Longhorn Legacy:
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. It was managed for a time by Jack Ruby before it landed in the capable hands of ‘Dewey’ Groom who renamed it the Longhorn Ballroom. Groom 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.
“Texas Most Historic Music Venue”
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.
A new generation of ownership brings an entrepreneurial and independent spirit and looks forward to bringing this legendary venue back to its storied heyday.
GALLERY
NOTABLE FIRST PERFORMANCES
1950s
Al Dexter, Artie Shaw, Audrey Inman, Billy Eckstine, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Brooke Benton, Clay Allen, Dewey Groom and His Texas Longhorns, Fats Domino, George Morgan, Hank Thompson, Jerry Bird, Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey, Joni James, Lionel Hampton, Luke Wills, Nat King Cole, Ray Price, Ruth Brown, and Zuzu Bollin
1960s
B.B. King, Bill Monroe, Bo Diddley, Carl & Pearl Butler, Charley Pride, Charlie Walker, Claude King, Ernest Tubb, Freddy Fender, Freddy King, Gene Summers, Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys, Hank Williams Jr., Jerry Lee Lewis, Jim Reeves, Jimmie Reed, Johnny Bush, Kitty Wells, Leon McAuliffe, Little Jimmy Dickens, Little Richard, Minnie Pearl, Oak Cliff T Bone Walker, Otis Redding, Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Roy Clark, Roy Orbison, Stonewall Jackson, Tex Ritter, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson
1970s
Al 'TNT" Braggs, Alvin Crow & the Pleasent Valley Boys, Archie Bell & The Drells, Asleep At The Wheel, Bobby Blue Bland, Box Car Willie, Buck Owens, Conway Twitty, Dave & Sugar, David Allan Coe, Denim, Doug Sahm, Earl Scruggs Revue, Eddie Rabbitt, Ernest Tubb, Freddie Fender, Gene Watson, George Jones, Hank Thompson, Hank Williams Jr, Howard Roberts, Jerry Jeff Walker, Joe Stampley, Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Rodriguez, Johnny Wright, Kitty Wells, Leon Rausch, Les Paul, Linda Gail Lewis, Little Milton, Mel Tillis, Merle Haggard, Mickey Gilley, Moe Bandy, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Patti Smith, Paul English, Ray Price, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ronnie Milsap, Rusty Wier, Sex Pistols, Squeeze, Stoney Edwards, Tal Farlow, Tammy Wynette, The Nervebreakers, Tommy Overstreet
1980s
Aerosmith, Al Green, Badfinger, Big Audio Dynamite, Bobby Womack, Bolshoi, Buck Pets, Burning Spear, Butthole Surfers, BW Stevenson, Charlie Daniels Band, Chubby Checker, Con Huntley, Conway Twitty, Cro-Mags, Dave Alvin and the All-Nighters, David Frizzell, Dewey Groom, Doctor and the Medics, Dwight Yoakam, Edgar Winter, Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, Fela Kuti, Flaming Lips, Four Tops, Gary P Nunn, George Jones, George Strait, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Georgia Satellites, Glen Campbell, Head East, James Brown, Jason and the Scorchers, Jesse James, Joe Ely, Joe Stampley, Joe Walsh, John Anderson, John Conlee, Johnnie Taylor, Johnny Cash, Johnny Winter, June Carter and The Carter Family, Killer Dwarfs, Leon Everette, Leon Russell, Little Joe Y La Familia, Little Johnny Taylor, Loretta Lynn, Los Lobos, Love & Rockets, Megadeath, Mel Tillis, Merle Haggard, Metal Church, Michael Martin Murphey, Millie Jackson, Mitch Ryder, Moe Bandy, Molly Hatchet, Motorhead, O'Jays, Oingo Boingo, Peyote Cowboys, R.L. Griffin, Ramones, Rank and File, Rare Earth, Ray Charles and the Raylettes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Reverend Horton Heat, Rigor Mortis, Robin Trower, Ronnie Milsap, Saxon, Scratch Acid, Shadowfax, Shallow Reign, Steve Wariner, Stevie Ray Vaughan, T.S.O.L., The Judy's, The O'Jays, Three Dog Night, Three On A Hill, Trees, Tyrone Davis, Valaam and the Angel, Wendy O. Williams, Z.Z. Hill, Zapp & Roger
1990s and Beyond
Bobby Patterson, Cartwrights, Dorothy Moore, Emmylou Harris, Fion Regas, Johnnie Taylor, Lucinda Williams, Mel Waiters, Morgan Wade, Neal McCoy, Old 97's, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sarah Jaffe, Selena, Shinyribs, The Drams, Toadies