There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, when small, companionable clubs, which welcomed multiple genres of music, flourished. That time is no more. The Great Recession, and then the pandemic, did in some of the last holdouts.

But not Berkeley’s Back Room, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month. The Back Room’s survival is due to the passion of its founder, Sam Rudin, the musicians who love it and come back time after time to play there, and the commitment of audience members who know the experiences they have there are truly memorable.

Rudin, a piano player known for his band, Hurricane Sam and the Hotshots, is also well valued as a sideman in many other bands and gigs. But by 2011, he said in a phone interview, he’d realized there were almost no smaller clubs left for him to play solo. The Great Recession had spelled doom for many of them, and had also dried up money for the special events cities typically sponsored, where he’d often been booked.

“I didn’t like playing at bars,” he said. “So, I thought, ‘What if I put something together?’” He envisioned an intimate venue where audiences came to hear the music. Luckily, he said, he had been very successful as a piano teacher and had amassed enough of a fund to at least give it a go.

But finding the right location turned into a years-long process. “I must have looked at 50 or 60 sites,” he said. He liked the first building he saw, but the asking rent was far too high, considering how extensive and expensive renovations—including removing its second story—would be. In 2014, his real estate agent called and said the building was still vacant, and the asking rent had dropped.

He gulped a little—and signed a 10-year lease. On April 16, 2016, The Back Room opened, a cozy, 100-person, welcoming space filled with thrift-store couches and a “musician’s musician” vibe.

Booking has always been eclectic. What’s Rudin looking for? “Any music that’s worth sitting down and listening to—and isn’t really loud,” he said. Folk, bluegrass, classic country, “music from other countries and other times,” all are on the list. Even before the doors opened, bands and solo artists sought him out for gigs. “We’ve had some nationally known, and even internationally known, solo performers,” he said.

But Rudin maintains high standards. “I say ‘no’ at least as often as I say ‘yes,’” he said. The Back Room is known for treating its appearing artists with respect, and compensating them to the maximum extent possible in a small venue.

MUSICIAN’S MUSICIAN Founder Sam Rudin champions listening in a distracted age. (Photo courtesy of the Back Room)

The April anniversary shows will feature nine concert nights with musicians—including Rudin himself—who have ties to the venue, and whose music is emblematic of the diversity The Back Room supports.

Progressive jazz drummer Scott Amendola kicks off the series on April 16 with his band of the night, the Anniversary Quartet. Amendola played The Back Room for the first time in 2018, and liked the place a lot. Post-pandemic, he played it again and got to know Rudin and his open attitude to music genres. Now, Amendola said, “I feel it’s one of my home venues. People really like to come here.”

In January of this year, Amendola played two packed shows a week apart at The Back Room. It served as a strong reminder to him of how important the place is.

He’s played huge stadium shows, but he loves the connection possible in a small club. “The intimacy … performing becomes something [musicians and audience] do together,” he said. His fellow Anniversary Quartet performers include violinist Jenny Scheinman, whom he’s played with since the ’90s, and two younger musicians: Ryan Schaeffer on guitar and Mat Muntz on bass. “Sam will sit in as well,” he said, on tunes from throughout Amendola’s career.

Thursday, April 23, is Rudin’s own night, when Sam’s Corner will highlight him in concert with saxophonist Charles McNeal, known for his mix of progressive jazz with blues and funk.

Roberta Donnay brings her band, the Prohibition Mob, to the series on April 25, which will fill the venue with the hopping sounds of “the hot swingin’ jazz and sultry blues of the 1920s and ’30s.” A longtime friend of the venue, Donnay knows Rudin from pre-Back Room days.

Rudin asked her to do a date at the new club very early on, and she says he’s really supported her and her music over the years. “The Back Room reminds me of a New York club,” she said. “The community needs a place like it. Smaller audiences can be a little terrifying. But the intimacy is preferable. Whoever is supposed to be there, is there.”

She also points to the club’s policy of not serving beverages or food, instead encouraging patrons to bring their own. “There’s no bar, no reserved seating. People just come for the music,” she said.

LOCAL TROPICAL Latino band Bululú (also featured on this week’s cover) will perform at The Back Room on Friday, April 17. (Photo by Kike Arnal, courtesy of the Back Room)

Other anniversary dates include Bululu: A Night of Bubbles & Boleros (April 17); HowellDevine (April 18); the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band (April 19); Janam (April 24), a benefit for Community Kitchens; Golden Bough (April 25); and the Dynamic Miss Faye Carol (April 26).

Asked to recall some special moments in The Back Room’s decade of shows, Rudin said, “We get a special night like that every week.” As for how long he feels he can continue producing shows, he said he’s already transitioning some of the responsibilities. But he loves what he does.

“I would like for the venue to continue after me,” he said. Chuckling, he admitted, “But it’s a brick building. It’s not gonna survive the Big One.” For now, though, it’s many people’s favorite space.

The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. Visit BackRoomMusic.com for more info and tickets to anniversary events.

ALAMEDA-BASED Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band plays at The Back Room on Sunday, April 19. (Photo courtesy of The Back Room)