Why does Mount Pleasant need live music and dancing?
Mount Pleasant has a long and rich musical tradition. A huge array of musicians, poets and artists have lived and practiced here and gained inspiration from life in the neighborhood. Bands and musicians as diverse as members of the punk band Fugazi, Charlie Waller (founder of the seminal bluegrass band The Country Gentlemen), “hillbilly” (country) musician Jimmy Dean and even Bo Diddley have called Mount Pleasant home. The Crosstown Lounge (where Haydee’s is now) was a popular destination for live country music back in the late 1940s and 1950s. Even the Raven occasionally hosted country bands. As tastes changed, the Crosstown and the Oasis (where Lamont Video is now) began showcasing rock n’ roll bands, including the legendary Link Wray. Young people from all over the DC area knew Mount Pleasant Street as a great place to dance to the best live music the region had to offer. In the 1980s and 1990s, mariachis roamed among the neighborhood restaurants. Trolleys (where the Marx Caf is now
