Founder of Millerton’s Music Cellar asks for help to keep the beat alive

MILLERTON — Keen to preserve a rare cultural institution in the village of Millerton, community members are lending their support to Jonathan Grusauskas — best known as Jonny G — the founder and visionary behind The Music Cellar. Jonny G is trying to raise $25,000 — enough money to put a down payment on the building where his music studio is located — a hard to miss 1,920 square foot building that’s painted an unmistakable shade of raspberry located at 14 Main St., which sits on a lot of roughly three quarters of an acre right alongside the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

A resident of Millerton, Jonny G, 33, first opened The Music Cellar about a decade ago with Kealan Rooney at 64 South Center St. (currently occupied by Relief Chiropractic & Wellness), which is the space under where the T-Shirt Farm is located on Main Street before moving next to the Rail Trail about five years ago.

The two musicians initially opened The Music Cellar as a place to teach music lessons to people of all ages. Jonny G said he had been driving around teaching lessons all over the area, from the former Millerton Elementary School, throughout the North East (Webutuck) Central School District and at the North East Community Center (NECC) in Millerton when a parent of one of his students suggested he get his own studio to teach music in one central location.

Though music lessons were at the heart of its opening, The Music Cellar was never limited in terms of its musical possibilities or in the ways in which it’s enlivened the community. From Story Hour and Toddler Jam at the NorthEast-Millerton Library to Mom’s Morning Out at the NECC, Jonny G has engaged with residents of all ages through playing music and singing songs, even offering summertime open-mics on The Music Cellar’s lawn.

“It’s a great resource for the community,” remarked NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson. “When we had in-person programs, he would come to the library and it was wonderful watching him interact with the kids. The kids would come alive with him.”

As for music lessons, Jonny G said he encourages students to explore multiple instruments. Over the last decade, he’s taught about 200 students of all ages and instructed them in guitar and drum as well as given lessons in ukulele, piano and bass. Open to anyone with an interest in music, Jonny G said The Music Cellar doesn’t turn anyone away; if students are unable to afford the lessons, he offers a discount.

Jonny G now runs The Music Cellar himself,  with help from the community and his instructors, which includes his Lespecial bandmates. 

When asked what drew him to 14 Main St., he remarked that the central location is ideal with its side porch and deck — perfect for concerts. When the weather is good, students often perform on the porch. When people show up to listen, he said they’re not charged a fee but instead offered free performances.

Recalling fond memories of the connections fostered at the village’s former Spring for Sound festivals and how that event created a rare opportunity for people to meet and mingle, Jonny G said, “If we can carry that torch in some way and give people a chance to get together, it makes us happy.”

With the arrival of COVID-19, The Music Cellar switched to teaching via a virtual platform. While the shift has allowed it to continue its programming and he’s received positive feedback, Jonny G admitted it’s not perfect and has cut into his business quite a bit. 

Yet COVID-19 has also generated an influx of newcomers to the area, leading to an increase in real estate value, which led the building The Music Cellar rents from to be placed on the market. It was around last year that Jonny G said his landlord announced she plans to sell the building. In that instant, he knew he wanted to buy it.

“We sort of considered what options we had because we like this community and we want to continue to serve it,” Jonny G said in reference to himself and The Music Cellar family.

On Tuesday, March 9, Jonny G set up the “Keep The Music Cellar in Millerton!” GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $25,000 for a down payment. Within a day of launching the page, the studio raised $1,450.

When asked why people should contribute, Jonny G said, “They should support it if they like to have a hub for music in the community of Millerton. Again, it’s a concert space and it’s a training ground for young musicians to form bands and contribute to a vibrant arts community… it’s like a big family.”

“I think the Music Cellar is a vital part of the community,” said Brooke Lehman, who has rallied to support the place that has supported the village in so many ways throughout the past decade. “And it is a space where so many different members of our community come together to enjoy each other and to enjoy the creativity that is such a part of Millerton… We are very lucky to have an institution like The Music Cellar within the heart of our town.”

Lehman, who is the co-founder of The Watershed Center in Millerton, is one among a number of community members singing The Music Cellar’s praises, asking others to help support what she describes as an area resource that “has offered so much vitality and unity to our community over the years.”

For more on how to contribute to The Music Cellar’s fundraising efforts, go to www.gofundme.com.