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Mississippi Nights’ 30-year history celebrated in new book

A man walks in front of Mississippi Nights, a concert venue on Laclede's Landing. The venue hosted its first concert in 1976 and was demolished in 2007 to make way for the downtown casino.
Paul Hilcoff
A man walks in front of Mississippi Nights, a concert venue on Laclede's Landing. The venue hosted its first concert in 1976 and was demolished in 2007 to make way for the downtown casino.

Mississippi Nights is special for many music lovers in St. Louis. For 30 years, from 1976 to 2007, the concert venue on Laclede’s Landing hosted thousands of bands.

AC/DC played their ninth American concert there in 1977. Nirvana performed its only St. Louis concert at Mississippi Nights in 1991, just 23 days after the release of “Nevermind.” Local bands such as the Urge, Pale Divine and Uncle Tupelo also performed at the 1,000-person capacity venue.

Listen: Mississippi Nights’ 30-year history

“The sound quality was just so great in there, and being real close to the bands was one of the most amazing things because you could get right up in front,” explained Stacy Enloe, who has written a new book about the music club with her husband, Garrett Enloe.

“Mississippi Nights: A History of The Music Club in St. Louis” is a 288-page coffee table book that captures what made the club’s 30-year run an indelible memory for thousands of patrons who stepped foot inside. It features photos of ticket stubs, concert bills and the performers who were there.

St. Louis on the Air, guest host Jeremy D. Goodwin talked with the Enloes about their book and why they spent four years researching and writing it.

St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.

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Alex is the executive producer of "St. Louis on the Air" at St. Louis Public Radio.