O'Gara's was the first place that Beasley's Big Band played in public and we've never left since. The only thing that can keep us away is if O'Gara's were torn down. Sadly, that's exactly what's going to happen. O'Gara's will be back, rebuilt a bit smaller, but we'll play our last gig there on Tuesday, August 7th. It's going to be a hard show, to be sure. Please come out and close out an era with us.
Friends of Chuck
Chuck Beasley was passionate about music. He wanted a certain sound and he got that out of us. During rehearsals, Chuck's voice would rise above and call us to a halt to ask "What's the dynamic at D?" which usually meant we were playing much too loudly. So we'd pick it up at D again ("D, as in canine" or "E as in pachyderm") at work it until Chuck was happy.
BBB's musicians are busy people. Here are some of our moonlighting jobs, our favorite haunts, and our good friends.
- The Wabasha Street Caves - Get your swing dancing fix in a historic St. Paul landmark.
- O'Gara's Bar and Grill - A BBB favorite for over two decades.
- TC Swing - Dance lessons with Terry and Cindy!
- Court's in Session - Courtney's (vocals) small group.
- MJO - Minnesota Jazz Orchestra - With whom we share many musicians, subs, and locals.
- Just Friends Big Band - BBB sub-extraordinaire Adam Bestler leads this 17 piece big band.
- Saints of Swing - Chris's (tenor sax) other band
- Rod Cerar - Chris's other-other band
- Hootenanny Brothers - Johnny-O's (guitar) folk music
- John & Dave - Johnny-O's other-other jazz / pop / country