AMHERST, Ohio -- Sometimes, Bock’s Jukejoint hosts barn parties featuring live music by some of Northeast Ohio’s best-known bands and musicians. Other times, the barn functions as a getaway destination on AirBNB.
Inside Bock’s Jukejoint, string lights brighten up the lower level that includes a lounge, a side bar and a stage. (That stage has hosted many local bands, including The Vindys, Samfox, Emily Keener, Michael Weber, Angela Perley and many more.)
Upstairs, a colorful loft overlooks the rest of the building with a cozy living arrangement -- bed, couch, dressers, a table and chairs and a bathtub in the corner.
Wrapped around the walls of the barn, sunlight seeps in through windows over neighboring farmland, giving the space a warm glow at sunrise and sunset.
Bock’s Jukejoint came together from a love of local music from husband-and-wife owners Stacey and Stefan Bock, who first fostered their fandom at local shows in the area.
“We met this band called The Womack Family Band. I never knew what a groupie was until I met them, and then we became groupies,” Stefan said. “We started going to show after show, week after week, and we just couldn’t get enough. When they would sing, they would totally get lost in their music. It inspired me to want to know where they went when they sang.”
Though the Bocks have supported live music for decades, it wasn’t until the last 10 years that they decided to host their own music event, in honor of Stacey’s mother who passed away in August of 2010.
“I went through this depression after my mom passed, and I decided I wanted to turn that around into something positive,” Stacey said. “We decided to have a celebration-of-life party, and I just wanted everybody to feel welcome and happy and full of love, and have music and support the community and support local musicians.”
To create a stage, the Bocks dragged pallets from neighboring orchards and stacked them. The first event -- called Bocktoberfest -- took place that fall, drawing in about 50 community members and friends.
Stacey and Stefan Bock decided to make it an annual event, throwing Bocktoberfest on the anniversary of Stacey’s mother’s death every second Saturday of August, every year. It continued to grow, and the Bocks decided they wanted to create a covered space for concerts about five years ago, to protect performers from bad weather conditions.
They got to work on adding a full barn to a motorcycle shack they had already built. Instead of purchasing new materials for their barn, the Bocks tore down four dilapidated barns in the area and brought wood home, pulling out nails and prepping planks for their own new structure.
“We did not renovate this barn; we built it from board one. It’s from the ground up,” Stefan said. “I'd come home from work and then work until midnight, two o'clock in the morning. We wanted to get it up because sometimes, if you stop the project it doesn't start again.”
The barn was built over the course of a few months, completed just in time for Bocktoberfest to take place inside that August. The couple has tweaked Bock’s Jukejoint in the years since, adding a heat system, siding and plenty of decorations inspired by jukejoints and shotgun shacks the two visited on music tours to Clarksdale, Mississippi.
For the past couple of years, the Bocks have rented out the second-floor space as an AirBNB. It’s a popular stop for travelers on their way to Oberlin College and Cedar Point. At first, it was only available during the summers, but now that a heating system and insulation have been installed, Bock’s Jukejoint can be rented nearly year-round.
The Barn loft is available for rent on AirBNB at $149 a night. It currently holds a 4.97 out of 5 star rating, based on 169 reviews. (The Bocks also rent out their basement, decked out with a pool table and functioning jukebox, on AirBNB for $89 a night.)
“This is the first year that got booked before the season started,” Stacey said. “I don’t have a weekend in May left. I don’t have a weekend in June left. There are two or three weekends in July.”
The Bocks themselves enjoy the space, often staying in the loft on days that it’s not rented out to AirBNB users. Their rentals on AirBNB, they said, aren’t meant to make money -- they’re meant to offer a new experience to the community.
“We never strive to be a business,” Stefan said. “We just do it for fun. We sleep out here and now we share it with the community. We share it with AirBNB.”
Though the space is available for rental on AirBNB, Bock’s Jukejoint can’t accommodate parties or weddings because of limited parking and zoning issues, Stefan said. (When the Bocks host their events like Bocktoberfest, they follow strict guidelines from the city and offer parking and shuttle services from nearby lots.)
The rules for getting to a show at Bock’s Jukejoint are similar to a house performance; interested attendees are encouraged to privately message the venue for details from the organizer.
“Anybody that doesn't know us that wants to come, we simply ask them to inquire privately on Bock’s JukeJoint’s [Facebook page] and then they can get an invite,” Stacey said.
“We’re not allowed to run this as a music venue due to zoning laws,” Stefan said. “We’re allowed to throw parties -- we put on our brochures or on our website, that it's for friends, family and followers. Because our followers are our friends.”
You can find more information about Bock’s Jukejoint, including upcoming events, at its Facebook page, and you can check out available rental dates on AirBNB.
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