Flashback — Double Bayou Dance Hall   2 comments

Double Bayou Dance Hall (May 25, 2005) — Image by kenne

Opened in 1941
a blues dance hall
in a black community
in bayou country
not far from Houston.

Music lovers from
all over southeast Texas
came to dance 
drink beer, eat smoked brisket
and sweet potato pie.

Born in Double Bayou 
Texas bluesman Pete Mayes
provided the house band
at the “the place” before time
and hurricanes condemned it.

Still standing
surrounded by overgrown
weeds and Spanish moss-draped
trees fronted by a historical marker
by Eagle Ferry Road.

A Christmas Day matinee
became an annual event
where the House Rockers
rocked out the blues
for holiday merrymakers.

— kenne

Posted December 28, 2021 by kenneturner in Black & White Photography, Blues, Existential Moment, Information, Photography, Poetry

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2 responses to “Flashback — Double Bayou Dance Hall”

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  1. I saw Pete Mayes play the Double Bayou a couple of times. Sat at a table with Teddy Reynolds with tears in my eyes as he sang an old hymnal. Just a young white kid that always loved the blues since the time I was introduced to B B. King at the age of twelve. It hurts my my heart to see it in its current condition. Man, that place used to be something. You could feel it the moment you crossed the threshold. Rest in peace Pete Mayes. You’re gone but not forgotten.

    Reply
    Anonymous
    April 20, 2025 at 9:47 am

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