One of the Hill Country's most cherished institutions is coming back swinging. Crider's Rodeo & Dancehall in Hunt will reopen May 17 after nearly a year of flood recovery with a benefit concert featuring Texas music icon Gary P. Nunn.
The outdoor dance hall, touted as the oldest in Texas, was gearing up to celebrate its 100th birthday before the catastrophic 2025 floods hit. Instead, rushing waters overturned pool tables, upended the bar, and buried the complex under mud and debris. The venue, typically open Memorial Day through Labor Day, closed indefinitely.
"With heavy hearts, we share that due to the devastating flooding that has impacted Hunt, Texas, and the surrounding areas, Crider's will be closed for the remainder of the 2025 season," the venue wrote at the time. "Crider's has always been more than a place for summer nights and good times — it's a gathering spot for neighbors, friends, and families."
Despite its long road to recovery, Crider’s is using the occasion to give back. The concert, called Plant the Guadalupe, doubles as a fundraiser for the San Antonio Botanical Garden's TREES initiative, a five-year effort to restore 50,000 native trees along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. Local data estimates that the floods swept away between 70 and 90 percent of the river's trees.
Gary P. Nunn headlines Crider's comeback show.Photo courtesy of San Antonio Botanical Garden
Nunn, known for country classics like "Home with the Armadillo" and "Guadalupe Days," will be supported by locals Shane Stumpf and John Christopher Way. Tickets are structured around tree planting — a $25 standing room ticket plants one tree, a $400 Sycamore Table plants 16, and an $800 VIP Bald Cypress Table plants 32.
"Every ticket purchased helps plant trees and strengthen the river that has and will continue to shape our hearts and the heart of the Hill Country for generations," says Tracy Moore, Crider's owner.
