Highland lands a late Saturday at Brewsky's

An 11 p.m. set on Sat, Nov 21 at Hattiesburg's 500-capacity West 4th Street bar, for $13.10.

In Hattiesburg, the real Saturday night starts late. The dinner crowd has cleared out, the game is over, and by the time most towns are winding down, the strip along West 4th Street is just getting loud. That's the slot Highland just claimed: Highland plays Brewsky's on Sat, Nov 21, with an 11 p.m. start. The show was announced Oct 21, and tickets are $13.10 through TicketWeb.

An 11 o'clock start tells you how to plan. This is a second-stop show: eat somewhere first, meet your people, and roll in around 10:30 so you're inside before the room fills. Brewsky's holds 502, which is big enough that you won't be turned away on a whim, and small enough that a good band can fill it with sound wall to wall.

Brewsky's itself is the reason a lot of people will go. The bar sits at 3818 W 4th St, out near the university side of town, and it has become one of the city's dependable rooms for live bands on weekends. BeerAdvocate's guide to drinking in Hattiesburg counts it among the town's spots, and its calendar shows why: the venue's AXS page has carried a steady run of acts like The Molly Ringwalds, Blake Lambert, Neutral Snap, Take Twelve and Silent Theory, plus DJ nights and Bingo Loco. Earlier this year, Visit Hattiesburg listed Mustache The Band there for a February Saturday.

That mix is what makes Brewsky's work. It isn't a listening room where people sit in rows and nod; it's a bar where the band is the main event and the crowd is there to sing along, dance and stay out. Highland is stepping into that tradition with a prime spot on the calendar — the Saturday before Thanksgiving week, when students are still in town and plenty of people who grew up here are starting to come home.

A few things to know before you go. Thirteen dollars and change is a fair price for a full Saturday night, and buying ahead through TicketWeb means you're not standing in a cash line at the door while the first song starts. Check the listing for any age restrictions; Brewsky's has run 18-and-up events before, but rules vary show to show. And with an 11 p.m. start, figure your ride home before you leave the house — West 4th gets busy at closing time.

There will be bigger shows in Mississippi this fall, in bigger rooms with bigger prices. But there's a particular kind of night that only a town like this does well: a packed bar, a band starting late, a crowd that knows every corner of the place. Highland just booked one of those. Get your ticket, and get there early enough to find a spot near the front.

Sources: Visit Hattiesburg: Mustache The Band at Brewsky's, 3818 W 4th St (visithburg.org); BeerAdvocate: Where to drink in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (beeradvocate.com); AXS: Brewsky's Hattiesburg venue page (axs.com); TicketWeb: Highland at Brewsky's (ticketmaster.evyy.net); JamBase: Highland at Brewsky's (jambase.com)