The Avalon Lounge is fast becoming one of the area’s most interesting bar/performance spaces. That a trendy “Brooklyn-type” establishment is making it in sleepy Catskill (whose longtime mascot is Rip Van Winkle, after all) says a lot about the changing scene, but even more about the vision of owners Liam and Laura Singer.
“The Avalon Lounge is a fever dream inspired by places from our lives both real and imagined,” says Liam, whose influences run from actual velvet-covered dives to the bars in David Lynch films.
The upstairs lounge features a pool table and enough mid-century artifacts to make you swear you’ve entered a Twilight Zone episode, but it’s the performance space that really helps put Avalon on the map. They understand the importance of good sound here, and the line-up of happenings is as eclectic as you’ll find anywhere.
Yes, you will find indie bands and singer-songwriters, but that’s just a small part of the Avalon’s calendar. Any given month will feature everything from folk to experimental to noise rock. Monthly dance parties include not only techno and disco, but darkwave, goth, chill and ambient. There’s also a regular jazz trio, storytelling night, and a drag show, among other things.
“If a given week of programming makes me feel like we’re running a circus, then things are as they should be,” Liam says.
To some extent, the variety of events is a commonsense approach to getting people through the door in a region that might not have enough supporters for a single genre, but it’s also philosophical.
“Laura and I are really interested in the social experience and communities that form around live music or dancing,” Liam says. “We’re into the idea of supporting a local scene as best we can, which means keeping genres fluid.”
Liam and Laura met when the two were living in New York City. Each had been doing food/beverage-type jobs their entire lives. Liam was a coffee roaster and barista who played in bands, Laura a server, restaurant manager, and “party girl” (her words), so opening their own venue was a natural extension of their experiences and interests.
On moving to Catskill, their first venture was HiLo, a much-loved cafe/bar/performance space. It was based on the success of HiLo that Liam and Laura decided to open the Avalon in August 2019 — seven short months before Covid hit.
“Avalon was an outgrowth of the music scene that had built up at HiLo, so we came out of the gate with some fairly successful shows. But then the shutdown happened, which killed any momentum we’d started to build.”
Luckily, Avalon had more to offer than live music.
“I can absolutely say that the thing that kept us afloat was having a great and unique food menu. We have a Korean kitchen, which is run by chef Annie Pool. We essentially became a takeout restaurant, and I also ran deliveries. We weren’t making any money, but at least we weren’t losing it too fast.”
Liam credits that difficult time period with having introduced a lot of people to their food who might not have come to Avalon otherwise, so to some extent there was a silver lining.
Even with the pandemic subsiding, other challenges have arisen. The rising cost of things like paper goods and wholesale pastries affected HiLo more than Avalon and, as it became increasingly difficult to run both businesses, Liam and Laura recently decided to sell HiLo.
“Avalon just ended up being more fun to operate. I know that saying goodbye to HiLo was difficult for our regulars, but focusing on Avalon has proved to be a fantastic decision both personally and professionally.”
Liam has learned a lot from his six years of booking shows in Catskill, particularly through a most difficult time period. He sees more and more people getting back into the swing of coming out for live music. He and Laura are likewise pleased with how their drink menu has evolved to compliment their dinner menu then transition to a late-night crowd.
“We get a lot of love from our regulars about the overall vibe we’ve created, and for providing a unique hang in the area,” he says. “People also really dig the food.”
Check out Avalon’s events calendar online, you’re bound to find something that will intrigue you. Whatever night you choose to go, the atmosphere and homestyle Korean cuisine will definitely make it worth the trip.
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