This article is about the Washington D.C. venue. For other topics, see bayou (disambiguation).
The Bayou was a music venue and nightclub located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.[1][2] The club occupied an old building at 3135 K Street, NW, in Georgetown, under the Whitehurst Freeway for forty-six years. The club opened in September 1953 on the site of a former Dixieland nightclub called The Pirates Den which featured Dixieland jazz until the early 1960s when the format changed to rock and roll. Performers included Count Basie and Woody Herman.[3]
The club included a balcony level, with tables and chairs, and two standing room only bars.[4] The main floor bars were fed bottled liquor from a "tap" room that was situated above the entrance. Bottles placed upside down into funnels feeding long tubing led to the downstairs bars. The Bayou backed up to another famed D.C. music institution, Blues Alley, located down the alley behind the Bayou.[5]
History
The club was owned from 1953 to 1980 by the Tramonte family who designed it to have an intimate atmosphere like a family.[6] The club had a lower level area with a large raised stage and a wrap around upper balcony that overlooked the dance floor and stage below.[4] The sound system mixing console was located on the second floor balcony, overlooking the stage. During the Tramonte's ownership of the club, Paul Wolff was the front of house engineer.[7]
The Bayou was known for hosting benefits, including one for Toni Wilson, a singer who would frequent the club with her family.[8]
In the late 1990s, The Bayou was owned by Dave Williams (Cellar Door Productions), who was also responsible for putting on the concerts at DAR Constitution Hall and the Capital Centre. Williams also was the GM at the Nissan Pavilion (now Jiffy Lube Live) in Gainesville, VA.[9]
Changed to the Bayou in 1953 with Owners Mike Munley, Vince and Tony Tramonte.[11]
Converted to rock and roll in September 1965; The Telstars played the Bayou as a house band for 3 years.[12]
The Tramontes sell the Bayou to Cellar Door Productions in 1980.[6]
Eva Cassidy performed for the last time with "What a Wonderful World" at The Bayou in September 1996.[13]
Closed 1999.
Razed 1999.
The Bayou was the subject of a documentary, The Bayou: DC's Killer Joint, produced by Metro Teleproductions, Inc.[14]Maryland Public Television aired the program on February 25, 2013.[15]
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article The_Bayou, and is written by contributors.
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