Business & Tech
Thursday and Friday Music Nights Coming to Paradise Cafe
New manager Raymond Brady talks about bringing free music nights to Dedham Square.
After at the most recent selectmen's meeting, Dedham's will be featuring a series of music nights beginning Thursday, August 2 at 6:30 p.m. to parallel the day-long festivities of Dedham's First Thursday celebration.
The coordinator behind the new music nights at Paradise Cafe is manager Raymond Brady who comes to Dedham after having spent years managing Perk's Coffee House in Norwood.
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Brady says all his life he's been trying to put something like this together. "The 14-year owner [Ali Koushan] brought me in because Paradise Cafe was planning some changes and this is what I love to do, build something up from scratch," he said.
Brady labeled the overall goal for the effort as to expand on the 6-11 p.m. nightlife in Dedham Square. "The Paradise is looking at possibly staying open to 11 p.m., as well instead of 10 as it is now," he said.
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Brady continued on the note, saying, "we want Dedham center to thrive. It's been difficult with the revitalization project's construction going on, but we hope to keep people coming out."
Confident and enthusiastic, Brady was also a little gassed from all the scheduling he has been doing lately, cyphering through the music from the roughly 300 bands who have contacted him regarding playing at the Paradise.
Brady described the acts he has been drawn toward booking as "mainly singer-songwriter, folk, maybe a little blues, jazz or rock-pop. Most shows will be from 8 until 10 at night."
Other Changes at the Paradise
Brady also stressed another few changes coming to the Paradise like the acquisition of a liquor license for beer and wine that coattails the expansion of the menu. New additions to eat include home-made humus and pita bread and nachos. Brady also expressed his hope to increase the dining area.
Aside from the excitement surrounding eating, Brady explained that a new, free parking lot has opened up next door for easy access to and from the cafe.
Opening Act
The opening act for the Paradise Cafe's Music Nights will be the pairing of two folksters from the Boston area Craig Sonnenfeld and Junko Ogawa. These first headliners represent new musicians still forging their name in the Boston-music scene which Brady explained will be Thursday's forte. Friday nights, expect more veteran musicians to take the stage.
Things kick off once Dedham's First Thursday celebrations start to die down at 6:30 p.m. From there, people can head over at the Paradise Cafe on 565 High St. to listen to the birth of this new music series which should wrap up around 8:30 p.m.