The Hummingbird

Awesome place, even better bartenders. Very welcoming atmosphere which includes darts and a live stage. Prices are reasonable, service is fast, and the people are friendly. Sort of hipsterish depending on when you go in, but overall worth a visit.

This establishment possessess each and every of the necessary and sufficient qualities to landmark it as a quintessence of the «dive bar» tavern. Viewed through noxious clouds of cigarette smoke (yes, from what I understand pipes are frowned upon and cigars are absolutely banned), the burned bar, the exposed brick wall, and the framed photo of Johnny Cash «flipping a bird», this bar provides full expression of the more seedy side of Macon’s bacchanalian id. Enter through a grandiloquently-​columned entrance foisted upon simple entrance, past a squishily zaftig young woman whose manic mood swings render her alternately a darling madcap or a insufferable melancholy, go down the hallway and come to the beating heart of this dive: the great bar. You’ll be ignored unless you’re obnoxious, so shove your way to the front and wave your cash or card in an authoritative manner. It’s best to order several drinks at once and «smash» a couple of said drinks while standing at the bar as it allows the bartender to understand that you, in some primordial manner, consider yourself an alpha male that is worthy of respect and prompt service upon your return. After setting that relationship onto firm footing, you must once again shove your way through the crowd to get to the «stage». I say «stage» as the actual «stage» is nothing more than a small area of raised flooring… that has been raised only six inches or so. If you feel yourself succumbing to either the stench of old hippie or the clouds of cigarette smoke, you don’t have to stop, drop, and roll. Rather, shove your way along the right wall until you pasa through the narrow passage and emerge into a crowded and chaotic gated courtyard. However, do not expect to traverse that passageway without molestation as groping in this hallway is not an activity that is disdained by either sex in the throes of their lustful drunkenness. After making suitable adjustments, you will recognize that the frat boys (and frat boy wannabes) are playing cornhole with each other in the corner while others play a game with sandbags that reminds one nothing so much as a cross between ski-​ball and horseshoes. The girls are visibly posted in their positions and await payment for their services. And yes, there is no way to leave this courtyard except by going back the way you came…
All in all:
It is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t.

Great bar with a good vibe. They have the best dart tournament in central GA hands down. The trivia host is lots of fun as well. Frequent live music is a plus for me. The staff is attentive and friendly.

If I could only remember all the good times I have had here. I avoid this place in Friday just due to amount of people in this place. Can’t move or get a drink. Great spot for a week day hangout

Of all the places in what I have started to call Old Macon, meaning pre the investment and upgrades of the Cherry street corridor, of which I am a fan, the Hummingbird is an amazing place to have a good drink and hear a wonderful band! First of all, this place is not pretending to be something it is not; it is a bar and music venue, they have no trifles or qualms about it! Moreover it delivers on both of these counts, its a wonderful bar with skilled bartenders and an awesome place to see a show. They almost always have a good to great band in here on Friday and Saturday nights, and drink specials including 5 dollar wells, or 8 dollar doubles, but cheap beer prices for even the best beers! The beer is ice cold, served very quickly by friendly and social bartenders! It’s a full bar as well — everything from PBR to Top Shelf Drinks. They have no food, but who cares — they are a moments walk from many of the cities best dining spots, Bearfoot Tavern the sports bar, the Rookery, and the new spot Parrish! They also have an awesome outdoor patio and outside bar where they have cornhole and tables to relax with friends. This leads to the only reason its not four stars, they do allow smoking which is not a huge turnoff for a bar, however they do not have the best ventilation system and it can get extremely smokey in there. Overall I have had some great times in here and highly recommend them if you wanna have a cold beer or beverage, play some trivia or take in a band! Rich in music history and beholden to the very old historic Macon feel

8:30 empty only to be packed in a few hours. Cheap drinks, darts, and they are famous for their duck fart shots, not really. Who could be famous for that? Smokey scene to be expected and no cover before 9:30.

Favorite bar in Macon. They bring in
talented bands regularly. On week nights they will usually have decent drink specials. Outdoor area and seating in the back with a few cornhole boards set up. They also have a big projector outside and occasionally play important sport games on it.
Smoker friendly– that can be a pro or a con depending who you ask.
Really like you can run your card when you enter on nights they have a cover and can start your tab at the same time.

Favorite bar in Macon. Great place to hear live music.

Happy Hour trivia on Wednesday Nights. Charming back patio. Great Jams.
Yes please.

Disgusting! They are refilling everyone’s draft beers with used glasses on the bottom of the glass! Tap goes to bottom of used glass and then they fill em up! (I know gross shit goes on, I just don’t want to see it!) We were there 3 hours, and they refilled everyone’s glass this way the entire night. If you go, drink bottled beers.

i’m not from here but i stopped in for a drink, well one turned into a few and i met some great people. they had a band playing and they were one of the best blues bands i’ve heard in years.

