The VOX House is our intimate second-floor movie experience right above The Ordinary Hen.
Come early for dinner downstairs
Order drinks & snacks during the movie
Film starts at 8 PM
Just follow the signs and head up the stairs when you’re ready for showtime!
It’s the perfect weekend kickoff — great food, craft cocktails, and a classic movie night vibe. Whether you’re coming with friends, a date, or flying solo — there’s a seat for you.
SilverVox’s CineFridays kicks off the beginning of a Nighthawks weekend in Frederick on Friday, April 18, at the Vox House above the Ordinary Hen with a free screening of documentary filmmaker Michael Streissguth’s highly acclaimed film “Nighthawks on the Blue Highway” – the first documentary film about the hardest working band in America. The film is the result of two years of production, countless days on the road with the band and interviews with those who know the members and their music best. Directed by Streissguth, the film stars George Thorogood, John Hammond, Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, and Mark Wenner.Â
Born in early-1970s Washington DC where blues, soul, country, folk and rock filtered through the hearts of musicians in every neighborhood, The Nighthawks churn out a blues-and-rock infused style that honors the city’s dynamic influences and sets the stage for the rise of modern blues acts such as George Thorogood, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The film tracks the band from a dream in founder Mark Wenner’s basement to international stardom. Along the way, they share the stage with blues legends Muddy Waters, B.B. King, J.B. Hutto, and John Lee Hooker and attract southern-rock god Gregg Allman who joins the band for a golden stretch in late 1970s.
Hard times were ahead however. A botched record deal sends the band into disarray in the early 1980s, splintering the members and forcing an identity crisis that won’t go away. They can only sit by and watch as Thorogood, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robert Cray and other acts for whom they had opened doors rocket to the top of the entertainment industry. The band’s co-founder and virtuoso lead guitarist Jimmy Thackery leaves to chase a solo career, and a long slide into oblivion begins. “It was 15 years of real struggle,” says co-founder Mark Wenner on camera, “I felt like I was on the sidelines at the big game. Put me in coach, I’m ready to play.”
In the film, we watch as Wenner revives the vision of The Nighthawks. With bass player Johnny Castle, drummer Mark Stutso, and guitarist Paul Bell, the band collects its first national blues award, appears on the national album charts and hits the road with renewed vigor. It’s a hard road on the blue highway, nobody knows better than Wenner, Castle, Stutso and Bell, but The Nighthawks remain present and prescient, charting a course for the blues into the unknown years ahead.
On the night after the film, Saturday April 19, The Nighthawks themselves take the stage for a session of their world famous blues at the New Spires Art Stages. Tickets are still available through the Weinberg’s website. The Nighthawks always surprise and impress with their high energy shows and few people attend who don’t finish the evening saying, “I can’t wait to see them again!”
No tickets required for the Friday free showing of the movie at the Vox House above The Ordinary Hen, 228 North Market Street in Frederick.Â