WATERLOO - From 1975 to 2000, Steb's Amusements was the place to be in the Cedar Valley.

This weekend the spirit of the popular night spot returns during a two-day reunion of the bar's former music guests and patrons at Spicoli's Grill and the Reverb Rock Garden in Waterloo. Entertainment featuring 19 bands starts at 5 p.m. Friday and 9 p.m. Saturday. There is no cover charge.

"Almost 10 years later, people still care," said former Steb's owner Sherm McNeil, noting that musicians organized the gathering using Facebook, a social networking Web site. "It's gonna be just like a high school reunion, only weirder."

Performers include Soul Fusion, The Ramblers, Harsh Mellows, Moveable Feast, Washed Up, Checker and the Bluetones, Mojo Blues Jam, Measure, Nonstop, Tony Brown, S.R. Turner and the A Bombs, Raldo Schneider, Drasbury, The Freds, Green 11, Uncle Chuck, Solvent, Psuedo Sleep, and Ill Convoy. Some of the groups have reunited specifically to participate in the weekend's festivities.

Fans from across the nation also will be returning to the Cedar Valley for the event. In early-'90s Steb's played host to musicians like Ben Harper and The Flaming Lips. The high-quality musical acts, paired with the bar's laid-back atmosphere attracted patrons from all walks of life, added McNeil, who ran the bar alongside Dave Meyer.

"That was the golden age of touring bands because it was all before the MP3s and the World Wide Web," he said. "When the indie rock scene started, the only way to get people to know about you was to get out and tour behind your record."

McNeil said he looks forward to reconnecting with Steb's regulars.

"In a local bar, sometimes you develop relationships with people on a deep level," he said, noting that one former customer is traveling from her home in Australia for the reunion. "On one hand, you might not know their last name, but on the other hand, you know just about everything else that matters."