Mack Davinci

On the last day in May, the Victory Grill on East 11th hosts a charity drive called Music for the Hungry II. Murals of Roosevelt Williams, venue founder Johnny Holmes, and still-thriving Austin soul diver Lavelle White color the club's western exterior. The historical landmark, opened in 1945 and a staple of the Chitlin' Circuit – bars and clubs across the segregated South (revisit "Juke Joint Blues," July 13, 2007) – boasts marquee stopovers including Billie Holiday, James Brown, and Ike & Tina Turner.
Reminder of the black renaissance of a half-century ago, the Victory Grill became a relic once Sixth Street began thriving in the Seventies with the establishment of the Home of the Blues there, Antone's. The club experienced a brief rejuvenation in the mid-Nineties through Eva Lindsey and R.V. Adams, before going strictly part-time last decade. You'd be hard-pressed to find any regular programming at the Victory these days.
New Era Wednesdays have run weekly since 2012, but that's essentially an open-mic. A blues show here, an evening of food and jazz there – not much else. One show, June 28's Mista D album release, dots the Victory Grill's foreseeable calendar.
White trio Soulfresca has already taken the stage when I arrive at 11pm Saturday night. The humble crowd inside is largely black. A few bump up towards the stage, but mostly everybody hangs back or on the balcony, standing around tall tables drinking waters and Dos Equis.
Dat Boy Supa and Casino go on at 11:20, and those still up front respond well to the duo's liveliness. There are about 30 in the room by now. By midnight, when headliner G-Jet hits the stage, it's up to 50. Dat Boy Supa looks jazzed after his set. He should have a place to cut his teeth more often - CHASE HOFFBERGER