This nightclub, located at 308 Main Street in downtown Bandera, Texas, has been frequented by a number of local and national artists, including Robert Earl Keen, Willie Nelson, Charlie Robinson, Johnny Bush, and Jay Hooker. The building was constructed in 1921 and opened as the Fox Hole public house. In the 1940s, the dance hall became the Silver Dollar. In 1968, the building was purchased by singer and songwriter Arkie Yuenke, who was born in neighboring Gillespie County. After Yuenke graduated from Fredericksburg High School, he began performing at the Lost Valley Ranch, located east of Bandera. In 1968, Ewenke changed his name to Arkey Blue and bought the Silver Dollar Saloon, where he still performed with his band the Blue Cowboys in the 2010s.
Several of Arkey Blue’s own songs have also been featured in films, including “Daddy’s Sick Again” from the cult classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and “Living on Credit” and “Misty Hours of Daylight” from Peter Fonda’s 1975 film Racing with the Devil. In 2005, Arkie Blue was the first person to be inducted into the Bandera Music History Project Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he was named Songwriter of the Year. The Hall of Fame declared Arkie Blue’s Silver Dollar Saloon a “Legendary Place” in 2012. Named one of the top three honky-tonks in the state by Texas Highways magazine, the saloon celebrated its fiftieth anniversary as Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar Saloon in 2018 and remained a popular live music venue for locals and tourists into the 2020s.
