While music clubs like San Rafael’s New George’s and Mill Valley’s Sweetwater have closed their doors in recent years, one club has kept music alive in Marin with 25 years of nightly musical entertainment. Fairfax’s 19 Broadway is that club—just ask the more than 50,000 musicians who have played more than 9,000 consecutive shows in the venue.
Indeed, 19 Broadway boasts some jaw-dropping numbers and an impressive list of musicians and groups who have passed through the venerable club’s doors, including such notables as Mose Allison, Primus’s Les Claypool, Sam Butera and the Count Basie Orchestra, as well as local acts such as the late Chuck Day, The Mad Hannans, Chrome Johnson, Wonderbread 5, Mother Hips and Vinyl.
But the personality who may be the most important is owner Garrett “Garry” Graham, who purchased the building in 1979 along with his brothers and took over day-to-day operations in 1984. “We are very fortunate to be located in the entertainment capital of Marin,” says Graham, who now runs the club with the help of his wife, Amory, and partners Chris McCarthy and Jon Dunsing. “Fairfax is a perfect fit for our nightclub. Our personalities are the same. We like to have a good time, we live and let live and we have no pretensions . . . we’re a little rebellious.”
Get a little taste of the history and tradition that is 19 Broadway at the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration March 17, featuring Jerry Hannan with Danny Uzilevsky. 415.459.0293, 19broadway.com
