The Bayou nightclub of Georgetown, Washington, D.C., was a rock, blues, pop, and reggae club.[1]
In the late '90s, 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.
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The Bayou 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. The club featured Dixieland jazz until the early '60s when the format changed to rock and roll.
The club included a balcony level, with tables and chairs, and two standing room only bars. 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.
Though the Bayou generally attracted an older crowd , the club also featured a diverse following including college students from Georgetown University, men and women from the many military installations in the DC area and The Pentagon.
The Bayou was a stop on the national tours of middle-range musical groups and solo artists. The club hosted late 20th century bands such as Foreigner, U2(2nd show in the United States, , the Dave Matthews Band, Hootie & the Blowfish, Kiss, and other artists that influenced the evolution of rock as well as rhythm and blues from the '60s through the '90s.
The Bayou will be the subject of a documentary that is being produced by Metro Teleproductions Inc. Maryland Public Television has agreed to air the documentary. The air date is tentatively scheduled for late 2012.