Blues On Whyte

This is a hot spot in Edmonton and deserves every bit of credit it can get. Cheap beer and live music with pool tables that are almost always open. Good stuff.

Pretty awesome renovation. Always great bands.
The place is Clean. Love the mix of people. Fun for young and old. Great atmosphere

Newly renovated. On the plus side they opened up the walls and renovated the bathrooms and put in tv screens and modernized the place. Better visibility of the stage. On the bad side it looks just any other modern bar and they SHRUNK the size of the pints. No more Big Rock Traditional. The place could use some blues or biker character. Music is still great! 7 nights a week! Waitresses still dress bluesy biker-​ish, yeah! Lost a star for the smaller pints. Not sure if they offer any food.

Had a great time at this place. Went with a large group for brunch and it was fun. Live band made it quite fun and friendly. Good was tasty and options for non meat eaters avail :)

I want to start by saying that I love this place. Service is hit and miss.

This bar should be in the «Dive Bars» category.
Not saying that’s good or bad. It is what it is.
The acts this bar attracts is World class. You can see pictures of all the previous performers and you will be amazed.
The clientele is somewhat older. A smattering of Bikers.
The beer selection has improved of the years and you can now safely drink the draft beers.
Staff is fabulous. Door man is very professional.
Friday and Saturday nights, you’ll pay a cover. Between $ 5.00 and $ 10.00 depending on the act.
We like to go on a Thursday to see the band for free. It’s a little less crowded that night as well.
The bathrooms are clean, but there is always broken stuff. Doors, taps, whatever.
People like to dance at this place. Even a one legged lady. True story.
The pool tables are always full and they have VLT’s.
Coat check available.

Solid blues joint that isn’t a total shit-​hole! Drinks are decently priced (they only take cash) and they had a legit band onstage all night that looked like they were straight outta the 70’s…pretty sweet. There were a few cougars prowlin around (which is always a good sign) and they have bouncers to keep the heroes in line. All in all this is my kinda joint!

It’s pro and cons with this place. For me the cons totally out weigh the pros. The music is stellar. Probably one of the better places to catch a blues act.
The atmosphere is just not for me. I find the crowd rougher than average. The crowd seems a fare bit older than average for a bar, which I don’t mind if there is a certain respect for fellow patrons. However, I don’t feel this is the case. For example, conversing with a number of people in the bar lead to several passive references about my age (the joke’s on them because I am older than I look). This is a pet peeve of mine and quite frankly I’m not shy about it. So it’s best for me to steer clear from here.
All in all I find it too divey of a place for my needs. It does appeal to many though and I seem to be in the minority. Don’t let this review deter you from visiting a famous Edmonton institution.

Have been going to Blues on Whyte for over 30yrs, it used to be a really fun place and great bands, awful bathrooms and lots of memories. Now, it’s been a bit updated, renovated and there’s a cover charge even before 8pm (used to be free till 8) but overall it’s the same place, with the same type of people… although a few more yuppies and pupies find their way here… but those «middle aged badass bikers» as one reviewer stated… help to keep them away :)
Would I make an effort to go back these days? No, probably not ~was there recently and the vibe seems to have changed.

Great place for listening and dancing to blues music, although there are certainly some seedy characters walking about. Could do with a bit of a facelift, but there are worse in the city. Excellent live bands though!

Great music. Check listings to see if you’re missing something good.
Old-​school vibe.
Decent bar.

You won’t get shot if you come to the Commie. Or stabbed. You may very well get hit on by a drunk 47 year old woman from Red Deer dancing up a storm, and see some awkward white-​person dancing from men in work jeans and hiking boots. You will avoid eye contact with the VLT players in the other room, and you will observe more than one middle-​aged man in leather chaps trying hard to be a badass biker but really more likely just an accountant out for drinks. But you won’t get shot. Or stabbed. Blues on Whyte is more blue collar than dive, a non-​pretentious atmosphere in a slightly unkempt and cavernous location. There are two excellent reasons to come here: 1) Great live blues music every night with a large, non-​judgmental dance floor (well, the people are non-​judgmental, I assume the floor is as well); and 2) Off-​sales for those desperate nights.

