who has appeared multiple times at the nightspot as a solo artist and with the Martha’s Vineyard Ferries and other projects. “The vibe felt fun and funny, the dub on the stereo was a welcome relief from everything you hear everywhere. It made me feel like someone was speaking my language. So I kept going back and it’s always good. Things like ‘feeding the band good food, for free’ and ‘a free band apartment’ are things I very rarely encounter in the US, and these things are huge. Paying the bands decently. The list goes on and on! It’s one of my favorite venues on Earth.”
Tubby’s Five-Year Anniversary Weekend will run September 29 through October 1. Single-night and three-day general admission and VIP passes are available; see website for pricing.
