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In 1986, blues manager Eric King and his friend Roger Gregory, a bass player, scraped together $6,000 to turn a brick-faced Virginia-Highland storefront into a good old classic blues joint. Named for the late Georgia blues great Blind Willie McTell, the New Orleans–inspired venue has been an enduring fixture of Atlanta’s music scene for the past 40 years. It’s a lovingly crusty hole-in-the-wall where audiences flock to see legends such as Taj Mahal, Townes Van Zandt, and Shemekia Copeland—or drop in to catch a local act tearing up the diminutive stage.
Blind Willie’s, now co-owned by King and several new partners (Gregory passed in 2025), has survived four decades thanks to a devoted community of staff and longtime patrons. We asked a few of them to share their favorite memories of the club.
“A couple days after Guy Clark played at Blind Willie’s his agent called and asked if we had paid him, which of course we had. The agent called back later and said Guy didn’t want to tell him he was hustled by some pimps he met at the Cheshire Motor Inn and had lost his entire pay for the gig playing pool.” –Eric King, founder/co-owner
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“A woman celebrating her 21st birthday came in wearing a tiara. She had been conceived in one of the club’s bathrooms and couldn’t wait to turn 21 so she could come in and see where it happened!” –Emily Jane, bartender
“Great times are in store when Blind Willie’s books a Cajun or zydeco band like Boozoo Chavis, the Sam Brothers, or Filé: Tables and chairs are moved outdoors to the sidewalk, and the club becomes a Louisiana dance hall.” –Rich Pettit, customer and WRFG 89.3 blues show host
Photograph by Getty Images
“Mick Jagger came five nights in a row just to listen when he was here filming “Freejack;” I heard that he always paid the cover and tipped generously.” –Linda Wiltse, customer
This article appears in our June 2026 issue.
