One of Wilmington's oldest bars has something new: a stage for rockin' and rollin'

The News Journal

Pete Romano of The Cocks performs on the new stage at the Jackson Inn in Wilmington. The act hosts a weekly open mic night there every Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Here’s a breaking news alert: something has changed inside The Jackson Inn (101 N. Dupont Road), one of Wilmington’s oldest and homey barrooms.

With its vintage Miller Lite ceiling lamps, pay phone and cigarette machine, you feel transported back in time to 1959, the first year the rebuilt inn’s doors swung open across from what is now Cab Calloway School of the Arts. (The spot’s history goes back to the late 1700s.)

The guys from New Castle-based rock band The Cocks got the OK from longtime owner Fred Bourdon to build a corner stage over the summer and it’s been hosting rock bands ever since.

Every Wednesday night starting at 8, The Cocks host an open mic night with a featured act.

It will be Mark Thousands on Oct. 17 and has included local musicians Brad Newsom, Dave Perritt, David Norbut and Bad N’ Ruin in recent weeks.

The original Jackson Inn in 1958 before it was razed due to the widening of Lancaster Pike. The landmark bar hosted President Andrew Jackson during his pre-election campaign in 1828 when it was known as the Conestoga Inn. It was later re-named in honor of Jackson's visit.

The stage also gets a workout on weekends with a special show just announced.

A group of local musicians will perform a night of Rolling Stones songs to benefit David Poland, a Bellefonte-based fiddle player who suffered a brain aneurysm and stroke in early September.

Poland, a member of Betty & the Bullet, which plays every Sunday afternoon at the Bellefonte Cafe, remains hospitalized as medical bills accumulate. He’s also a teacher, giving private lessons to students from throughout the area, working with The Music School of Delaware and Accent Music in the past.

Dubbed “Rip This Joint!,” the benefit concert will be held Thanksgiving weekend on Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. A Go Fund Me page has already raised more than $10,000 for the beloved, fun-loving fiddler known as “The Boy from Boston.”

To donate, go to gofundme.com/65tdi1s.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).