Great place to meet up with friends in the afternoon, but I generally don’t come here on weekends. Happy hour is pretty happy… but sometimes the occasional outspoken druggie hipster patron can scare regular people like me away. Call me crazy, but if someone’s gonna openly break controlled substance laws, I want to be in a different room as them.
When I first moved to Macon I went to the bird at least 4 times a week just to meet up with people and have a couple beers, but if I’m gonna do it big on the weekend, I don’t see the point of paying a cover between 5 and 15 dollars in addition to my 50 to 100 dollar bar tab.
sure there’s music, but if a band is good enough to bring in a crowd, pay them out of the excess booze sails. if they aren’t good enough, why would you book them? I’ll always take the «no cover» option, and ironically the «no cover» bars generally have better prices on booze also. maybe i’m cheap, but i’ve always thought covers were meant for people who don’t spend money once they’re inside… like the people under 21 that still get in.

It’s hard for me to review venues and keep separate my experiences as a performer there and as a spectator there, but for the most part I can say if you have a good experience with one, you’re mostly likely going to have a good experience with the other.
The Hummingbird is one of my favorite clubs to play, hands down. The sound is awesome, the people are awesome, the crowd is awesome.
My last visit (Lucero/​Glossary) was my first time going as purely a spectator. We drove down from Atlanta and had some trouble getting in touch with the hotel that we wanted to stay in so I called the club hoping to get a recommendation. They absolutely wowed me on the phone, got the number for the hotel I wanted and another just in case, joked with me and were just absolutely sweet.
The hotel was in walking distance, so we hoofed it over to the venue and handed in our tickets, they even asked us if we wanted to keep the online tickets as souvenirs. The vibe from everyone was upbeat and rock and roll, complete w/​a band member passed out in their comfy chairs. I’ve been there. ;)
The bar was crowded, but drinks came fast, strong and cheaper than Atlanta prices. The bands sounded awesome and the patrons were courteous, very little shoving, many polite «excuse me“s. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.
Since the last time I’ve been they’ve added a very nice patio in the back. The bands hung out back here and it was a great place to talk to them and catch a little fresh air.
I’ll definitely drive down there again when my favorite bands skip Atlanta and hit the Hummingbird!

this is an awesome place to have beaucoup beer, pick up a small bit of lung ca, and laugh (quite heartily). i actually just scored an awesome tee-​shirt, (perfect to wear while deer hunting), two koozies, five glasses and a lightwand. what more can you ask from a five dollar cover and two bibasilar lung lesions? seriously. this place is a smoke den.
what is this mythical patio other Unilocalers speak of?
nevertheless, this is my second go round at «the bird», but i am seriously looking for an alternative. maybe boozing it up at home is not so bad after all.
the live music is a plus (sorta). the middle ga crowd, not so much. this place serves as my own personal reality check. i.e. «you are in macon for a reason… however, this is not, repeat, NOT the place for you.» it just keeps me focused.
in the in-​between-​time, this is a cheap way to drown my sorrows in 2.50 pints of yuengling lager… which reminds me of good times in philly. yay!

The Hummingbird is generally a good time. The layout is very nice, and you can’t beat the back patio on a cool summer night. It gets a little overcrowded sometimes; I wouldn’t complain at all about it if they had enough bartenders working to take care of everyone in a reasonable amount of time.
They normally have a hot girl working the beer tub, and there’s never a line so bring cash and buy from her. If you’re paying with a card be prepared to wait in line for a while. The music is hit or miss. I’ve heard some awesome bands, and then there have been times when I walked right by the entrance after hearing the band from outside. They have a MySpace page so look them up and see if you like what’s playing. You could be in for anything from rockabilly to psychadelic techno rap.

Smoke filled and most of the time far less crowded than the other neighborhood bars. This place is pretty large, which is a rather good thing considering just how loud they let their bands play sometimes, but when they charge so little for a cover to hear live music then you can’t complain too much. They’ve got a fair selection of beers to choose from so no need to stick with the buds and coors and whatnot. From what I’ve heard, they have this thing on Mondays where you bring in your cds and they’ll play them in the bar. Nothing better then listening to your own music while at a bar. In fact that might be a good idea for a band to get their music heard. Kinda clever actually, that is if it wasn’t dead as a cemetery during the week.

This is a decent and good sized little bar with a nice stage that usually hosts a good selection of music. Someone once described this place as the «indie rock» bar of Macon to me, and for the most part, I’d say that fits. You’re going to see a lot of dirty hippies in sandals floating about. And hear a lot of people calling each other «bro.» Also, I’m struggling not to use the word «pretentious» several times in this review. The cover’s a little on the very high side and the place is kind of clique-​ish (I’m surprised it’s not a private bar already) but if you can get past that, not a bad place to hang out with some friends and do some drinking.