Now in its 35th year, the Irregardless restaurant on Morgan Street in Raleigh is an institution, remembered by long-time customers as a veggie-only throwback to the 60’s. Actually, meat and fish have been on the menu for twenty years (see Metro’s February 2010 issue) - and more recently live music, with local artists performing jazz, blues, blue grass and folk every evening save Monday and an acoustic brunch on Sunday.
On jazz Tuesdays, share a small plate of buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese and a bottle of red from a NC vineyard as the docile riffs of smooth jazz saxophonist Bill Mann ebb and flow lightly along. Or post up at the bar and sip on a locally brewed pale ale and take in the jazz guitar stylings of Christopher Wear. Whether you sit five feet from the stage, or on the opposite side of the restaurant, the sound quality never deviates.
Traditional Wednesday offers a range of performances from bluegrass pickin’ with the Duke Street Boys to the hypnotic sounds of The Magnolia Klezmer band. And even on the “Irregardless Best Friday”, with Lou Pedro and Friends rocking out, the dining experience remains pleasant and the music an enjoyable addition to the ambiance..
If you just wanna’ dance, and sometimes we all do, check out “Dancing after Dark Saturdays” and get down to some soul, rhythm and blues from The Moon and the Stars, or cut a rug with Raleigh singer and performer Joyce Hawley and her Rhythm Section.
And there is nary a cover charge, one more reason to check out the wide variety of live music offered nightly. Go to www.theirregardless.com for the music schedule and find out more.
-Dan Reeves
