Mermaid Lounge

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Joined 10 years ago

Much like its bill of fare, this popular, funky dive is off the beaten path.. The Scene
Navigating a series of one-way streets under an interstate overpass (all of them seem to lead away from the club) serves as a rite of initiation for first-time patrons, but the voyage is almost always rewarded. This is an endearingly small and simple hole-in-the-wall kind of place, where college-music types and local eccentrics rub elbows while checking out touring fringe acts such as American Analog Set or Will Oldham.

The Draw
It also plays hosts to a diverse range of local acts, from the street-level rap and brass of the Soul Rebels Brass Band to the Hackberry Ramblers, a spirited group of Cajun musicians whose median age is somewhere in the 80s. Regulars, members of the tattoos-and-piercings set, coexist peacefully with newcomers; it's worth the trip just to watch blue-haired punks enjoying an evening of klezmer music.