Concert News

Dallas' Longhorn Ballroom reveals first acts to perform at restored venue

Emmylou Harris

Kat Villacorta

The big acts are coming out for Dallas' famed Longhorn Ballroom, slated for a comeback in spring 2023.

The historic venue, currently in the final throes of a renovation by Kessler Presents, is anticipated to softly reopen at the end of March, and already has shows on the books by epic performers including Asleep at The Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show, Joshua Ray Walker, and Emmy Lou Harris.

Harris' show on April 22 will be the first at the Longhorn for this long-reigning Americana queen.

Kessler Presents is the team headed by historical steward Edwin Cabaniss, who also restored the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff and The Heights Theater in Houston.

They're reopening the Longhorn Ballroom with the goal of bringing it back to its heyday so a new generation can enjoy what is a Texas legend.

"We are excited to share the first batch of shows as it is just a taste of what patrons can expect from Longhorn Ballroom programming in the coming years,” Cabaniss says in a release. “From the legendary to the emerging-and-rocketing-toward-stardom, every bill during our soft launch is made up of artists we love and are personally excited to see perform."

The first round of shows with dates are as follows:

March 30: Asleep at the Wheel with Brennen Leigh and Joshua Hedley
March 31: Old Crow Medicine Show with special guest Joshua Ray Walker
April 1: Morgan Wade with special guests Lucero and Kaitlin Butts
April 22: Emmylou Harris

Tickets for some shows begin going on sale January 31.

Western Swing torchbearers Asleep at the Wheel with Brennen Leigh and Joshua Hedley will be the first acts back in the Longhorn, keeping in line with Kessler Presents' goal of connecting the venue's history to the present and future.

"We first played the Longhorn in 1974, and for a bunch of young Bob Wills fans, it was a thrill," says Asleep at the Wheel frontman and founder Ray Benson in a statement. "I have seen the ups and downs of the Longhorn over the last 50 years, and am very excited and relieved that Edwin and his team are going to continue to honor the tradition of this special place and make sure it is never forgotten or lost like so many other of Texas’ historic venues and dance halls."

"To be the first band back on the Longhorn stage for the reopening is an honor and an opportunity I take great pride in having," Benson says. "You can bet the dance floor will be packed and Bob Wills music will be played!"

Morgan Wade was originally scheduled for the Kessler Theater, but that show sold out, prompting the team to move the show to the Longhorn, which with 2,000-plus seats is larger capacity, and adding alt-country favorites Lucero to the bill.

Tickets can be purchased at Longhornballroom.com and go on sale at 10 am on the following dates:

January 31: Morgan Wade/Lucero
February 1: Asleep at the Wheel
February 3: Old Crow Medicine Show (with artist presale on February 1)
February 3: Emmylou Harris

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Book News

Barnes & Noble to open 2 new Dallas-area stores but will close Plano

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, new look.

There's good news and bad on the bookstore front: Two new locations of bookstore chain Barnes & Noble are opening in the Dallas area, one soon and one very soon, but a third is closing this week.

Closing
The store in Plano at 801 W. 15th St. is closing on Sunday, June 15. According to a company representative, the Plano store is an older, larger store model that the chain is turning away from, in favor of a new smaller model it's embracing for all new stores.

It also has three other locations within close proximity: West Plano, Allen, and Richardson.

Other DFW stores that still have that similar larger/older floorplan include Preston & Park in Plano; Prestonwood Center in North Dallas, and Lincoln Park in Dallas across from Northpark Center.

Opening
There are two new stores opening in summer/fall:

Rockwall, at 1009 E I-30, will open in late summer.
Prosper, at 1191 Gates Pkwy., in the newly developed Gates of Prosper, will open in the fall.

According to a spokesperson, the new Rockwall store will follow the chain's new design seen in their most recent store openings, featuring "all the best books, toys, games, vinyl, and gifts our customers have come to expect." It will also house a B&N Café.

The store is approximately 20,000 square feet and will be located in the space formerly occupied by Staples, which closed in January 2025.

The store in Prosper will be nearly 20,000 square feet and is anticipated to feature the same model and selection as the Rockwall store, including a B&N Café.

In August 2019, Barnes & Noble was acquired by Elliott Advisors (UK) and taken private. Elliott’s acquisition of Barnes & Noble followed its June 2018 acquisition of Waterstones, the largest bookseller in the U.K.

Barnes & Noble is experiencing a period of growth, the result of a strategy to hand over control of each bookstore to its manager. They're enjoying strong sales and have opened many new stores after 15-plus years of declining store numbers. In 2022, they opened more new bookstores in a single year than in the entire decade from 2009 to 2019.

They've continued to open more locations, including three in the DFW area in 2024: a store in Allen as well as stores in Flower Mound and Richardson — part of a wave of store openings that show the chain in the midst of a major comeback.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest retail bookseller in the United States. The company has more than 630 bookstores across the U.S., as well as its online bookstore at bn.com, the Nook Digital business which offers both e-books and an audio book subscriptions service, the SparkNotes educational service, stationery and gift retailer Paper Source, and the publisher Union Square & Co.

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