The bar business can be fickle. Add to that a pandemic and seemingly never-ending construction, and businesses on the St. Mary’s Strip have been in a precarious position in recent years.
The Lonesome Rose, which opened in 2018 as a honky tonk offering on the strip, has hosted local and touring acts including the Beaumonts, Buttercup, cowpunk icons Hickoids, hometown garage rock heroes Sons of Hercules and legendary country-punk vocalist Texacala Jones. Thanks to its spacious outdoor area perfect for social distancing, the bar was able to come out of lockdown swinging.
The venue is celebrating its five-year anniversary with multiple events Nov. 15-19, including Cowboy Karaoke night, dance lessons, musical performances by Dale Watson, Hickoids, The Texases, Santiago Jimenez Jr., singer-songwriter Sid, Sons of Hercules and a Sunday Funday free matinee.
“The Lonesome Rose has stayed rocking on the St. Mary’s Strip these last five years,” said co-owner and musician Garrett T. Capps. “We can’t wait to celebrate our honky tonk’s anniversary with all our cool guests. It’ll be a fiesta, San Antone style.”
Building upon the notion of the Central Texas “cosmic cowboy” of the ’60s and ’70s, a laid-back, understated yet loquacious persona radically in tune with the universe (with a requisite Southern drawl), “Space Cowboy” Capps is responsible for the entertainment offerings at The Lonesome Rose. His business cohorts include nightlife entrepreneurs Danny Delgado and Joey Cano and mixologist Hillary Woodhouse. In addition to live music, The Lonesome Rose features an ancient jukebox stocked with 45s and a large outdoor patio with fire pits and food offerings from Slab Side food truck.
Despite its relatively young age, The Lonesome Rose has established itself as a local staple, dubbing itself the “oldest honky tonk” on the St. Mary’s Strip, an area that was once home to iconic music venues like Taco Land and Saluté. Rather than try to emulate icons of yesteryear, they have thrown their anchor a bit sideways, opting for the two-step over a mosh pit.
“Honky tonk has a home in San Antone — it always has,” reads The Lonesome Rose’s website. It points to Jimmie Rodgers playing the grand opening of the Majestic Theatre in 1929, The Carter Family spending their winters living and recording in Monticello Park through the 1930s and ’40s. “Even Doug Sahm’s brand of Tex-Mex swagger launched the Alamo City onto the scene during the 1960s, ’70s and beyond.”
While The Lonesome Rose has a firm grasp of our region’s musical past, it has its eyes set on the future and on continuing to build a reputation as a home for a pool of talent as big, diverse and distinct as Texas.
“As the illusion of time moves on, The Rose will continue to serve as a community hub for killer country and rock ‘n’ roll music,” said Capps. “The good times are only beginning.”
The celebration kicks off Wednesday with Cowboy Karaoke Night at 9 p.m. Visit the venue’s website for a full list of The Lonesome Rose’s 5th-anniversary events.
