Cain's Ballroom, Music venue in Tulsa, United States.
Cain's Ballroom is a music venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, built in 1924 and originally used as a garage. Its red vertical sign reads "CAIN'S" above "BALLROOM" and "DANCING" in white capitals, edged with green and white trim and mounted on a rough stone and brick wall. A banner above the main stage reads "Home of Bob Wills".
The building was originally constructed as a garage in 1924 and transformed into Cain's Dance Academy in 1930, becoming a center for music performances. This shift marked the start of its role as a significant venue for live music in the region.
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys broadcast almost daily from Cain's on KVOO-AM, and it was during these performances that Wills popularized Western swing. A banner above the main stage reads "Home of Bob Wills." The venue also booked Black artists such as Count Basie and Ernie Fields while much of Tulsa was segregated.
The venue sits in downtown Tulsa, and the red sign reading "CAIN'S BALLROOM DANCING" hangs on a rough stone and brick wall. The building was in disrepair when the Rodgers family bought it in 2002, and renovations brought it to modern standards; Dwight Yoakam played the first show after that work. The ballroom is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Cain's Dancing Academy" since 2003.
A section of the green room drywall, punched through by Sid Vicious after the Sex Pistols' show on January 11, 1978, was cut out and is kept on display at Cain's. The band played one of only seven dates on its sole North American tour.
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