See inside newly opened live music venue under new owner in downtown Macon
A musical performance at 5ive70 Dueling Piano Bar is not a typical jazz or classical night out.
Throughout the night, bar-goers can write literally any song and artist on a slip of paper, hand it to a pianist and they’ll play it – vocals, comedy and all.
Pay a dollar, get a song. The more money someone tips, the more energy the performers’ give, and they might even play that song ahead of others, like what happened when someone threw a $20 bill into their bucket Friday.
Toby Taylor, a bar manager, watched attendees’ faces light up when their songs were played Friday.
“You don’t go to a DJ and say, ‘Hey, will you please play ‘Pink Pony Club’?’” the 28-year-old said. “You walk up to (the performers) personally, they smile at you… they’ll say something funny to you, but they make you a part of it.”
When a performer isn’t familiar with a song, they search the keys and lyrics online minutes before playing it like it’s the original.
A patron placed a small paper on stage Friday, which the audience quickly learned was a request for “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons.
Tonya Scott, a high-energy performer draped in a Stevie Nicks-esque cardigan, dragged her fingers across the keyboard and yelled, “You asked for it, you get it!”
Scott sang her lungs out and played the guitar-heavy song on piano, then joked about Dan Reynolds, the band’s lead singer, growing up Mormon.
The artists are trained to not only sing and play, but also engage and joke with the crowd.
Jeremy Conaway is the bar’s new owner, after a history of openings and closures under a previous owner. It opened in the last week of April.
The artists rotate every weekend, so it always feels like a new experience.
“It’s a place that everybody can come into…,” Conaway said. “We take care of the people that come in here and we just need to get people in to support it.”
It felt like there was no sense of cliques in the crowd Friday. Strangers on opposite ends of the bar were chatting by the end of the night, and joked about whether they wanted to hear a song by Lady Gaga or Coldplay next.
Conaway attributed this camaraderie to the performers and bartenders, who often throw bawdy jokes and soft-hearted shade between songs. Taylor was the butt of a joke a few weeks back.
“He was roasting me behind the bar, and I loved it,” Taylor said, while laughing. “Or he’d play a soft, lovey song and he’s like, ‘This one’s for Toby.’”
Monster Energy cocktails
The bar offers hand-mixed Monster Energy cocktails, along with a full bar of well to top shelf liquor.
Conaway connected with Monster after he spent two decades as a professional Ford race car driver. The specialty cocktails have been a “top seller,” he said.
“It’s a little niche for downtown. It’s something a little different,” Conaway said. “Everybody has to choose to be in their lane, and that’s our lane.”
The 10-drink Monster menu features sweet and fruity mixes, like Monster Mango Loco with Patrón Tequila, orange juice, lime juice and mango-flavored Monster; or Monster Dreams with Bacardí vanilla rum and orange flavored Monster.
Bar hours, events
Piano sets start at 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and last until 2 a.m. “or until everyone leaves,” Conaway said. Karaoke happens on Thursday nights.
Stand-up comedy shows will be at 7 p.m. every other Saturday, starting June 6.
The bar also features a handful of digital slot machines.
The bar is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; and Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. There is no cover, at least for now.
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 2:50 PM.