Cheer Up Charlie’s

The bar is pretty decent. The nights we went there were some pretty chill live bands playing. Decent bartenders, and fair drink prices, especially considering the area. Super close to sixth street! Honestly, the best part about this bar is the food truck parked outside. Arlo’s is the best!

I’m from New York. This place was very strange to me but I guess that’s why they say ‘Keep Austin Weird’. It was very dark in there and they have live music (not very good to me). They have an outside area which is pretty nice. This is a chill spot but I wouldn’t spend my entire night here. I wouldn’t go back but you definitely get a taste of Austin at this place.

this place is awesome! a gay bar with live music and arlo’s vegan food truck in the courtyard and a vegan cocktail called the vegan yeti? all around amazing.

The inside design is quirky as hell. Floors made from old gym floors– how? Idk but it works !
Owner guy very cool chap.
Drinks are made with fresh fruit and what not. DELICIOUS. DAMN DELICIOUS.

Great atmosphere, great drinks, great music. I like this bar, it’s one of my favorite places in Austin. Almost every single time I come here I have a blast. Sometimes it gets way too packed in the summer, which is good for the bar, but bad for me if I can’t move or get a drink.

The music was extremely loud. However, the drinks were amazing and the service was great. I’d recommend if local bands is your thing.

My Austin home base
Great drink prices, live bands and
A love for Bowie*
*lucky to celebrate bowie’s last birthday here, rocking out to his music

Cheer Ups became the bright spot of Red River when it reopened next to the Mohawk in the old Club DeVille space. I never really spent much time there until it reopened, but I’ve grown to love it.
The bartenders are friendly, the music is awesome, and that outdoor stage has the coolest rocky backdrop, perhaps one of the coolest outdoor stages in Austin.
They have their own list of specialty cocktails that are all delicious.
My biggest issue with Cheer Ups is how long that line gets indoors, especially when the outdoor bar is not opened. They need a better system to keep lines down in there.

I’m not reviewing based on the event section but the bar. I got a drink that was all ice and then when I got to the bottom, the ice tasted like dirt. It was this gritty feel in my mouthy which grossed me out. Not cool, not sure what that was!

Awesome bar. They have one of the best outdoor seating areas, in my opinion. They also have a variety of eclectic events that they hold on random nights. They had an ornament crafts night one time I went there. They also have local bands play. I rang in the New Year here, and that was one of the best decisions I’ve had. Most places charge a crazy cover and usually hit capacity pretty early. Cheer Ups had a small cover charge, or none at all. They also had some really awesome bands playing both indoors and outdoors. On top of that, they had a champagne toast when we hit midnight. This is a top notch place where you’ll really be surrounded by great people, good drinks, and an awesome vibe.

The former home of Club de Ville, Cheer Up Charlie’s is a great part of the Red River bar and music scene. The outdoor stage is cut into the granite hillside backing the property and offers a very unique music-​listening environment. A quick glance at their website proves that live music is very much still kicking on Red River.
Drinks are cheap and the bartenders have always been quite friendly during all my interactions. This is a solid choice for hanging out prior to shows at neighboring Mohawk, especially if you want to sit down. There is usually a food truck parked out front if you get hungry.

I love this place & it’s a staple visit every time I swing through Austin! This time around I performed at the venue & it’s probably the best it gets. Seriously amazing staff & sound people, visuals were on point and I think this was the first time ever I didn’t sweat bullets on a stage– the temperature was even on point!
As far as drinks, the specialty one with the watermelon is like heaven in your mouth, please don’t ever get rid of it or I’d die! Also check out Arlo’s in the side for some vegan & vegetarian yums!

Cheer Up Charlie’s is such a happy place! I’ve had so many good times with them at this location and the old one on the eastside. It’s always a go to spot for me, my husband and our friends.
I love the new drink menu and the stage inside. I have been lucky enough to catch some pretty cool shows randomly here. That’s just the thing — you can always count on Cheer Ups for great music, fantastic drinks, wonderful people and an exceptional time all around! I will admit it has been nice to get to know the Red River area a bit too. Love you long time Cheer Up Charlie’s :-P

Hello, friendly neighborhood bar with an amazing location and awesome staff! I checked out Black and White Years this weekend, and everything was ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Great music, good drinks, friendly bartenders, lots of water stations… Love love love. We’ll be back!

