In the corner of The Library Taphouse and Kitchen, Chuck Mosley sets up his speakers and microphone as he prepares to host another trivia night.
Regulars file into the restaurant to test their trivial knowledge, hang out with friends and eat good food.
Mosley has been hosting trivia at The Library Taphouse and Kitchen for about three years now. The theme of the night is “Dream Music Trivia,” focused entirely on dream-themed music.
“I think what makes trivia so great and what people love about it, because I played before I started hosting myself, is that it’s a chance for you to get a feeling of accomplishment from, you know, a trivial knowledge that’s just rolling around in your head all day,” Mosley said.
Mosley’s Library event isn’t the only well-attended trivia night in Macon. Regularly-scheduled programs at Amici, JBA, Reboot, Society Garden, The Brick, Just Tap’d and more draw crowds. Four days a week, trivia seems to take over the city.
“I would say it falls in the top 10 things to do in Macon,” Mosley said.
His regulars, people who have been following him for years, come for the music trivia.
“I’m not really that interested in the other trivias that have been hosted around Macon. I love music and I like the challenge of playing music trivia,” Lisa Henley, a member of the Beat-Hovens trivia team, said.
She has been playing music trivia with Mosley since March 2022.
Lauren Pendragon and her wife, Kimberly Pendragon, had their first date at a trivia event hosted by Mosley.
“He DJ’d at our wedding, where we also played trivia,” Lauren Pendragon said.
The couple is also part of the Beat-Hovens.
Across the dining room, the Dreams & Schemes team traveled from Warner Robins and Byron to play trivia.
“We’ve gone to a few in Warner Robins, but they’re not music, and music is probably our favorite,” Todd Sellers said.
Mosley says that people love trivia because it offers a challenge without high stakes.
“You’re competing against other tables,” Mosley said. “It just creates an environment of, you know, like game shows. Game shows are hugely popular. This is basically that, but in a local bar or restaurant right down the street that you can go to every week.”
At Amici, another restaurant and bar in Macon, similar feelings of camaraderie and competition connect players.
Luke Sloan, the host of the night’s trivia, says it’s an easy way for people to connect with friends during the week.
“Everybody likes to feel smart,” he said.
Most trivia nights happen Monday through Thursday to bring people out to restaurants on the weekdays, Sloan said.
“We kind of build those nights up to kind of be equal to the weekend.”
Trivia nights are also a source of tradition for those who want to test their knowledge.
“It’s become kind of a tradition of ours,” Gage Hart, a student at Mercer, said. “We’ve been doing it since I was a freshman and before so it’s just – it’s tradition at this point.”
Hart came to play trivia with a large group of his fraternity brothers, and though the group has been playing for a while, Hart says wins are hit or miss. Winning though, is not the most important part of the night.
Other Amici competitors agree that the competition is more social than win-based.
“We’re not like, super competitive I would say. It’s more just a social thing,” Donovan Schultz, a member of the “Craig Cakes” trivia team said. “We have the same waitress and like, we get to know the guy that usually does trivia and so like it’s just something to look forward to every week.”
Leigh Sloan, the scorekeeper for the night, says she has learned a lot from watching players.
“There’s always something new to learn every night. You’ll learn something outrageously obscure,” she said.
This story was originally written for the Macon Telegraph on Feb. 20, 2025.
