Jam Session in Moulton
We arrived at the Ole Moulton Bank just in time for Thursday night’s acoustic jam session. Mesquite smoke billowed from a barrel smoker just outside the door. One of the bar’s regulars lifted the lid so we could see the blackened chicken halves cooking inside. He told us there was a big bowl of potato salad too; and that someone brought dessert. He invited us to stick around for dinner. There’s a routine here. Each Thursday when the music ends, dinner is served. The jam session has more than a ten-year history. The home-cooked meal may date back many years as well.
We found a table for two with a good view of the entertainment. In the center of dance floor, four guitar-strumming men were sitting in a circle. They took turns singing. The crowd reacted to a favorite song or two with applause and cheers, but mostly, people visited while they listened. The musicians didn’t seem to mind.
An impressive collection of vintage guitars, fiddles, and mandolins line the old bank walls — literally hundreds of them. The place is a lively, loud museum, filled with laughter and gossip (we’ll never share!), and good music. Some of the old instruments can be purchased; all are as much a part of the décor as the hundred-year-old tin ceilings.
It didn’t take long to meet just about everyone in the place. The town’s website claims it’s a “friendly little city with a heart as big as Texas”. We can certainly vouch for the friendly part. If we lived closer, we’d become Thursday night regulars. There was something easy about being with these strangers and engaging in small talk like we were old friends. Eventually, conversations turned to shale oil. That’s when we discovered we might be the only patrons of this bar that don’t have a producing well or two.
The historic building also houses the Buffalo Breath Recording Studio. It’s just up the stairs. You can schedule a session to record your own hit songs. Best of all, you can walk home if you stay at Rehmet House Bed and Breakfast like we did.
Rehmet owners, Cindy and Don McIntosh, couldn’t be nicer. Cindy is an ex-Moulton mayor and a current municipal judge. Their charming, 1896 vintage home is beautifully restored.
We stayed in one of their comfortable cottages, just behind the main house and just beneath the town’s lighted water tower. It was all very charming.
And breakfast was delicious and elegant.
You may be wondering if we stayed for dinner at the Ole Moulton Bank. We didn’t. Earlier in the day, we stopped at the Kloesel Steakhouse, just across the tracks, and had a prime rib dinner complete with salad and soup.
There are many good reasons Kloesel’s has been around since 1970. We think the prime rib may be partially responsible for their almost perfect score on Yelp and all the kind words in the media.
We’re just sorry we couldn’t stay for Friday night karaoke at Kloesel’s — and for Saturday night karaoke too. One thing is for sure: we’ll be back one day soon!
