Rodeo Exchange — honkytonk and country dance hall in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards
Honkytonk and dance hall.
The Best Little Honkytonk In Texas
A band on the stage five nights a week, free lessons for anybody who wants them, and five bars around the room. Top of the hill in the Stockyards, 21 and over, no dress code.
This week
Line dancing with Marcia
Fort Worth Shuffle with Sonya & Ric
Live country
then $10
Live country
Open early, band on at five
Never done the Fort Worth Shuffle? Come anyway.
Two nights a week, free with your cover. No partner needed, and beginners are who the lessons are for.
Wednesday is line dancing, so nobody has to ask anybody to dance. Thursday is partner work, the Fort Worth Shuffle, and the instructors rotate you through so you are not stuck with one person all night.
Lessons run before the band, so you get an hour or two of teaching and then the rest of the night to use it.
Wednesday line dancing
Step by step with Marcia from six. Karaoke takes the mic at 8:30 and runs to close.
Thursday Fort Worth Shuffle
Partner dancing with Sonya and Ric. Beginners welcome, and you will be moved around the floor.
Friday & Saturday, open floor
No lesson on Friday or Saturday. Doors at seven, the band at nine, and the floor is yours.
Five full bars
Five of them around the room, so there is one near wherever you end up standing.
Hours and how to find us
Address
221 W Exchange Ave
Fort Worth, TX 76164
Phone
Getting here
Uphill and west of Main, past the busy end of Exchange. District lots and valet are a short walk.
Hours
While you are up here
The Fort Worth Herd cattle drive runs down East Exchange twice a day at 11:30am and 4:00pm. Billy Bob’s, Cowtown Coliseum and Mule Alley are all inside a ten minute walk. We are the quiet end, uphill, past Main.
Common questions
What nights are you open?
Wednesday through Sunday. Wednesday is line dancing from 6pm then karaoke. Thursday is dance lessons at 6pm with a live band at 9. Friday and Saturday doors are at 7pm with the band at 9. Sunday Funday opens at 3pm with live music from 5 to 8:30. Monday and Tuesday are held for private events.
Is there a cover charge?
Wednesday and Thursday are $5 until 8pm. Friday has no cover until 8pm and $10 after. Saturday is $15.
Are the dance lessons really free?
Yes, complimentary with your cover. Wednesday is line dancing, Thursday is the Fort Worth Shuffle. No partner needed and no experience needed.
Is there an age limit?
Strictly 21 and over. Photo ID is checked at the door every night, no exceptions.
Where do I park?
We do not have a lot of our own. District lots and valet are within a short walk, and there is street parking on Exchange. Friday and Saturday nights fill up, so leave yourself time.
Can I book the place for a private event?
Yes. The VIP Corner is a flat $500 and includes cover for your group. Reservations are confirmed once paid. The whole hall can be booked as a buyout, and Monday and Tuesday are held open for exactly that. Private events.
Do you have live music every night?
Thursday through Sunday. Bands usually play a Thursday to Saturday run, so if you miss an act once you get two more chances that week.
Is it wheelchair accessible?
Yes. The entrance and the restrooms are wheelchair accessible.
What payment do you take?
Cash, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.
Is there a dress code?
None. Boots optional, though you will see a lot of them.
Book the corner, or the whole hall
Either a reserved corner on a normal night, or the building to yourself.
VIP Corner
$500 flat, cover included for the group
Leather banquette and barrel tables under the monogram, looking out over the floor. Pick an available night and reserve the whole corner.
Book the corner
Whole Hall
Monday and Tuesday, or by arrangement
The whole building. Stage, sound, the dance floor and all five bars, with a menu built with you.
Ask about a buyoutCorporate nights, birthdays, reunions and company parties. Tell us about your night and we will come back to you, usually the same or next day.
Top of the hill, forty years in
Family owned and run. Same building, same floor, same crowd that has been coming for decades.
More about the building
221 W Exchange is the Cody Building, put up around 1910 as the Cody House: a three-story hotel with shopfronts on the ground floor and rooms above. It also traded as the Hereford Hotel and the Hotel Brown. The 1911 Sanborn fire insurance map shows it exactly as it stands today.
In 1986 the building was restored and Rodeo Exchange opened downstairs. The restoration and the dance hall are the same event.
Photographs from the archive
The busy end of Exchange Avenue is downhill and east, where the cattle drive runs at 11:30 and 4:00. We are the other way, past Main.