Pat Green's Dance Halls & Dreamers

Pat Green's Dance Halls & Dreamers is an all-access look at Texas's legendary music venues and the musicians who make them great. Author Luke Gilliam and photographer Guy Rogers III spent a day at ten of Texas's venerable dance halls, recording candid interviews and action-packed color photographs. The result is an unprecedented day-in-the-life look at the people who make the Texas music scene flourish. Each of the chapters documents a venue's personality, history, and atmosphere as everyone prepares for and parties at the biggest show in town. Texas icon and three-time Grammy nominee Pat Green shares his memories and favorite stories of each venue. He also gives fans a backstage pass into his world with a performance at his favorite dance hall, Gruene Hall. A unique assemblage of Texas musicians share their stories about dance halls that have served as landmarks on their rise to fame. Hear from honky-tonk heroes Willie Nelson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Robert Earl Keen, as well as established stars Jack Ingram, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Cory Morrow, and Kevin Fowler, and up-and-comers Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen. Each performer offers a firsthand perspective on his career.The venues are equally diverse, from the big city lights of Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth and Stubb's BBQ in Austin to road-trip outposts in Luckenbach and Schroeder Hall. But the Texas music scene's true essence is painted by the dance hall owners, bartenders, bouncers, and fans, who commingle at these halls on a nightly basis. Colorful sidebars delve into the unique characteristics of each hall as well as its founding fathers. Read more