The Sand Dollar Blues Lounge has been running live blues music near the Strip since 1976, which in Las Vegas terms makes it an ancient institution. The room is small and the production is minimal — a stage, a PA, a bar, some tables — but the booking is consistent and the music is the real thing rather than a tourist-friendly approximation.
Local and touring blues acts play most nights; the schedule is posted on the website and worth checking before you go. Drink prices are honest and the crowd mixes locals, musicians, and visitors who found their way here after growing bored of the Strip. One of the few Las Vegas bars where the reason to be there has nothing to do with gambling or spectacle.