Business & Tech
Band Says Bar Owner Cut Show Short Because of Too Many Black Patrons
The Reprieve Blues Band claims the owner wasn't pleased with the audience, and stopped the band from finishing their set.
Members of a Chicago band claim a bar owner asked them to stop playing at a Beverly bar because they had attracted too many black patrons.
The Reprieve Blues Band was two sets into their show Saturday night at McNally's, located at 11136 S. Western Ave., when the group's only black member Brandon Bailey says the bar owner told another member that he didn't want them to keep playing because "there are too many black people in here."
Bailey's friends and family flocked to the bar for the show and approximately 30 percent of the audience was black.
"I didn't initially understand what would be the cause for this kind of response," Bailey told NBC. "We were having a great time, our fans were having a great time, but our third set was short. Why?"
Patch's repeated calls to the bar went unanswered. The owner was not available to comment to NBC, but a bartender told the station it wasn't true.
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