Live Music in Charlottesville
August is hurricane season.
But as Lucinda Williams remarked at a recent performance in Richmond, I mean the drink—not the storm.
If you’re hankering for this classic New Orleans libation, and more, then consider making your way to Belmont, where the Southern Crescent Gallery and Bar has managed to conjure up an authentic Big Easy atmosphere—right here in Charlottesville. A rambling Victorian with a wraparound porch, bordered by magnolias and hydrangeas, the Southern Crescent offers a real-deal New Orleans menu that includes gumbo, po’ boys, steamed shrimp, conch fritters, and praline pie.
But we’re here to talk about music, and this is where the Crescent really shines.
The Bayou Bar, an eclectically appointed outdoor space tucked behind the house, has the vibe of a Frenchman Street dive or a locals-only beach joint just a bike ride down an oyster shell drive in the Keys. It’s like discovering the hidden end-of-week hangout for all the off-night musicians, restaurant folk, and assorted misfits.
On Sunday nights, from 6-9 p.m., the Danny Beirne Musical Variety Show takes over this funky back bar. Beirne is the former wildman keyboard player for local legends the Skip Castro Band. Now sporting a semi-permanent pair of amber granny sunglasses and a Letterman-style beard, his signature mop of curly crimson hair has whitened and thinned. He sometimes wears it in a modest ponytail. Beirne’s post-Skip career included a stint in Los Angeles and he’s perfected the kind of slightly spaced out stage patter that all seasoned performers use to put an audience at ease.
Each week’s secret sauce—and what makes the show so much fun—is that Beirne draws on his deep roots in the community to loop in a rotating cast of local musicians to accompany him on the keys.
Recent guests have included Koda Kerl, Eli Cook, Michael Clem, Josh Mayo, and Aric Van Brocklin. Once a month, Beirne is joined by the Spud Nuts—Holly’s Diner manager Morgan Moran on drums/vocals and Tim Clark on sax/vocals.
On a mellow Sunday night in late July, Beirne’s guest was harmonica player Waverly Milor. Over the course of the evening they cooked up a heady gumbo of tunes with covers of Little Feat, Barrence Whitfield & the Savages, the Amazing Rhythm Aces, Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, Leon Russell, and more.
By drawing on each guest’s strengths and adding in his own encyclopedic knowledge of R&B, pop, rock, and American songbook standards, Beirne is creating something not easily replicated away from the Crescent City—the Sunday night all-star hang.
It’s actually something I haven’t experienced since the long-gone days of the Hogwaller Ramblers’ standing gig at Escafe and, later, Fellini’s. It’s a much-needed throwback to the old, weird Charlottesville.
And the lineup for August is stacked. Look for the month’s guests to include Paul Hammond (8/2), Ian Gilliam (8/9), Susan Munson (8/16), the Spud Nuts (8/23), and Erik “Red” Knieram (8/30).
