Walnut Hill: Bluegrass Night in West Philly

Downstairs Fiume

Reaching  the corner of 45th and Locust in the Walnut Hill area of West Philadelphia, we can hear a loud bumping and thumping coming from near by. At first impression the music seems to be coming from an Ethiopian restaurant that is located on the corner.

Upon entry, the smell of meat and beer hit the nostrils.In this restaurant there are ten older African-Americans sitting around the bar drinking Miller, Coors and eating huge plates of meats and vegetables with their hands.

Fiume Bar

“Up the stairs” says the bartender. Apparently  my companion and I stick out like sore thumbs. At the top of the rickety staircase the smell of sweat and whiskey seeps past the closed door. The room is  half the size of the first filled with four to five times as many people, standing elbow to elbow and drinking beers from microbreweries.

“We generally get about fifty to seventy five people in and outta here on one Blue Grass Night here” says the bartender for Fiume, a bar no bigger than an average living room. Fiume hosts a blue grass night every Thursday where they welcome the band the City-Wide Specials (who used to be the Flat Possum Boys).

Artwork outside Bar

“We’ve been doing this for seven years” says the bartender “and you can always count on a fair amount of debauchery.”