Fishtales Reopens Tuesday After Jimmy Pagano's Death

Photo by Eric Barton

​Early Sunday morning, the South Florida live music scene suffered a major loss after the tragic and untimely death of promoter/drummer Jimmy Pagano. Around 3:30 a.m., a fight broke out at Fishtales Bar & Grill in Fort Lauderdale when a customer got into an argument over his bill. Pagano stepped in to break up the fight, only to be stabbed later on that evening. More details on the altercation here.

After the news spread, a Facebook tribute page was created, a dedication site launched, and several people have been leaving flowers, candles, and mementos outside of Fishtales in honor of Pagano's life.

When a tragedy like this occurs at a bar, the fate of the venue is often unknown. In most cases, the result is not a positive one, but the crew at Fishtales plans to move on from this event and recover fully.  Tuesday night, Fishtales reopened its doors and made the decision to continue on with Jimmy Pagano's weekly ProJam. Several musicians and close friends -- including Roscoe Peterson, Jeffrey Reeves, and Peter Leonard -- got together for an open jam in honor of their friend.

In a phone conversation with one of the bartenders, she said, "The first night back was rough, but we did have a packed crowd. We are planning on arranging a memorial service in the near future. We just want things to get back to normal." (All the details will be on the Fishtales' Facebook page.)

Via Facebook, local promoter Judy Blem also urged the local community to help pick up the pieces, expressing that "the show must go on!"   

Jimmy Pagano's weekly ProJam music events are held on Tuesday nights at Fishtales and Thursday nights at Cagney's Saloon. This Thursday Kilmo, Al Rich, and Jimi Fiano will host the jam night.
 

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