Billy Jones, the co-founder and proprietor of Child’s All Proper and former booker at Pianos, Sin-é, and extra New York venues, has died. In line with a press release from the groups at Child’s All Proper, Humorous Bar, and Nightclub 101, Jones died on Saturday morning, June 7, as a consequence of “a extremely aggressive case of glioblastoma.” He was 45 years previous.
Jones moved to New York within the early 2000s after falling in love with the town’s fast-paced setting and boisterous music scene. Within the ensuing years, he turned his passionate fandom of bands and routine attendance at exhibits right into a job as a booker on the now-defunct East Village venue Sin-é, in addition to Elvis Guesthouse and the Dance. His curatorial skills left a everlasting mark when he opened the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, bar and 280-capacity venue Child’s All Proper, in 2013, with Zachary Mexico. The spot helped revive the town’s indie scene, and sometimes secured high-profile artists early of their profession like SZA and and Billie Eilish for intimate gigs.
Along with fostering a welcoming setting for artists and followers alike, Jones typically rallied behind the significance of 18-plus exhibits at venues like Child’s All Proper. “You already know, there can be 10 tremendous good children who’re followers and actually wish to be there. For us to exclude them primarily based on age isn’t cool, we wish to give them the chance to expertise the music,” he informed Brooklyn Journal in 2016. “18+ exhibits are enjoyable, the youngsters are actually excited to be there and you may sense it. We do all age brunches. Individuals will write to us ‘I actually wish to see this band, and my father I’ve CCed has agreed to chaperone me,’ and it’s superior. Households prefer it, children prefer it, it may be for everybody.”
Most not too long ago, Jones and Tom Moore, in partnership with Knitting Manufacturing unit Leisure, opened the brand new venue Night time Membership 101 inside New York’s historic Pyramid Membership. Following a mushy launch on the finish of 2024, it opened correctly earlier this 12 months. It hosts reside performances and DJ units courtesy of indie-rock, jazz, digital, and experimental artists, in addition to artwork exhibits, themed dance nights, and community-focused occasions. Jones and Moore additionally opened, initially of 2025, the jazz-bar-restaurant Humorous Bar on the Decrease East Facet of Manhattan.
Quite a few artists and music business friends have posted tributes in Jones’ honor, together with Cassie Ramone, La Femme’s Alix Brown, and Windser. “When Child’s All Proper opened, there was a sure synergy about it.. It answered the begging query of the place to go after DIY favourite 285 Kent closed. The reply, based on Billy and Co., was to take the like-minded giddy, fever dream curation to a greater house each for the band and viewers,” Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo wrote on Instagram. “It appeared nice, it sounded nice, it IS nice, and CONTINUES to be. An innumerable quantity of bands have lower their tooth in that house and gone on to do many an amazing musical deed. Loads of my favourite NYC recollections are at Child’s All Proper, Elvis’s Visitor Home, and Pianos; courtesy of Billy. Relaxation in peace, bud.”
The groups at Child’s All Proper, Night time Membership 101, and Humorous Bar shared a further assertion in tribute to Jones. “He was probably the greatest to ever do it. We’re holding him within the gentle,” Jones’ colleagues wrote. “As his household, ourselves, our employees, and his pals all take time to mourn this profound loss, we ask that everybody simply attempt to do what he did on daily basis: share the love of music. There can be a memorial held in early July at Child’s All Proper—extra particulars to return. All the time keep in mind: ‘It’s a sense.’”
