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Hillsborough jazz venue changes hands, expands to include other music groups

Whit Price plays a short set at Tuesday night’s Open Mic with Bill West,  a new feature at Katy at the Bayou in Hillsborough. Previously known as the Blue Bayou Club, the new bar plans to expand its entertainmen
Whit Price plays a short set at Tuesday night’s Open Mic with Bill West, a new feature at Katy at the Bayou in Hillsborough. Previously known as the Blue Bayou Club, the new bar plans to expand its entertainmen

New owners might bring diversity to Hillsborough’s only live music venue, adding to the town’s historic jazz roots.

For the past eight years, The Blue Bayou Club, now named Katy’s at the Bayou, has been a local hot spot for jazz and blues lovers.

New owner Katy Stewart said she plans to keep the Bayou close to its original atmosphere, but she does plan to integrate more variety into the lineup of performers.

“I’ve started bringing in different kinds of music — rock, Americana, ’80s bands,” Stewart said.

“There’s still a big jazz following, but we needed to expand.”

Stewart, a daytime nurse and 13-year Hillsborough resident, bought the club about a month ago when the former owner retired.

“I was a patron of the club for many years,” Stewart said.

“Last year I heard talk of it being sold, so I got a few people together and we bought it.”

Katy’s at the Bayou is the only live music venue in Hillsborough, although several restaurants have begun to host open mic and jazz nights.

“The music scene is very important in Hillsborough. It’s all a part of the American experience,” Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said. “It just goes with the town. Jazz is in our history.”

Billy Strayhorn, a jazz composer who once worked with Duke Ellington, one of the most influential twentieth century jazz figures, spent parts of his childhood in Hillsborough.

The Hillsborough Arts Council has made recent efforts to reinvigorate the jazz scene, Stevens said.

In September, the council revived the annual Jazz Festival, which couldn’t be held in 2009 due to budget constraints. Parlor concerts also will be held in historic homes during the winter.

Jazz is also important to Hillsborough’s economy, Stevens said.

“It’s a very strong arts community and it brings people out,” he said.

“Music has a very big economic impact, not only on the performers but on everyone. It brings people out into the town. It’s a lifestyle here.”

Hillsborough Town Commissioner Eric Hallman has been playing in a jazz sextet for eight years.

“When I grew up, we had mostly legit bands — marching bands, orchestras,” Hallman said.

“When I got back to it, there had been this explosion in jazz. That really lit my fire.”

He said he has watched the jazz scene mature over the past few years and expects it to continue to thrive.

Stewart said she plans on starting a weekly designated jazz night at the Bayou.

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“It’s just so down and dirty to the roots,” Stewart said.

“That’s the kind of people we have around here. The people are just really interested in jazz and the history of jazz.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.