Some say an end of an era. I say, I'm taking a new path.

Tune Inn began with a grand opening October 1, 1992, and our farewell party will be, Saturday January 19, 2002. I hope you join me. In my heart I'll hold all the good -- and a few bad -- memories from this special and purposeful place. Tune Inn was a living room with a stage, a floor to sleep on for a band that could not afford a motel room, a practice space for another band that did not have one, a place where you tuned in and found your thoughts and feelings and expressed them.

Tune Inn was home for me and you.

Between 1992 and 2002 there's been close to 8,000 performances by national and local artists as well as artists from all over the world -- Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Japan, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Tuva South Siberia, Kenya, Jamaica, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Switzerland, UK, Germany, France, and many others. This was my job and school, so I combined integrity and substance to achieve the greatest fulfillment. I brought artists that were educational, influential and refreshing. They inspired their audiences through story telling, spoken word, poetry readings, circus, theater, and comedy, and with music styles that stretched from the roots to the branches, like bluegrass, gospel, country, blues, throat singing, folk, jazz, rock-a-billy, rock n' roll, r&b, ska, funk, reggae, rock, punk, metal, gothic, hardcore and techno. It was painful sometimes for me to have a great artist performing for only a handful of people. I hope the appreciation for seeing live music in New Haven continues to grow. In this journey I learned about differences and how enriching it is to share and celebrate them. The greatest moments were when there was good energy and satisfied souls. I always disliked bad energy, hate and violence. To me music is there to teach and celebrate. Remember the Tune Inn as a place where we grew and learned to become better people without compromising to the old defeated ways of those who abused their power and quickly judged us for what we looked like instead of what we brought to society. Together we saved a stage that nurtured individualism. I hope we cross paths again and hope your support and friendship will continue as I plan to bring you great music in a different format with my label Elevator Music. With love and appreciation I thank all of you who supported me.

Love, Fernando Pinto

For the final schedule of the club, check out www.elevatormusic.com/calendar.html.