Fitzgerald's is one of the oldest and widely recognized live music venues in the Greater Houston area. The club has been at the top of the live music scene in Houston since it opened in 1977. Fitzgerald's is commonly referred to as "Fitz".
Fitzgerald's boasts two fully equipped event rooms — one upstairs and one downstairs (often referred to by locals as "Zelda's") — both complete with stage, professional sound and lights, and two premium stocked bars. The stages at Fitzgerald's have seen thousands of up-and-coming acts, regionally successful artists, and national tours come across them over the years. ZZ Top, David Allan Coe, James Brown, Etta James, Dennis Miller and many more helped get things off the ground in the late 70s and early 80s. R.E.M., The Ramones, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Mr. Bungle, Sonic Youth, Godsmack, Soundgarden, Weezer, Tina Turner, Mudvayne, Blues Traveler, Butthole Surfers, Keith Urban, L7, Nonpoint, Devin the Dude, Iron & Wine, Dillinger Escape Plan, EOTO, Aesop Rock, The Books, Staind, AFI, Sleater-Kinney, KRS-One, The Black Lips, The Donnas, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bun B, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Os Mutantes, Foals, Tomahawk, Big Boi, Dresden Dolls, Warpaint, Del the Funky Homosapien, Man Man, Uh Huh Her, The Raveonettes, Pansy Division, Fantômas, Yelle, Prince Paul, OK Go, The Walkmen, Andy Dick, The Misfits, UK Subs, Death, Lucero, Man or Astroman?, Theophilus London, The Jesus Lizard, Daniel Johnston, Cracker, The Sword, MC Chris, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Peelander-Z, Toro y Moi, CocoRosie, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, The Oh Sees, Yann Tiersen, Anamanaguchi, The Drums, Delicious Milk and hundreds of other now nationally recognized rock, country, hip-hop, and blues artists have all had their turn on the stages of Fitzgerald's.[1]
Fitzgerald's was built in 1918, and for over half a century it was home to the Dom Polski, a Polish center and dance hall. In 1977, Sara Fitzgerald took over the property and opened one of Houston's oldest and best known live music venues. It was later acquired by Omar Afra of Free Press Houston/Free Press Summer Fest and Jagi Katial of Pegstar.net in September 2010.
Fitz is located at 2706 White Oak Dr, Houston, TX 77007.
Joe King Carrasco played many shows at Fitzgerald's. I remember watching Joe King dive from the balcony and crowd surf back to the stage on an undulating sea of ecstatic fans.
"The House is a Rockin'" by Stevie Ray Vaughan is rumored to have been inspired by Fitzgerald's.
Elvis played at Fitzgerald's before Sara took it over in 1977.