ABOUT THIS SERIES:
This is an insider’s peek into live music venues in the Quad Cities area, with a specific focus on venues whose audience capacity is below 500. The series aims to highlight the vibrant, diverse music scene in the Quad Cities and shed light on the more intimate venues that are often overlooked.
By highlighting venues with an audience capacity below 500, the series aims to showcase the intimate and personal experiences that these venues provide. We acknowledge that larger venues, and bars often dominate the music scene conversation with either touring musicians or cover bands, and seek to shed light on the charm and character of the Quad Cities’ smaller music venues.
Photographed & Written by: Matthew Terry
“Go West, young man!” is a phrase we’ve all likely heard even if we can’t pinpoint exactly where from, and whether it’s in relation to Manifest Destiny or a small cartoon mouse, I have long felt the pull of the West deep within me. However, what at times could feel like a call to the coast, may in fact be equally related to my familial ties to the west end of the city of Davenport.
So while I still have dreams of taking in my morning coffee upon lost coastlines, the West where we are heading for now is much closer than the ocean; and while the blues here are still just as prevalent as those breathing through the tides, the tones and waves we find within the walls of The Gypsy Highway are not referencing water.
While Gypsy Highway may be a relatively new name in the local music scene for many, the crowds that fill it weekly prove it is anything but unknown. The location it calls home housed musical acts long before I was old enough to even cross the threshold of what at the time was referred to as The Rusty Nail.
Named after a drink I’ve never heard ordered once in my lifetime, The Nail provided live music indoors, and in my youth during The Great Mississippi Valley Fair there were many nights where we’d find ourselves mingling in the parking lot the chaotic crowd cosplaying as cowboys/cowgirls for the week made their way across Locust like a live-action Frogger display. Though the action inside on the stage was always the main reason we’d end up in that parking lot. I even found myself on that stage a few times during my sporadic stints behind a drum set with Movers & Shakers.
The Rusty Nail has been closed for the better part of a decade, and while its popularity as a local gathering spot continued, it would be under a new name, a name that brought with it its own unique branding and a truly new flavor for Davenport.
Code 415 plays the Gypsy Highway stage
After its closure and a few brief occupants, including “Rivertown Cafe” and the inventively named “New Rusty Nail”, Virgil Richardson (and former business partner, David Jarrin) took over the well-established venue and gave it a complete and much needed make-over before opening the doors in October of 2018.
This is not the bar you may remember, which is a definite positive. From the updated dance floor to a newly built outdoor space complete with a full stage to keep crowds entertained through the months which allow for outdoor performances, the building quite literally had a floor-to-ceiling upgrade.
Possibly the most important upgrade, for the sake of our story, and their shows, is their top-of-the-line sound system. Virgil is a musician himself, playing guitar since before his teenage years, as well as having extensive experience in the world of pro live sound/audio systems.
Code 415 plays the Gypsy Highway stage
Given this experience it was necessary to put together a great sounding system for Gypsy Highway, and they did just that. Complete with updated lighting, this little spot resting across from the Fairgrounds on West Locust has a lot more to offer than one might expect, and that moves well beyond the world of music.
This is a unique space which stands out immediately when passing through the front door and being greeted by a motorcycle, complete with a matching mural created by local artists Tony Cavallo, Matt Duncan, and Azalea Duncan, respectively. The room is adorned by a collection guitars and motorcycle memorabilia, including an autographed double-necked beauty above the bar area.
It’s made clear with near immediacy where the inspiration for the name came from. The nomadic lifestyle long idolized by the American youth, and the adults chasing down that childhood feeling of freedom, the feeling immortalized in so many classic songs, is alive here.
When one thinks of a self-described family-friendly biker bar food may not be the first thing that comes to mind, and if it does it’s likely fried options and burgers made to counter/compliment the effects of an ice-cold libation.
Of course, these options are still available for the less adventurous consumer, however The Gypsy Highway has a Thai/Asian fusion menu that you will not find at any other competing bar/music venue in the area. Constructed by Chef Puey, who had long been told by friends and family to start sharing/selling her food with the public, the Thai flavors are authentic and on par with other spots in the QC offering similar tastes, albeit without the addition of a musical backdrop.
Another unique aspect of the space is its ability to showcase music both indoors and out in the open air. With a backdrop painted by local artist Regan Hatfield, whose other works also show up on the walls inside, and who was mentioned in last month’s Sound Conservatory feature, just shows further appreciation for local artisans.
The outdoor stage area took two years to fully complete, with the stage and dance floor being finished in 2021. Outdoors they can entertain nearly 200 people, with provided seating in addition to allowing patrons to bring along their own chairs. Furthermore, the indoor area can account for 150 people, and while that keeps the space intimate in relation to capacity, the bar/restaurant area is expansive enough to allow everyone to breathe, even on the busiest nights.
Gypsy Highway offers music several nights a week, including full weekends every month featuring some well-known local acts including a farewell show for long-time local mainstay Soul Storm this coming Saturday (10/26).
They also host a weekly open jam that happens each Tuesday. These open jams have been growing and are pivotal to the progress of the local scene and the musicians in, or trying to break into, that scene. This gives up and coming musicians a place to play for a crowd, often to other musicians, and at Gypsy it allows you to be on a physical stage while doing so.
This may seem like a miniscule detail, but getting up on stage can do wonders for one’s confidence, and some of your favorite local acts came together as a result of meeting at various open jams around the area.
It’s important for musicians to have a space to build and collaborate with others in their community and places like The Gypsy Highway help heavily with that. Of course, one opens a restaurant/bar as a means for making themselves some form of living, but it’s clear the passion they have for the local music scene plays a major role in the operation and continued support of this space.
Venue Name: The Gypsy Highway
Website: www.thegypsyhighway.com
Venue Address: 2606 W Locust St, Davenport, IA 52804
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheGypsyHighway
Instagram: www.instagram.com/gypsyhighway/
