The iconic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa will celebrate its 100th year with several big shows throughout 2024, including a tour-opening concert of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant in June.
A news conference earlier this week announced the Krauss-Plant show on June 2, along with Tulsa hometown heroes Hanson in December and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit on May 5-6. More shows will be announced later this year.
Marshall Brewing Co. in Tulsa also announced a special Cain’s Centennial Beer.
The Tulsa World reported:
Cain’s debuted in 1924 as an auto garage before becoming a dance academy, the Bob Wills-fueled birthplace of western swing music and, ultimately, a 100-year honky tonk with a rich history.
“I got this to say,” former Cain’s Ballroom owner Larry Shaeffer said when he took his turn at the microphone on the stage. “At last, at last, thank god at last, Cain’s made it to 100.”
Shaeffer called Cain’s Ballroom one of the most revered venues in the U.S. and reminded attendees that few places like Cain’s exist nowadays.
He’s not kidding. Cain’s is the only surviving venue from the Sex Pistols’ infamous U.S. tour in 1978.
Cain’s also has hosted shows by Van Halen, U2, The Police, The Pretenders, Jack White, Leon Russell, Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Elvis Costello, Muddy Waters, Wilco, Foo Fighters, Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn and The Black Keys. That list is by no means complete.
Cain’s sits just a few blocks from the older alignment of Route 66 that winds through downtown Tulsa. It also is across the street from the forthcoming OKPOP museum.
(Image of Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa by Janice Waltzer via Flickr)