“I would say that in 1984, Dallas did not have any original music or art scene,” says Russell Hobbs, the founder of the historic venue. “We opened the Theatre Gallery in September of 1984 and completely changed Dallas, combining art, music and theater. We created a cultural magnet, and everybody came from all over the country.”
Jeffrey Liles, the Kessler’s artistic director, threw a similar event honoring the Starck Club, another iconic Dallas venue, earlier this year. This event hits a little closer to home for him, as the Theatre Gallery is where his storied career as a concert promoter began almost by accident.
“I met [Hobbs] and asked if my band could play there,” he recalls. “I went back and told my band, ‘I got us this gig at this art gallery. It’s going to be great.’ And the band guys told me, ‘Well, we’re breaking up the band.’ So I had to go back and tell Russell my band broke up. And he’s like, ‘Well, why don’t you stay here and help me find bands to play.’ And that’s how I got my start in the booking business.”
In the early 20th century, Deep Ellum was a hotspot for music and culture, specifically jazz and blues. By 1984, however, that reputation had long faded and the neighborhood was a largely empty warehouse district.
“The only reason you would ever go through Deep Ellum is driving through there on the way to Fair Park,” Liles says. “They didn’t really know the whole backstory about how it was this cultural destination in the Depression.”
Theatre Gallery was the first building in Deep Ellum to hang a neon sign out front. The free-spirited vibes, good music and free beer made the warehouse a home to Dallas’ counterculture at the time. A home, literally, in some cases, as artists would frequently live in hidden lofts within the building.
“There was kind of an underground element to it where the only people who knew about it were the people who had heard about it through word of mouth,” Liles says. “For a lot of the kids that live in these suburbs, the Theatre Gallery was kind of like their best kept secret. [...] Nobody really knew what they were doing. They were just disappearing and going to this warehouse district outside of Downtown Dallas. They created their own culture.”
No good secret stays one forever. Dallas artists like the New Bohemians and Rigor Mortis flocked to Theatre Gallery and became mainstays of its stage. The venue later welcomed world-famous acts like Jane’s Addiction, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Flaming Lips in their Dallas debuts.
The event at the Kessler will function as a reunion for some of the Theatre Gallery’s most beloved acts. Members of the End, the Trees, Shallow Reign, New Bohemians, DDT and the Buck Pets will come together to form “Theatre Gallery All-Star Band.”
While the reunion will be joyful and nostalgic, Hobbs admits that the exact atmosphere of Theatre Gallery is impossible to replicate.
“I would say the atmosphere that night will be exploratory,” he says. “People reuniting and relishing in the beauty that was developed in the '80s. I don't know if it's recreatable, but it's certainly inspirational.”
The tribute event will include a screening of Round Pegs Square Holes, a new documentary on the history of Deep Ellum.
“It’s about all these people that came together in a perfect storm and found out who they were and who they were destined to be as creators,” says Hobbs, who is featured in the film, as are Mark Cuban and Billy Bob Thornton.
Theatre Gallery and the Starck Club won’t be the only legendary venues to receive homages at the Kessler. Liles already has another hallowed venue on his mind.
“One of the ones I really want to do is Caravan of Dreams,” he says. “It was a night club in Fort Worth that very much influenced the Kessler. Every famous jazz musician in the world played there. It was this phenomenal listening room space. If we’re going to do another reunion, that’ll probably be the next one. Maybe a year from now or something like that.”
Though the Theatre Gallery doesn’t exist anymore, the circumstances that led to the outburst of creativity there are still present. Hobbs believes that modern challenges facing culturally significant neighborhoods like Deep Ellum can push creatives rather than limit them, and the Theatre Gallery was the ultimate example of that.
“Art in its true form has to survive, like a juniper tree on the side of a mountain,” he says. “There has to be a tension and a survival instinct for true art inside the soul or in a city.”
The Theatre Gallery Reunion will take place at The Kessler Theater on Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased on Prekindle.
