Longhorn Ballroom
[Dallas, TX] The Longhorn Ballroom was built in 1950 for country music legend Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and was originally named Bob Wills’ Ranch House.
Groom renamed it the Longhorn Ballroom and built it into one of the greatest venues of its day.
The Ballroom hosted a wide variety of acts from country legends like Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Patsy Cline, and George Jones to world-renowned jazz, blues, and R&B artists like B. B. King, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, James Brown, and Al Green. Johnny Rodriquez, Freddy Fender, and Selena have also graced the stage.
In 1978 the Longhorn Ballroom reached international fame for being one of six venues in America to host the Sex Pistols on their only US tour. The tour was considered one of the seminal moments in rock and roll history.
The venue has always embraced the punk attitude of pushing to expand the boundaries of inclusion and acceptance through hosting a variety of artists and cutting-edge performances.
From October 1996 to February 2017, the Longhorn Ballroom was used for private events. After that, the venue struggled and remained closed through ownership changes, bad weather events, restoration attempts and the coronavirus pandemic.
But in 2022, Dallas popular music impresario Edwin Cabaniss (The Kessler, The Heights, Kessler Presents) obtained the property. With his leadership:
- restorations resumed,
- greater plans for the property have been announced, and
- performances have once again returned to the 2,000-capacity venue.
The Longhorn Ballroom re-opened Mar. 30, 2023, with Asleep at the Wheel. A full calendar of upcoming concerts is available on the Ballroom’s website.
Welcome back. Now, as Bob Wills used to say, “Get it!”
LONGHORN BALLROOM LINKS