San Antonio: Entertainment and nightlife
With its abundance of picturesque settings, San Antonio is a great city for festivals . The year's biggest event is April's ten-day Fiesta San Antonio ( ), marking Texas's victory in the Battle of San Jacinto, with parades, cookouts and Latin music concerts filling the streets. Also in May is the Tejano Conjunto Festival at Rosedale Park and at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center on Guadalupe Street (tel 210/271-3151, ), west of downtown, which celebrates the German-Mexican country music of south and central Texas. During June's Texas Folklife Festival at the Institute of Texan Cultures, ten stages reflect the state's huge diversity of music, ranging from gospel to Lebanese. Finally, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo ( ) in early February celebrates cowboy and King of the Hill culture with two weeks of rodeo events and country music.Check the free weekly Current ( ) for gigs, films and events. The live jazz and flamenco in the restaurants along the River Walk tend to be rather sanitized, while N St Mary's Street (just beyond the bus station toward the art museum) is the main strip for college clubs and bars. The outdoor Arneson River Theatre , opposite La Villita, where the river separates the audience from the stage, hosts Mexican folk music and dance during the summer. The outlying areas hold some great old country dance halls , the best of which is Greune Hall .
Bonham Exchange 411 Bonham St tel 210/271-3811. Popular mixed gay club with good house and garage DJs.
Floore Country Store 14464 Old Bandera Rd, downtown Helotes tel 210/695-8827. Old country dance hall, with outdoor dancing.
Gruene Hall 1281 Gruene Rd, Gruene tel 210/606-1281. Dominating this small town (pronounced green ), 30 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio, is the oldest remaining dance hall in Texas, with top country stars playing here at weekends.
Jim Cullum's The Landing 123 Losoya St under the Hyatt Regency tel 210/223-7266. Traditional jazz every night in a club that's been running for over thirty years.
Polly Esther's 212 College St tel 210/220-1972. Sure, it's a chain, but it's also undeniably fun and enlivened by an ultra-energetic crowd spilling out from the club all over the River Walk.
Swig 111 W Crockett St tel 210/476-0005. The best martinis in the city, with an attractive crowd looking to mingle in a jazzy, classy space.
Tycoon Flats 2926 N St Mary's St tel 210/737-1929. A variety of live music with no cover charge. Patio restaurant serves good vegetarian food for about $5 per plate. Closed Mon.
White Rabbit 2410 N St Mary's St tel 210/737-2221. The main venue for touring indie bands, drawing a raucous, young crowd.
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