Deer Park switches up students’ Saturday nights

Original and cover bands are finding new gigs around Newark as neraby restaurants are changing schedules and hiring new staff to accommodate the local musical talent.

Wize Guyz Sports Lounge and Grill, located on South College Avenue, has been featuring cover bands, and Main Street’s Santa Fe Mexican Grill recently underwent renovations to provide more entertainment to its patrons.

But more notably to students, the Deer Park Tavern has revamped their entertainment schedule, switching around some of the usual acts and making room for a few new ones, says General Manager Edward Settan.

The tavern now hosts original music on Thursdays, while cover bands perform on Saturday nights. This is a change from Deer Park’s previous schedule of hosting original music on the weekend.

Both the crowds and the performers were considered when making this change, Settan says, as college students looking for original music are more likely to frequent Deer Park during the week, whereas cover bands may be more appropriate for the mixed weekend crowd.

“A lot of original bands are younger people, younger college people–and we know you guys go out during the week,” Settan says.

Settan says that cover bands tend to be older and may have commitments or jobs during the week, so it makes more sense to have them perform on the weekend.

Despite the switch in music, the usual Tuesday through Monday schedule of musical entertainment as well as Monday night trivia, will remain the same.

This week, original band Spontaneous Underground will be performing for Valentine’s Day     on Thursday, while cover band Vigilantes is set to take the Saturday night slot. Next week, the bands Hippocampus, Cherry Crush and 3 Legged Fox are scheduled to take the stage.

Senior Alyssa Mayer says she frequents the Deer Park Tavern several nights a week and even when her student teaching job last semester left her unable to frequent the tavern often, she still made time for her favorite performers–Jefe on Tuesdays and Chorduroy on Sundays.  

Mayer, who enjoys all types of music, says she goes mainly for the entertainment and the change in Deer Park’s entertainment is unlikely to affect how often she visits the Main Street bar.

“I usually go there a couple times during the week, and as long as there’s music playing I don’t really care,” Mayer says.

Senior Meghan Wieser says she agrees the schedule change is unlikely to change the frequency of her visits to Deer Park. Wieser says she and her friends usually go to the tavern to enjoy Jefe and visit other Main Street bars throughout the week, but the switch does not bother since she likes a variety of bands and music.

“I like hearing cover bands sometimes because I know the music,” Wieser says. “But I like a mix.”

However, the change in schedule isn’t the only new thing happening at Deer Park. The tavern recently got a new booking agent, who has been introducing new entertainers during the week. Settan says they have found new a few new Thursday night acts.

But Deer Park is not the only bar in the area to put cover bands at the forefront of their entertainment lineup. Kelly Logan’s House, an Irish bar located in Wilmington, has also replaced original music on Saturday nights in favor of cover bands and DJs, according to their website.

And despite the changes in schedule, there is good news for Mayer, Wieser and others who frequent Deer Park on Tuesday nights crowd favorite Jefe isn’t going anywhere.

“Jefe will be on every Tuesday, forever,” Settan says.