Blues on Whyte is my most frequented watering hole. Why? THE MUSIC. As Edmonton’s main live blues venue, the place is sensational. Okay, it’s a dive bar, but that’s part of it’s charm in a way, as it’s completely unpretentious, laid back and relaxed. You get a lot of bikers, and it looks less than salubrious, but I always feel comfortable inside, no matter how small a group I’m part of.
The staff is relaxed but good; they’re happy to bring you your drinks or have you wander up to the bar, and they don’t bug you about buying multiple drinks even if you’re there for the entire evening.
And the music… the music is simply incredible. It’s free on weeknights, and only $ 5 cover on Fridays and Saturdays. And for this, you get some of the top blues acts out there! The music ranges from original 20’s blues and jazz, to big band, to late 60’s/70’s blues/​funk to ‘modern’ jazz and the recent retro blues.
What I especially love is the dance floor: As a swing and blues dancer, it’s often hard to find venues that are a) receptive and b) have enough room to actually execute swing steps. The floor here is big enough for about half a dozen couples and anyone else who feels like dancing, in good condition, and I’ve never heard a complaint from the staff about the crazy dancers who come in so frequently and order tons of water but very little liquor (swing dancing and drinking mix as well as driving and drinking). Everyone also seems to understand it’s a real dance floor: no one takes their drinks out there, so it remains in good shape and I never have to worry about what my dance shoes are going to encounter (well, at least not until I head back to my seat).
Yes, it’s a dive, yes, some of the clientele are dodgy, yes it most DEFINITELY needs a good scrub, but it’s a blues bar and the edge BOW has makes the perfect backdrop for listening to music that was always supposed to be gritty, raw and real.

Blues on Whyte needs to be redone. The place looks old inside and out. While many places on Whyte Ave have changed with the times, Blues on Whyte has not.
Inside everything seems old and worn out. The crowd is usually people who have come just for the music and not anything else, other than drinking. I am not really a huge blues fan but I don’t mind it.
The place could be cleaned up, renovated and made into a real attraction. Many people just pass on this place because of how old it looks from the outside.

Even though I love blues, Blues on Whyte is not my cup of tea. While the music is always great, whenever I was at this club, I couldn’t help but wonder why the owner couldn’t clean up and spruce up this place a little. There are plenty of tables to seat at, and there is a pool tables area, but everything is extremely worn down and looks millions years old. This place could use a total overhaul.
The crowd at Blues on Whyte is made up of relaxed and drunk people who crave some blues. I will stress again that the music played here is fantastic! Nothing makes me feel more at ease and puts me in a good mood than blues, but only if I am enjoying it in clean surroundings while breathing air that is not «soaked» with beer.

I finally stepped foot in the «Commie» (as regulars sometimes call it). Whether you call it Blues on Whyte or the Commercial, this is a quintessential blues bar. Lighting is dark, the air smells like beer, there are lots of biker-​looking dudes walking around, the music is loud and often live, people are dancing, people are drinking, and people are generally looking like they are having a good time. The live music area has plenty of table seating, as well as a dance floor. A separate gaming room is full of VLTs for those who happen to be into that sort of thing. People come here for the music and to socialize. It is one of Whyte Avenue’s most popular bars. If only the walls could talk. ..

Also known as The Commercial, this bar is legendary. Great musicians have played here and new bands have gotten their starts on the same stage. A long-​time landmark in Old Strathcona, this blues bar (Edmonton’s only, as far as I know) draws an eclectic crowd of people who come for the beer, music, amicable crowd, pool tables, slots, pinball and ever-​changing vibe. This is the kind of place to let down your hair, and dance, dance, dance because even if people are watching, no one cares. You could do the Funky Chicken, or cut the floor with Running Man all night, and no one would judge. I expect Blues On Whyte will be a steady fixture in this neighbourhood for many years to come. It’s a plain-​spoken, good ol’ time without the frills and airs of the swank clubs and martini lounges cropping up in urban centers. Mind you, the carpets haven’t been changed since before the smoking laws were revised, and once the air cleared, believe me you, it wasn’t pleasant. I don’t know how much brew has been spilt, and vomit spewed, on that shag over the years, and I don’t want to, but my nose suspects it’s time to reupholster. Despite the dank, old shoe feel of BOW, it will always have a place in my heart.