Image from video, courtesy Kessler Presents
Today marks the 45th anniversary of Longhorn Ballroom hosting Merle Haggard, who took the stage nine days after Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious and the other Sex Pistols. More history in a minute. First, the Longhorn Ballroom owners have an announcement.
Oak Cliff resident Edwin Cabaniss and the rest of the team from the Longhorn’s new owner Kessler Presents (the independent operating company that revitalized Oak Cliff’s Kessler Theater and The Heights Theater in Houston) are in the thick of an intensive restoration, a spokesperson tells us.
They are ready to officially tell the public that bands will return to the Longhorn stage this spring.
Here’s everything we reported on the project in March, along with a description of historical highlights.
The staff at Kessler Presents takes pride in their prioritization of the patron and artist experience, they note with the announcement.
“Our patrons crave authenticity and the magic of discovery in unique settings,” Cabaniss says. “It’s been the model for our successes at the Kessler and now we will apply those same values at the Longhorn.”
According to a press release, Cabaniss and his team hope to share the story of Longhorn Ballroom “not in just a historical way, but as a living, breathing testament to its musical contributions to the greater American musical canon.”
They’lll do so in part with an in-house museum, utilizing the building’s original display cases.
What’s displayed? They are glad you asked.
To name a few, Tex Ritter’s suit; James Brown’s robe; an extraordinary collection of guitars from artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Waylon Jennings, Tammy Wynette and BB King; the dress Loretta Lynn wore when she played the Longhorn; Bob Wills’ fiddle amplifier “and many, many other items and photographs from the venue’s early days.”
Advocate reported in the spring that the Longhorn’s renovators “found photos from a 1981 Loretta Lynn concert that was simulcast to TV viewers from the Longhorn.
They found a photo of the Rolling Stones, who took time when they were on tour in Dallas to see Bobby “Blue” Bland at the Longhorn. Cabaniss says the Stones play the Waylon Jennings song “Bob Wills is Still the King,” any time they perform in Dallas.
The “lovingly collected and meticulously displayed” items in the Longhorn’s museum hail from an era during which the music hall presented concerts that went down in history as some of our city’s more memorable cultural events.
In addition to everyone mentioned above, the Lonestar had Nat King Cole, Patsy Cline, T- Bone Walker, Ernest Tubb, Ray Charles, Asleep at the Wheel, Little Richard, George Jones, Charley Pride, Jennings, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Ramones, Patti Smith, Johnnie Taylor, Al Green, George Strait, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Selena.
“From its early days as Bob Wills’ Ranch House to a wild period when infamous club owner and assassin Jack Ruby was running the venue to Dewey Groom’s long tenure as its owner, many musical legends have graced the long stage of the Longhorn Ballroom,” says the team at Kessler Presents. There also was a fiasco with a goat that got on Dewey’s bad side, per this D Magazine feature, which is quite entertaining.
As for those who will play Longhorn in this modern era, expect to see the type of bands that once played Kessler but have since blown up, the owners say.
“We take great pride that many artists build their fan bases at the Kessler Theater and then graduate to bigger rooms.” Cabaniss says. “With the addition of the Longhorn Ballroom, we can continue to grow with them.”
The team considers this 2,000+ capacity venue a way to continue their support of artists within the Dallas touring market, they say.
Located at 216 Corinth, the venue is situated in a neighborhood ripe for revitalization, say supporters of the reopening.
Since the purchase of Longhorn Ballroom, Cabaniss has been engaging with local leaders — including Dallas mayor, Eric Johnson — businesses, and nearby residents to map out a strategy for parlaying the venue a catalyst for positive change.
Johnson calls Longhorn Ballroom “a monument to our city’s rich music history — a history that deserves to be front and center nationally.”
He adds that the building is “located in a part of our city that is primed for growth in the years ahead.”
“This is a wonderful opportunity to help preserve a piece of our past while building something new and exciting that is up to modern standards,” Johnson says. “And Edwin Cabaniss is someone who has both a viable plan and the experience necessary to revive and revitalize a uniquely Dallas venue.”
Fans can hype up for the opening by familiarizing themselves with the Ballroom’s musical history — just listen to this Spotify playlist which features songs from every era and artist.
Like Mayor Johnson, you’ll be saying, “I look forward to seeing some great concerts there for years to come.”
