Get Ready Calgary, Cowboys Dancehall is BACK

Cowboys Dancehall is Open Again

Another sign that life is returning to pre-pandemic normal, Cowboys Dancehall in Calgary is set to reopen this weekend. Your favorite cowboy, King Calgary along with what looked like about 300 to 400 others, had the opportunity to get invited to the soft opening VIP event this evening thanks to Meryl and the fine management at this long running western watering hole. Of course, you know when I’m invited for a beverage I am bound to accept right?

Where the H is Cowboys?

Maybe you haven’t been to Cowboys before or even heard of this famous modern Western saloon. It seems like half of the folks living here in Calgary have only just arrived from someplace else in the past 2 years, so it is quite possible that many are not familiar with this place or even know where it is located. The simplest explanation that even those brand new to the City will understand is that Cowboys Dancehall is located downtown, right next to the Calgary Saddledome arena. More accurately, it is located inside what is now called Cowboys Casino. So if you can find the casino, you can find the dance bar.

Calgary Parking Sucks

If you don’t already know, parking just about everywhere near downtown in this city is pure shit. The Cowboys Casino isn’t normally too horrible as they have above ground parking along with a small underground parkade. However, as luck would have it this evening happened to also be the Home Opener game for the Calgary Flames. This would be bad enough but to add to it the opponents happed to be the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Colorado Avalanche so the entire area around the Saddledome was packed beyond capacity and there was zero parking by about 7pm. If you happen to visit the Casino or the Dance bar on any normal night you likely wouldn’t have such a problem and might even be able to park in the free parking instead of the $15 paid parking lot. And if there is no event going on at the Calgary Saddledome then there is pretty unlimited parking nearby.

2 Long Years

Cowboys started in a location right in the heart of downtown and build a name for itself as a club that wasn’t afraid to spend money and bring in top level live music and acts. The line up of artists and performers who they have hosted is actually very remarkable. And, they bring these big name shows in not only during Calgary Stampede week, but throughout the entire year too. Their success is probably a large part of the reason they relocated to the Stampede grounds to the new and larger space in the Casino development a few years back, only to face the same lock downs and restrictions that crippled the rest of the entertainment and hospitality industry 2 years ago. As of tonight though, that comes to an end.

The Posse at Cowboys

For the grand opening event they had a ton of staff hired and on duty. There must have been at least 60 employees working the room, from Security to Bartenders, all easily identifiable by their branded outfits. The average age of the staff is pretty young, many of them definitely were too young to even get inside this Calgary club the last time the doors were open to the public. The crowd was also on the younger side, probably about the same age as the staff. The room was pretty full from the time the doors opened until the time I rode off into the sunset. If I was twenty years younger…….. By comparison, I would say that Ranchman’s event that I attended last month the crowd averaged at least 10 years older. So depending on your age, you might prefer the scene at one of these great clubs over the other just for that reason.

Live Music Back on Stage

The entertainment for tonight’s event was country music recording artist Ben Chase. He started the set by welcoming the crowd and playing a couple cover songs from off the current charts, hitting them so well that at first I thought they were his songs. I actually had to check the google to make sure I wasn’t mistaken, his covers were that well done. He threw a bit of a mix into the set also by doing a rendition of Lose Yourself by Eminem, as well as the Charlie Daniels classic The Devil Went Down To Georgia featuring a guest fiddle player in the band.

The young crowd seemed a bit more interested in the socializing and drinking than they actually did in the live music. Cowboys staff was able to recruit a few to get out onto the dance floor and christen it back into operation though, then later in the live set the band was able to briefly fill it full of patrons doing the line dance to a medley of songs built around Cadillac Ranch. The band was good, just not a night where the crowd was there to hear them play so the audience was a little flat.

Music and Recreation

The bar has changed its focus slightly in its reopening. The space has added a bit more of a rec room vibe by adding in a lot more social activities and entertainment options. They have a couple ping pong tables, table top jenga, a digital photo booth, and a ton of new video games spread throughout. They have also converted the entire 2nd level mezzanine into a video game center which you can purchase game play time by the hour. This is similar to the many other Calgary beercade or brewcade type venues which have recently popped up.

The Marlborough Man

The marketing at Cowboys is smart. They do a great job with their branding. They also have done a great job integrating their social tags into all of their advertising as well as their decor. Everywhere you see the name of the club you will see their username or hashtags close by. As a marketer myself, I think they have done a very good job with their social media marketing. In addition, throughout the club many of the walls are stylized into perfectly designed and branded photo backdrops, just waiting to be shared across social platforms, its truly a thing of beauty to see it done so well. Not since Cowboys sold cigarettes have it seen something so effective.

I’m Your Huckleberry

We had a good time at Cowboys. The drink service was good and the live music is always my favorite drawing card to any Calgary club. The typical weekend crowd will most likely be younger than old King Calgary, and they will definitely pack that place full, especially with such a large and open dance floor space. I expect on nights that they host live music will be the only time you will see the demographics move up, as the Calgary live music scene is most strongly supported by patrons over 40. The younger crowd doesn’t generally seek it out as passionately. I will be back, looking forward to seeing what acts they bring to town and especially what talent they will have lined up for the Cowboys Dance Hall outdoor tent at Calgary Stampede 2023. Let’s hope they send me an invite…….

~ King Calgary

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