Bandera: Cabaret Dance Hall

The Cabaret Dance Hall (also known as Cabaret Café & Dance Hall) opened in 1936 in the heart of Texas’ “Cowboy Capital of the World.” Over seven decades of operation, the club became a beloved rustic dance hall and honky-tonk where ranchers, military folk, dude-ranch guests — and whole families — gathered every weekend for big-band and Western swing rhythms.

Legendary Western-swing greats and country icons graced the stage: Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Doug Sahm, Steve Earle, Loretta Lynn, and even Steve Earle — all were billed at various times in its heyday. Vintage photos from the 1940s show lively band gigs (like “The Stampeders” in 1948), and stories of performances by the likes of those stars are part of town lore.

By around 2013 it was shuttered, and by 2015 it was demolished, according to local listings and historical sources.