Mind Beach: Thursday, Sept. 24th at 6:00 pm

Mind Beach, led by Asheville bassist and composer Quinn Sternberg, has been building a strong following across the Carolinas with their adventurous improvisation and thoughtful songwriting. The band performs music from Sternberg’s five studio albums alongside an ever-evolving repertoire, creating a fluid, genre-blurring sound that DownBeat Magazine called “complex yet digestible.”

Featuring Jacob Rodriguez (sax), Tim Fischer (guitar), and Joe Enright (drums), the quartet brings an energetic and deeply connected approach to every performance

Quinn Sterberg: 

Bassist Quinn Sternberg has been based in Asheville, NC for the last few years after spending seven years working as a full time musician in New Orleans.  Quinn is originally from Bloomington, Indiana, where he began playing professionally as a teenager and quickly became a staple of the region’s music scene before graduating from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a degree in Jazz Studies. He plays both electric and acoustic bass in a wide variety of ensembles and styles. This versatility has made him an asset in collaborations with countless artists as a studio, touring, and free-lance bassist. Quinn’s musical approach relies upon providing functional and supportive bass lines, while still generating intense live energy and creative interaction. This individualistic style has made him a much sought after voice in the South, his native Midwest and beyond.

As a composer Quinn draws upon his Midwest musical upbringing, influences from his time in New Orleans, and from contemporary musical techniques. The result is a genre-defying sound that is simultaneously melodic, groovy, and cutting edge.

In addition to free lancing and leading his own band, Quinn performs and tours regularly with original artists such as New Dawn Starkestra and Charlie Ballantine. As a leader he has released five records on his own label, Mind Beach Records: 2016’s “Weird World” and 2019’s “Mind Beach,” and 2022’s “Cicada Songs,” 2023’s “Walking On Eggshells,” and 2025’s “Pleasant Returns.”

Jacob Rodriguez:

Jacob Rodriguez is a San Antonio, TX native who began playing the saxophone at age 11. He moved to New York City to pursue his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under Joe Temperley, Dick Oatts, Chris Rosenberg, and Justin DiCioccio. While centered in New York, Jacob performed around the country with jazz contemporaries Ambrose Akinmusire, Robert Glasper, Walter Smith III, and Marcus Gilmore, as well as with legendary artists including Aretha Franklin, Ariana Grande, and the Soulful Symphony.

Jacob has been a member of the Michael Bublé band since 2007, appearing on the Grammy Award winning albums "Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden" as well as Bublé's "Crazy Love" and “Higher.” Jacob is on a world tour with Bublé, playing arenas around the world.

Jacob currently makes his home in Asheville, North Carolina, where he teaches, records, and performs with original music groups ranging from soul to free jazz to indie rock

Tim Fischer: 

Tim Fischer is a guitarist, composer, educator, and author based in Asheville, North Carolina. He has performed and toured nationally and internationally in multiple festivals and concert series. His musical interests are diverse, ranging from jazz and classical to rock and experimental electronic music. He has lived in several regions in the US, growing up and studying music in Los Angeles, moving to St. Louis in his mid-20s, and living in the Carolinas since 2016. He has integrated himself as a solo artist, bandleader, sideman, and concert organizer into each of these musical communities. He has recorded as a sideman and, as a leader, has released four albums of original compositions and arrangements. His most recent release, The Holy City Sessions, was released on Slimtrim Records in 2023.

From 2016 to 2025, Dr. Fischer served as associate professor of guitar and music technology at Coastal Carolina University, where he also coordinated the MA in Music Technology degree. He is the co-author of the book Jazz Guitar Duets (Mel Bay Publications), which is currently used in university guitar studios around the country to help students develop stronger sight-reading and improvisation skills. He is active in research, and has presented lectures at universities, conferences, and music societies throughout the United States. In addition to his passion for guitar and jazz, he is an avid music technologist, working as an engineer in the recording studio, a sound designer specializing in the use of modular synthesizers, and has over fifteen years of experience as a computer programmer focusing on software development.

Tim earned his doctorate and bachelor degrees in studio/jazz guitar from the University of Southern California and a master of fine arts degree from The California Institute of the Arts.

Joe Enright: 

Joe Enright is a drummer who is influenced by jazz, hiphop, and early 2000s electronic music. He takes a musical and dynamic approach to the drums and the way he supports a band.