An Evening at the Old Quarter in Galveston

Martina and I recently spent the evening at the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe in Galveston. The Old Quarter is an iconic listening room, a place where the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Blaze Foley played. It is also a place that was critical in the success of troubadour Hayes Carll. Carll stills plays the venue, though he has been known to fill halls more than ten times the Old Quarter's size.

The Old Quarter's owner is Rex "Wrecks" Bell, and he was very kind and approachable. I asked Rex if the Arkansas flag above the stage was from Blaze Foley, but he said that the flag was there because of the 40 acre farm he and his wife have in Arkansas. It must be noted that Rex is a legend in his own right. He is the namesake of Townes Van Zandt's "Rex's Blues," and not only did he play bass for Townes and Lightnin' Hopkins, for decades he has provided a venue for talented songwriters to cultivate their talents and be taken seriously.

The act hired to play that night was caught in traffic on the way from Austin, so Rex and his wife Janet decided to "open" the show. They played a very enjoyable set for a crowd of eleven, and everything was very loose and relaxed.

The Old Quarter has been compared to a shrine, and the moment I walked in I felt like I had entered a holy place, a temple of song, a place of truth and beauty. In a single moment, I came to love the place because it was clear that it exists for the sake of the song. And I am the kind of man who, in the words of Waylon Jennings, "would rather give you a song than diamonds or gold."

Here is a photograph that Martina took of Rex and Janet Bell at the Old Quarter.

Here is a link to Townes Van Zandt playing "Rex's Blues" live at the Old Quarter in 1973, back at the original Houston venue. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioJizJ93DdQ