Cheer Up Charlie’s is a solid institution for Red River. Super close to Stubb’s and the rest of the music scene. Their interesting cocktails are really good, especially the Golden Ticket (Kombucha + Whiskey), along with like 6 others. They also have pictures which makes it easy to order when drunk.
One problem is they let in almost everyone so it gets way overpacked occasionally and impossible to move.
Extra props for a delicious food truck inside their grounds.

I love the new spot! Great atmosphere, live music (the sound is great outside), veggie food and JUICELAND COCKTAILS!!! It’s like something from my dreams. Great work, Cheer Up’s! Love ya’ll.

One of the best dive bars I’ve been to in a long while. Colorful, inviting, friendly, discreet, and cheerful. Random art displaying rainbows, unicorns and funkiness all around. A stage for band performances and/​or karaōke, an outside patio area with picnic tables throughout, and a menu that is full of some of the most creative drinks I’ve seen. Kale lime gingeritas and other cocktails made with fresh juice!
It’s noted as a gay bar, but I think it’s more of a gay-​friendly bar because everyone is welcome. I was with a friend who had been here before, and was pleasantly surprised to find all different kinds of folks: gay, straight, and others comfortably mixing and mingling.
Aside from the funky, eclectic décor and our sweet cocktail waitress, the music is what really set it off for me. Old school pop from the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s. The playlist was enough to make me come back alone. Great times were had at this local Austin establishment.

Cheer Up Charlie’s is my favorite bar/​club in Austin, by far. It’s my go-​to place to meet friends over cocktails and catch some live music. The club’s owners have cultivated a unique vibe via top-​notch music curation, colorful murals and delicious juice-​based cocktails (try the kale lime gingerita, my fave drink in Austin). Cheer Up Charlie’s is the most fabulously inclusive queer bar I’ve had the pleasure of frequenting, and I’ve lived in big cities like LA and Chicago. Everyone is welcome here, dahling, as long as you can love and play nice.
Recently, greedy developers (I’m looking at you Hyatt House) are threatening the livelihood of Cheer Up’s by forcing them to build a fence and supporting structure around the beautiful natural limestone amphitheater that makes up their western exterior wall. A wall they just upgraded with lovely succulents and other plant life (some of which already has been moved). Hyatt is building a parking garage for their planned new hotel right behind Cheer Up’s, and the Hyatt construction will encroach upon the club. This is a big deal because patrons flock to Cheer Up Charlie’s patio largely *because* of this beautiful natural rock wall, which is the aesthetic cornerstone of the entire establishment.
Sadly this has been the trend in Austin for at least the last few years — the City panders to corporate interests and real estate investor $$$ while restaurants, bars and live music venues (the heart and soul of Austin, the so-​called «Live Music Capital of the World») are made to suffer or are completely driven out. Here’s to hoping the Austin powers that be pull their heads out of their collective asses and realize what makes this city so special — unique and corporate-​free venues like Cheer Up Charlie’s. We aren’t going out without a fight.

Vibey outdoor and indoor venue, nice benches to sit on out– and indoors, the venue reminds me of little beach huts, very cute; the acoustic was good as well.
I love the name, the owner has a dog called Charlie and apparently there is a story why the venue called cheer up Charlie…
I was very tired that evening and all I can remember being so reliefed finding a bench to sit on outdoors while my friends were watching bands, for this reason alone Its worst 4**** as some music venues in Austin have no seating at all.
Sorry no pictures for this review, I really was tired.
Yes nice little venue, good vibes, I come back here!!!

I had many great experiences at the old Cheer Up Charlies and was especially sad when I heard they had to move. You could always count on the old location for great drinks and random live bands that never seemed to be too bad.
So the new location isn’t in quite as cool a part of town as the original but the new building looks great. I walked in and ordered a drink and the bartender did a great job and made me a wonderful cocktail.
The beer selection is as good as ever and I feel like they may have actually improved the quality of the bar here.
The patio is still rather nice but lacks something that I feel like the East Side location had. I cant say the place is any different than before and I did get great service and cant wait to have the opportunity to see a band here!
I doubt the awesomeness of Cheer Up Charlies has done anything but move to a new spot! I’d recommend this bar to anyone looking for a great time.