FUTURE NOSTALGIA
Updated Echoes brings brews, comedy, music and art together
It has been just over a year that Jake Ralphs breathed new life into the space on Gold Avenue that once housed dive bars and hosted musical acts.
Ralphs has fond memories of
The Dingo Bar and the bands that came through it. Locals also fondly remember Burt’s Tiki Lounge with its dark and dingy dive bar vibe and walls covered in eclectic Polynesian decor.
Ralphs did a complete overhaul of the dimly lit space and brightened it up by installing 17 skylights. He named his new space, Echoes, and his vision was for it to be a brewery, wine bar and live music destination located at 313 Gold Ave. SW. It is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Ralphs opened with Echo IPA and some wines from New Mexico’s Milagro Winery on Oct. 31, 2022. It now offers five of its own craft beers, some guest taps featuring other local breweries, and products from two more local wineries: St. Clair and Vara.
Echoes’ Witbier is “more Burque than Belgian,” according to Ralphs. The lighter but slightly hazy ale is sweet with hints of citrus. Its Red Amber Red is a true red pale ale that gets its color and flavor from roasted barley.
“This beer is extremely drinkable with a dry finish and a slight toffee taste,” Ralphs said.
Crafted by founding brewer Josh James, Echo IPA is its flagship beer. It is Echoes’ most popular beer. Its hop profile uses five different hops that results in a fragrant IPA with a taste that is not overly hoppy.
Echoes Dark Mexican Lager, which is darker in taste than color, is a “very satisfying” and drinkable beer, according to Ralphs.
A popular winter warmer is its Good Dog Stout. The beer was crafted with input from Echoes’ patrons.
“This dark ale has a nice mouth feel from the oatmeal but is still very drinkable and flavorful with hints of coffee and chocolate,” Ralphs said. “It is very popular in the winter months.”
Live music is also a large part of
Echoes’ draw. More than 100 individual acts performed at the venue last year.
“That was particularly rewarding,” Ralphs said of the bands. “They weren’t all standard musical acts. We had a cabaret night where they did dancing and comedy, and a guy read a poem, which is actually pretty cool. And we’ve done some pretty neat stuff.”
Next up is guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Eric McFadden on Friday, Dec. 22. The show, which will take place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., will also showcase Kate Vargas and Sgt.
Splendor. Its entertainment lineup can be found at echoesabq.com/calendar.
“Eric McFadden is a local Albuquerque guitar player who left Albuquerque about 25 years ago to go play all over the world,” Ralphs said. “And he’s coming back to play at Echoes where he started playing when it was The Dingo … It’s a lot of nostalgia and a lot of great feelings. It’s very special.”
The average age of the clientele varies widely with acts that are playing.
“When we get younger acts, the average age is probably late 20s,” Ralphs said. “For the cabaret night, I’d say the people were in their 60s. So, we have the ability to attract different crowds by placing the acts in Echoes and that’s really great. You get a lot of cross pollination. People encounter different things that they never thought of. It’s absolutely fun.”
Echoes works with Monsoon Music House to capture live performances.
“They’ll come in if an artist is interested in recording their show at Echoes,” Ralphs explained. “Monsoon will send an engineer over to work directly with the artist to do live caption. And that has been tremendously rewarding… The recording is spooky because when you play it back through the PA people turn around and look for the band. It’s amazing the way that the technology is developed.”
Echoes has teamed up with Dry Heat Comedy to bring the laughs during open mic events held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
“That brings in a crowd of comedians that are practicing their art,” Ralphs said. “When they get a sizable amount of materials together, after practicing at Echoes, then Dry Heat will book them for a 15-minute slot at the Dry Heat location at 6th and Central. So, it’s kind of like a farming exercise.”
The mural at Echoes also adds to its ambiance. It was created by California artist Dawn Wagner and was completed this year. Wagner flew out nine times to Albuquerque to finish the mural.
The theme of the mural is based on the story of the sea nymph Echo and her unrequited love, Narcissus. However, there is a twist in the fable portrayed in the mural with Narcissus’ reflection including the guitar from the Echoes logo.
“We work in music and Echo, our namesake matriarch, is in a pretty cool mural,” Ralphs said. “If you have to sit and look at something all day, while you’re drinking a beer or a glass of wine, it’s much better than a billboard.”