\n\t\t<\/aside>\nThe area has suffered some losses: the shutdowns of the Gas Lamp, Vaudeville Mews and other downtown establishments have left the area devoid of the lively entertainment scene it previously possessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But for its founders \u2014 Anthony Basquez, Sid Juwarker, Eli Berry and Ben Norris, a group of four longtime Des Moines locals \u2014 Locals Bar & Stage is the solution to the community\u2019s need for live entertainment and gathering space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Norris\u2019s commitment to Walnut Street began when a food truck he started in 2012 settled into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, The Walnut, located not far from Local\u2019s. \u201cWe wanted to make sure the street continues to move in a positive direction and stays vibrant,\u201d Norris said. \u201cSo I decided to go in with some partners on opening Locals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nThe building, formerly TeeHee\u2019s Comedy Club, had sat empty for about a year. When the opportunity came up to open the dive, it felt right. \u201cThe neighborhood had lost a couple of bars that were known for live music,\u201d Norris said. \u201cSo bringing entertainment back was good for all the restaurants and businesses on the block.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Norris explained it as more of a turnkey operation than building a restaurant from scratch, the space still needed a facelift \u2014 a vibe. \u201cIt\u2019s a dive bar with a stage that gives the local community a chance to sing karaoke or play their own original music,\u201d Norris said. \u201c[It\u2019s an opportunity for] up-and-coming bands to get a chance to play in front of their friends and the community, but we\u2019re trying to be as laid-back as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
That simplicity is core to Locals\u2019 identity; \u201ckeep it simple stupid,\u201d as Norris puts it.<\/p>\n
With a capacity of under 200 people, the venue fills a specific niche in Des Moines\u2019 music scene: intimate, but professional enough to give artists a real platform. Particularly a platform for enterprising artists wanting to break into the scene. \u201c[Locals is] an amateur stage for artists just beginning,\u201d Norris said. \u201cIt\u2019s the stage between the garage and the grandstand. It creates the opportunity for amateurs to give everything a shot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\nMFKS performs at Locals Bar & Stage in Des Moines on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. \u2014 Jo Allen\/Little Village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFridays and Saturdays offer free live music, showcasing local, regional and occasionally national touring acts. Norris said there may be shows that will cost money, depending on the popularity and booking costs of certain artists, but you can count on consistent free shows.<\/p>\n
In addition to live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, Locals has a weekly programming schedule that reaches out to different parts of the community. Wednesdays features \u201cParty Party,\u201d a high-energy live band karaoke with guitar, bass, drums and hundreds of songs to choose from. \u201cYou can sing like you\u2019re the lead of a real band,\u201d Norris said.<\/p>\n
On Sunday mornings, Locals transforms into a faux sports bar with walking tacos, breakfast pizzas and all the games. Sunday night sees the stage open for musicians to jam, collaborate and experiment in a low-pressure open mic setting. Open mic comedy nights will become a weekly Thursday staple.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though Locals is only a few months old, Norris and his colleagues aren\u2019t rushing to define it. \u201cConsistency and predictability are important, but we want it to grow organically,\u201d Norris said. \u201cWe\u2019re always going to be open to evolving and becoming the bigger, better version of ourselves, day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nMFKS performs at Locals Bar & Stage in Des Moines on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. \u2014 Jo Allen\/Little Village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nStill, they have some standards. \u201cWe\u2019re not big on cover bands,\u201d Norris said. \u201cOther than karaoke, we really want people to play their own original music. We want to be a place where you might just stumble on your new favorite band.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re grabbing a drink, jumping on stage or soaking up the sound, Locals invites Des Moines to show up and be part of something. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Upcoming events at Locals:<\/h4>\n Fri, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m., Hot Kunch, Hello Fellow Humans, Mango Soul<\/strong><\/p>\nSat, Oct. 4, 8 p.m., Dj Phox & Dj Adapt Idol<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<\/p>\nFri, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m., Jesus Christ Taxi Driver, Kensett, Dirty Blonde<\/strong><\/p>\nSat, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m., Running Man, Triple Elvis, De Vant<\/strong><\/p>\nFri, Oct. 24, 7 p.m., Delta Bees, Night Manual, Stretched Thin<\/strong><\/p>\nSat, Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m., Skalloween: Slaughter House 6, Lamp, Uncollectables, Skillful Means<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nThis article was originally published in Little Village\u2019s October 2025 issue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source littlevillagemag.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Locals Bar & Stage, a new venue in Des Moines\u2019 Walnut Street. \u2014 Jo Allen\/Little Village You could say it has risen out of the rubble \u2014 a long-awaited, much-needed presence in the neighborhood. Locals Bar & Stage is helping bring Walnut Street in Des Moines back to life.\u00a0 The area has suffered some losses: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2064812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[385696,385697,385698,385699,385700],"class_list":["post-2064811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-des-moines-dining","tag-des-moines-venues","tag-locals-bar-and-stage","tag-mfks","tag-teehees-comedy-club"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Locals-Bar-Stage-is-bringing-entertainment-back-to-Walnut.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2064811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2064813,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064811\/revisions\/2064813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2064812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2064811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2064811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2064811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}