Joe's Pub

Joe's Pub opened on October 16, 1998, with an inaugural concert performed by Carl Hancock Rux.{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/41451-Rux-and-Hendryx-to-Open-Joes-Pub-Oct-16-After-McDonald-Falls-Sick|title=Rux and Hendryx to Open Joe's Pub Oct. 16 After McDonald Falls Sick|work=Playbill|access-date=December 14, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014133226/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/41451-Rux-and-Hendryx-to-Open-Joes-Pub-Oct-16-After-McDonald-Falls-Sick|archive-date=October 14, 2013|df=mdy-all}} Soon after, a reviewer for The New York Times wrote "You enter through the side door of the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Farther south on Lafayette Street, revolving doors admit patrons to the Public's various theatrical spaces, but here, on the outskirts, an iron-fenced portal offers entree to the theater's new nightclub."{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/18/arts/theater-at-joe-s-pub-a-hip-club-velvet-rope-cigarette-smoke.html | work=The New York Times | first=Barry | last=Singer | title=THEATER; At Joe's Pub, a Hip Club, Velvet Rope, Cigarette Smoke | date=April 18, 1999}} He continued, "But Joe's Pub is a much less lofty enterprise, carved as it is from ground-floor back-office space at the theater." The $2.35 million club is the result, in part, of a construction and renovation grant to the Public from city capital funds that includes refurbishment of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. There were some doubters when the club opened in October who wondered whether the Public Theater could make a theater-night life alliance work. Six months later, according to George C. Wolfe, the then-producer of the Public, Joe's Pub "is actually doing better than I thought it would." He continued to say, "The club's programming is idiosyncratic: from ethnic music ensembles to spoken-word artists to the most promising young musical-theater composers and performers on the contemporary scene, the changing roster has generated an after-hours theatricality all its own."

The Pub is known as one of New York City's live showcase venues, catering to an eclectic mix of music genres.{{cite news | author=Ben Sisario | title=Ten Years For Joe's Pub | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E4D9173FF935A25754C0A96E9C8B63 | work=The New York Times | date=July 16, 2008}} This defining feature of Joe's Pub – its extraordinary variety – was the vision of Public Theater Associate Producer Bonnie Metzgar and principal booking agent Bill Bragin, an aficionado of music in all forms and a world-music DJ in his own right. Bragin established relationships with artists that have made Joe's Pub a home-base for local, domestic, and international acts. In 2007, when Bragin left Joe's Pub to work for Lincoln Center, Shanta Thake was unanimously given the head-booker position by the board of the Public Theater.{{cite news | title=Best Downtown Classical-Music Venue | url=http://nymag.com/bestofny/fun/2008/dtclassical/ | work=New York Magazine | date=March 3, 2008}}{{cite news | author=Adam Hetrik | title=Thake Named Director of Joe's Pub | url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/115411.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907092448/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/115411.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 7, 2012 | work=The Playbill | date=February 27, 2008 }} Thake served as the Director of Joe's Pub until 2018, when Alex Knowlton took over as Director who had been with Joe's Pub in various roles since 2009.

In 2011, the Pub, along with the rest of The Public's downtown building, received a top-to-bottom renovation, leading to improved sight lines, expanded seating capacity and a new food and beverage partnership with Chef Andrew Carmellini.

The venue is equipped with theater-quality lighting and sound. During its formative years, the sound was engineered by Kurt Wolf, former punk-rock guitarist for Pussy Galore. The club established a reputation as having extraordinary sound during this time. When Wolf moved on to other projects, Jon Shriver, a technician who has worked with John Legend and The Notorious B.I.G., began doing the audio engineering. The sound quality at Joe's Pub remains at the top of the "best in NYC" short list among critical reviewers.{{cite news | title=Top Ten Music Venues in NYC | url=http://myitthings.com/emjay/Post/entertainment/It_Music/Top_ten_music_venues_in_NYC/944122008220121423.htm | date=April 12, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928123212/http://myitthings.com/emjay/Post/entertainment/It_Music/Top_Ten_Music_Venues_in_NYC/944122008220121423.htm | archive-date=September 28, 2008 | df=mdy-all }}

Joe's Pub also serves as a bar and restaurant during performance hours and is known as being a top romantic spot in New York City after opening.{{cite news | title=Best Bar to Get Romantic and Play Grown-up | url=http://www.villagevoice.com/bestof/2004/award/best-bar-to-get-romantic-and-play-grown-up-493552/ | work=The Village Voice | access-date=September 19, 2008 | archive-date=May 24, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524123910/http://www.villagevoice.com/bestof/2004/award/best-bar-to-get-romantic-and-play-grown-up-493552/ | url-status=dead }} When The Public reopened in 2012 after the renovation, the Pub's food and beverage partner Joe's Pub LLC - Kevin Abbott, Serge Becker, Josh Pickard and Paul Salmon - was joined by the Noho Hospitality Group, the restaurant group led by Andrew Carmellini and Luke Ostrom. The group also launched a full-service restaurant, The Library at The Public.{{Cite web|title = The Library, a Carmellini/Ostrom/ Pickard/Oliver/Becker/Salmon/Abbott Joint, Opening in Noho TONIGHT|url = http://ny.eater.com/2012/10/9/6536917/the-library-a-carmellini-ostrom-pickard-oliver-becker-salmon-abbott|website = Eater NY|date = October 9, 2012|access-date = 2016-01-08}}

The decor of Joe's Pub is the work of interior designer and Joe's Pub LLC partner Serge Becker, the man behind many New York City hotspots, including La Esquina on Delancey Street. Patrons often note an accordion encased along the east wall of the Pub: Becker intended the design of the interior to be modeled after the accordion, from the striped, bee-pollen bar, to the strip lighting, to the exposed sound-proofing. Along the south wall, photographs of Joe Papp and famous colleagues are on display. At one point, the photos featured a young Kevin Spacey, mustachioed in fur coat.{{cite news | author=Andrew Jacobs | author-link=Andrew Jacobs (journalist) | title=Will Everybody Go to Joe's? | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E4D71E3DF936A15753C1A96E958260 | work=The New York Times | date=October 25, 1998}} With the 2011 renovation, the photos were updated to include artists like Leonard Cohen, Adele, Allen Toussaint, Alan Cumming, Amy Winehouse and, of course, Joseph Papp. From 2006-2012 archival artist Michael Arthur drew the performers live and many of his drawings can be found displayed throughout the club.{{Cite web|title=Michael Arthur, Artist|date=2024-08-30|url=http://www.michaeldarthur.com}}

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• {{Official website|http://www.joespub.com/}}
• Joe's Pub Photo Archive (Kevin Yatarola, House Photographer): [https://kebya.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/Joes-Pub/C0000U3Rsiz9KK7k Kevin Yatarola photography]

{{East Village, Manhattan}}

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Category:Nightclubs in Manhattan

Category:Music venues in Manhattan

Category:Drinking establishments in Manhattan

Category:Music venues completed in 1998

Category:1998 establishments in New York City

Category:East Village, Manhattan

Category:NoHo, Manhattan