For 145 years, Texans have recognized Gruene Hall as prime destination for dancing, drinking and country music.
Now, the charming white-clapboard dancehall near New Braunfels is getting recognition on a national scale. The Academy of Country Music (ACM) has nominated Gruene as Club of the Year 2022.
“It’s our first time being nominated, which is kind of crazy and super thrilling,” Molak Corp. CEO Mary Jane Nalley said of the nomination in an emailed statement. Restauranteur Pat Molak, Nalley’s partner in the business, bought Gruene Hall in 1975.
Gruene Hall is one of five clubs, including Denver’s Grizzly Rose, up for the award.
The ACM’s Best Club will be announced at the 58 Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks on May 11 at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Located at 1281 Gruene Road, in the tiny Hill Country town of Gruene, the historic dance hall has played host to a Who’s Who of country artists, including George Strait, Willie Nelson, LeAnn Rimes and Lyle Lovett.
“It is so rare to have a venue affect the band. When you’re touring like we tour everything starts to look the same and people start to look the same, and boy… when you show up at Gruene, there’s a difference,” singer Pat Green told Texas Music in 2010. “And there’s a freedom … there’s no fear, really, in there. It’s just this anticipation of, ‘Let’s go let it all go.'”
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This article appears in Apr 19 – May 2, 2023.