Billy Jones, Rest in Peace

New York lost one of the good ones this weekend. We lost a longtime, great friend and collaborator. Billy Jones, who owned Baby’s All Right and other venues and has been a fixture of the NYC music scene for over two decades, died on Saturday after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 45.

Billy and BrooklynVegan have been intrinsically linked from the literal beginning. The very first post on this site — completely coincidentally given what would transpire over the next 20+ years — was about his ’00s band, Other Passengers. At the time he was also booking club Sin-é (we then booked at least one show there with him), and then went on to book Pianos during its heyday, where and when we produced a lot of CMJ day parties, our series of Rock n’ ROFL shows, and many other events. Hanging out in the basement office of Pianos with him and others are some of my cherished memories of those days. At this point Billy was a true friend, and his adventures in the NYC music industry were just beginning.

In 2013 he joined his Pianos booking co-worker and friend Zachary Mexico in opening Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg, an independent venue that continues to be relevant and active to this day, no small feat. Their very first show was a BrooklynVegan CMJ day party, a tradition we continued there for as long as CMJ lasted, and we’ve never stopped attending and collaborating. 

Billy was also an occasional BV contributor through the years — like the 2006 Big Sleep interview with his name in the headline and this interview with Memory Tapes, and when we were tasked with hosting a live stage within the Toyota activations at major festivals around the country, we got Billy (and his big personality) to co-host along with actual comedians like Dave Hill and Chris Gethard. 

It’s hard to underestimate the impact Billy had on the NYC music scene of the last 20 years. His taste was impeccable and the clubs he ran became places you hung out even if you weren’t there for the band. Those clubs also include the recently opened Night Club 101 (in the old Pyramid Club on Avenue A) and Funny Bar nearby, plus Elvis Guesthouse (2015-2016) and The Dance (2019-2020). Billy also was a DJ on The Lot Radio and spun his love of vinyl into his own shop, Billy’s Record Salon in 2023 (it just closed and is currently looking for a new location). He also managed artists including most notably Porches, who he managed to book to play Baby’s All Right the night he died.

Just 3 months ago Billy & I were collaborating on band ideas for our respective SXSW parties, and despite already undergoing radiation treatment, Billy made the trip to Austin and even stopped by one of the BV events to say hi. 

More than anything, Billy was a friend and also a very rare bird in the music industry: a genuinely nice person who would always greet you with a smile and hug. We’re still in shock and will be processing this for a long time.

Billy Jones, NYC won’t be the same without you.

Read more tributes below.

The teams at Baby’s All Right, Night Club 101 and Funny Bar released a joint statement: “He was one of the best to ever do it. We are holding him in the light,” Jones’ colleagues wrote. “As his family, ourselves, our staff, and his friends all take time to mourn this profound loss, we ask that everyone just try and do what he did every day: share the love of music. There will be a memorial held in early July at Baby’s All Right—more details to come. Always remember: ‘It’s a feeling.’”