Arts Alive San Antonio

by SUZI CASTELLAW, Contributing Writer

You may wiz by it every day and not realize that on the north end of a modest shopping strip on San Pedro Avenue, not far from the mall, is this magical little spot called LUNA, a cherished live music venue that hosts a wide range of musicians and shows. The exterior is aesthetically pleasant, somewhat period and conservative in its graphic design, and a tiny bit misleading when you swing open the door and enter.  Both loud and quaint, LUNA is a mid-century modern explosion, filled with 1960ish furniture and décor including a telephone booth. Turquoise banquettes are placed along the walls covered in navy blue and gold, fish-scale wallpaper, which frames the nightclub’s signature mermaid painting created by prominent local artist Robert Tatum.

The first thing you see is the bar directly in front of you and to the right of it is the stage tucked in the corner against the far wall.  There are plenty of tables with comfortably padded mustard yellow chairs confirming that LUNA is a sit-down music venue.  The stage is compact, floor level, with a black sparkly backdrop that one YELP reviewer described as a place where “musicians [create] their works of art in real time.” 

Unbeknownst to newcomers, if you continue forward past the bar and proceed through the narrow hall and swing open the back door, there is a whole other world waiting: an outdoor tropical paradise of brightly painted picnic tables and umbrellas creating a tiki bar feel that whisks you away to a tropical island.

The inaugural entertainment for the new outdoor area was the bluesy Chris Cuevas Band.  Last week, after many sold out gigs, LUNA wrapped up the series before the hot Texas summer with conjunto artist Michael Guerra. Plenty of family fun and dancing on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon!

Indoor LUNA has a distinct nightclub vibe.  Numerous online reviews have used the word “swanky” to describe the ambiance.  The night we attended a show, a happy patron who gave only her first name, Cindy, was enjoying the night out with three of her “first-timer” friends.  Remembering the old LUNA red velvet days, she praised the new decor.  “The new look is so different.  Bright and clean, I just love it!” she said.

LUNA offers an eclectic mixture of Blues, R&B, Jazz, Reggae and other genres.  Every week, Thursday through Saturday, it is anybody’s guess what genre of music is on the menu– swing, salsa, soul?    In recent weeks they have hosted a glut of outstanding talent like the soulful R&B groove of Aaron Stephens; stage-loving showman, Donovan Keith; and Natiao, a ten-piece salsa orchestra, led by Jose Amador.  On Cinco De Mayo, LUNA offered a special concert featuring the all-female Mariachi Las Altenas.  Eight talented, fun-loving ladies having a blast on stage and making sure the audience is having fun too.

But it was not like this a year ago. Like so many entertainment venues, LUNA suffered the consequences caused by COVID-19 and the national shutdown. “In 2019, we were cooking on all burners.  We were staffing the most people we had ever had,” said owner Marcos Trevino, recalling that time. “We were able to pay off the building we operate in, and my wife and I even decided to grow our family because of it. But March 14, 2020 was our last night we were able to operate. A few weeks prior to that we could see the writing on the wall and things had already begun to slow down because of COVID-19 all over the news.”

From there on, there were ups and downs, depending on what was going on the pandemic front. May of 2020 offered a glimmer of hope when powers that be granted businesses the opportunity to put their toes back in the water.  LUNA alerted music lovers through their Facebook page that they would open on Friday the 22nd to the classic Sinatra sounds of San Antonio’s own Johnny P & the Wiseguys.  Capacity was limited to only 42 people and safety measures were implemented.

“We were one of maybe half the bars in the city that reopened at 25%,” noted Trevino. “We took the protocols very seriously and I personally oversaw every detail to make sure we were being safe.”

In July of 2020 LUNA made two distinctly brilliant moves.  First, they took advantage of several rule changes issued by Governor Abbott allowing for outdoor meetings of up to 100 people and the sale of to-go mixed drinks, the catalyst for launching their Thursday Free Curbside Concerts. 

But just as this event kicked off and gained momentum with The Dirty River Jazz Band and other local bands, the rules changed again reducing 100 to just 10.  Unable to sustain the event within those guidelines, LUNA once again had to innovate and adapt. That lead to the second brilliant thing they did—they sold their remaining liquor inventory!  “Beer does go bad,” said the owner. “It was an opportunity to make at least some money.”

 “Since the deal was that bars were allowed to offer curbside pickup, we figured let’s have a band play while folks come by to pick up their booze,” he added. This venture immediately turned into an impromptu gathering place where folks began sitting in their cars listening to free music and chowing down on their goodie bags, some even bringing chairs and setting up next to their vehicles.  “Because of this, we started offering more food, paletas, juice for the kiddos,” he recalled, “encouraging people to tip the musicians and having the bands play as long as they wanted.”

Soon after, the owners decided to give LUNA a whole new look. The club was one of the fortunate businesses that secured both a PPP loan and a generous grant from the city, which allowed them to undertake the renovation. The old stuff was piled up into a storage unit and people could come by and pick out what they wanted.

LUNA reopened Thanksgiving weekend with Tomar & The FC’s, a funky soul band from Austin, and the classic Cuban rhythms of Haile Uriarte & Havana Soul.  “We offered zero visual previews of what we had done to the interior.  We wanted people to be shocked,” revealed Trevino,” and they were!  The mermaid art piece and a Billy Dee Williams Colt 45 light-up sign “that people absolutely adore” stayed put, however.

“The musicians absolutely love it!  They were a little worried we would mess up a good thing, but I think we came through for them by creating a hip, inspired atmosphere,” he said. 

In December, the city ordered many of the bars to close again for noncompliance.  LUNA was one of the bars that did remain open thanks to a move to “reclassify” itself by changing the club’s liquor license from bar to restaurant and offering food in place of their usual bar snacks.  “For some reason, having an $800 Food and Beverage License and serving food made bars safer places,” observed Trevino. “I won’t get into my personal feelings about that, but we played along and did what we needed to do to reopen and start generating income again.”

That was also the time when LUNA’s Backyard Concert Series was launched to accommodate customers who were not quite ready to mingle in closed environments.  It far exceeded the owners’ expectations.  “It’s just a great space,” beamed Trevino.  All four concerts of the Backyard series sold out.

Almost two months have passed since Governor Abbott lifted all mandates and Trevino took a moment to reflect on the end of a yearlong lockdown.  “Long story short, it caught us all by surprise.  But are we complaining?  Nope! There are ways to operate responsibly, and our industry is more than capable of making good decisions,” he said.

With the end of the mandates also came the end of LUNA’s food service.  “We dumped the food license.  We never intended to be a restaurant.  That was just a means to reopen at the time.  We are a music and cocktail bar.  Always have been, always will be.”

———————————————————————————————————————–

LUNA, 6740 San Pedro Ave, (210) 804-2433, www.Lunalive.com
On Stage This Week: Thursday, May 13- The Dirty River Jazz band (New Orleans Jazz); Friday & Saturday, May 14 &15- The Keeshea Pratt Band (Soul and R&B); Thursday, May 20 – A Musical Tribute to Miles Davis featuring SA’s finest jazz musicians; Doors open at 8 p.m., music starts at 9 p.m.; No reservations.