Sep. 30—ROCHESTER — A small, specialty taco restaurant isn’t a venue you’d expect to regularly find live music.
However, nearly every weekend, live music is on the menu at Taco JED.
“It just seemed natural,” said owner Steve Dunn. “It always seemed to work, we got to meet people and we’ve had some incredible musicians come through Taco JED.”
Since opening in 2018, Taco JED has played host to musical acts ranging from solo musicians strumming in a corner of the dining room to full, six-member bands rocking on the outdoor patio and pretty much any musical arrangements you can imagine in between.
Dunn announced the restaurant will close in October as he moves to Bemidji for family reasons.
Dunn said that for him, music is a key ingredient in a good time.
“I’m a music guy,” he said. “It’s been a big part of my life.”
Anyone who caught a performance at Taco JED more than likely heard a Bob Dylan song, too.
Dunn’s unwritten rule was that musicians had to cover at least one Dylan song in order to play there. It was less a rule, more of a joke and maybe part hopeful request, he said.
As a result, Dunn heard fun interpretations of classic and obscure Dylan songs by the musicians who played there over the years.
Hearing covers of “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” are some of the more memorable Dylan classics musicians have covered there, he said.
“I would also joke, anything but (often covered) ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,'” Dunn said.
Most musicians were happy to work in a Dylan song, he said.
“It’s always a good staple to come back to Bob Dylan songs,” Dunn said.
For some less experienced musicians, the small, appreciative crowd at Taco JED was a good stepping stone to playing in public.
Nathan Hansen had years of experience playing with a band before deciding to play solo shows. One of his first solo shows, if not his solo debut, was at Taco JED in 2019, he said.
The restaurant was a unique small venue that regularly supported live music, Hansen said.
“They were always supportive of me, they were always great to work with,” he said. “It was a nice, low-key environment where friends, family could come out to see me play.”
Some performers stumbled into playing shows at Taco JED by chance. Mark Thoreen, who has performed there and joined other musicians for impromptu jams, was playing Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” on piano at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys.
“It’s not very often you hear Led Zeppelin being played in a hospital,” Dunn recalled. He introduced himself. The two became immediate friends, he said.
Dunn said he can’t count how many friends he made through music and Taco JED. Dunn booked much of the early music but as interest to play there grew, Rosei Skipper booked the eclectic roster of shows there ranging from local, regional and touring acts.
Dunn is holding a seven-year anniversary celebration with a full lineup of music Oct. 4. Two weeks later, Taco JED will host one last weekend of music. Lineups are still being firmed up and will likely remain somewhat flexible as longtime friends get together for one last jam, Dunn said.
“It should be quite the weekend and quite the local music showcase,” he said.
* 3 p.m., Nathan Hanson
* 5 p.m., Tim Dalman
* 7 p.m., Ramblin Ryne
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
