Venue spotlight: Mercury Lounge

The Merc celebrates 10 years

Carved out of a renovated gas station on the corner of 18th & Boston is Tulsa’s classic dive bar, the Mercury Lounge.  

For years, Mercury Lounge has sold out showcases for the best local music, rising regional acts like JD McPherson, Turnpike Troubadours and Broncho, and incredible national acts like Billy Joe Shaver, American Aquarium and rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson. 

Co-owner and Manager Beth Mosier said the venue’s No. 1 booking priority is originality. 

“We love original music,” Mosier said. “There’s a sign on the stage that says, ‘If you play more than 3 covers, your set is over.’”

For a full decade, that originality has spilled from the stage onto the floor. Mercury Lounge’s ability to attract so many different types of people is a big part of the venue’s success.

“[It’s not uncommon to] see a green-haired punk sitting next a lawyer,” Mosier said. “It’s diverse.”  

With a maximum indoor capacity of only 80 people, a Mercury Lounge concert is always memorable. Artists and patrons develop strong personal relationships with Mercury Lounge, but the venue’s charm is actually in its disinterest in being charming—or rather its disinterest in being anything but itself. Tulsa’s continued support of Mercury Lounge comes from an appreciation of that authenticity. 

Genuinely unique and uniquely genuine, the vintage filling station-turned-retro-rockabilly bar can’t guarantee you’ll even get in to the next show. But when you do, Mercury Lounge delivers what Tulsa has come to expect—as Mosier puts it, “Real people. Real music.”

For more stories like this, check out A. Jakober's write-up on Riverfield Rocks at Cain's Ballroom and Jay Howell's tips for tracking down world-class music in Tulsa.