Every weekend in College Station, Hurricane Harry’s comes alive. The honky tonk bar slowly fills with a lively buzz, a mix of regulars and first-timers all piling in for the same thing: the promise of a good time. The hardwood floors are worn smooth from decades of boots twirling around to Texas country music.
Fondly referred to as “Harry’s,” the country dance hall opened in 1992 and has welcomed patrons with wide-open dance floors, personable bartenders, pool tables and live music for 32 years.
Since opening, Harry’s quickly grew into a cornerstone of Aggieland, earning a special place in the hearts of many people who consider it an integral part of their college experience and young adult life.
In 2019, Culpepper Realty released developments for the Legacy Point area, the set of commercial suites where Harry’s is located, for new outdoor dining, retail space and lodging. Since this announcement, there have been years of speculation about Harry’s soon being shut down or relocating. After years of miscommunication, the developers of Legacy Point made a statement to the Battalion on Feb. 23 that construction is planned to begin by March 2025. Phase two of “The Union” project will move forward at Legacy Point in an effort to bridge the gap between Century Square and Northgate for patrons.
Harry’s posted a farewell letter to their social media accounts on March 6, confirming the construction plans. “Our staff and management has been informed that there will be redevelopment on the property that Hurricane Harry’s sits on in early 2025 ... When the time comes, we plan to make it the biggest going away party this town has ever seen,” the post reads.
However, Harry’s lovers are not focused on grieving the end of their cherished establishment just yet; instead, they reminisce on the relationships made and celebrate life- long memories.
Live Music and the Early 2000s
Roger Creager is a Texas country singer and former Texas A&M University student who released his debut album, Having Fun All Wrong, in August 1998 and frequently performed original music with his fellow bandmates in the local area and beyond as their fame grew. Matt Medearis, the former drummer for Roger Creager, recalled the heydays at Harry’s as one of the band’s favorite places to play.
“I remember, when we first started playing [at Harry’s], it didn’t have the new [stage] that’s there now,” Matt says. “They would put all the pool tables together and lay a piece of plywood on top of it. And there you go. There’s your stage ... That was always fun.”
The band steadily grew their stardom and released new music, just as Harry’s aged and expanded their building.
“Then, [Harry’s] got the newer part open with the big stage, and it was really nice,” Matt recalls. “We loved it. There was always a lot of energy in that place. When we
played there, we just sold it out like crazy. I think we would cram over 2,000 people in that place. We probably shouldn’t have, but we would anyway.”
As is true for many other Texas country bands, this local venue served as a catalyst for those trying to make a name in the music industry, especially Roger Creager, Matt explains. Harry’s was — and still is — the largest music venue in College Station.
“Without Harry’s, there wouldn’t have been a next level for us,” Matt says. “There wasn’t another venue in town big enough to get to play for that many people. Without Harry’s, College Station would have missed out on a lot of artists coming through town. It was a very important venue to us, and that’s where we gained most of our popularity.”
The band continued to steadily gain followers and played on much larger stages in Texas, including Chilifest in 2016, various country festivals in Texas and eventually all across the United States. Five studio albums later, Roger Creager has played alongside some of the most well-known rock and country artists, and it all started with the dreams and opportunities at Hurricane Harry’s.
A Niche within the Noise: Finding Community
Despite the small-town feel, moving to College Station as a freshman at one of the largest public universities in the country can be a daunting task. With over 70,000 students, first-year students often find themselves struggling to find a foothold in the hustle and bustle of Aggieland. Although two-stepping and line dancing may not be everyone’s forte, current Texas A&M sophomore Elle Holder says she found her home away from home with one night out at Harry’s.
“My dad being from Louisiana, I grew up listening to country music,” Elle says. “Once I knew I was going to A&M, an alum told me about Hurricane Harry’s and how she went all the time throughout college. Country music just felt like home to me, so when I came to College Station for the first time, I went with a few friends to Harry’s and instantly fell in love with it.”
Elle hasn’t missed a beat at her favorite spot since and now sees Harry’s as an essential part of her weekly routine. She attends with the same group of girlfriends from her first visit, but now as a much more seasoned dancer.
“Two-stepping just comes naturally to me now,” Elle says.
Along with her recurring weekly visits, Elle also enjoys attending the concerts frequently held at Harry’s. She recalls the Randall King concert in January as one of her favorite memories made at Harry’s thus far.
“I was incredibly lucky to see him this semester,” Elle says. “It was an amazing concert for such a small venue. So many students packed the bottom dance floor to watch his concert, and we all sang along with the biggest smiles on our faces.”
This Texas A&M student and the many who came before her can agree on one thing: the positive impact of this treasured dance hall.
“You quite literally cannot have the full A&M experience without going to Hurricane Harry’s,” Elle says. “And I’m thinking about the incoming classes who won’t be able to get that ... I urge everyone to come out at least once before it closes for good!”
A Dance of Resilience
Aside from the camaraderie and entertainment that Harry’s generously offers its patrons, one former Texas A&M student found something uniquely transformative. For Kayla Farson, class of ‘22, Harry’s became a pivotal tool in her knee rehabilitation, serving not just as a weekend hangout, but a huge step in her road to recovery after a painful injury.
“I was there in Kyle Field when A&M beat Alabama in October 2021, and we rushed the field,” Kayla says. “In the chaos of it all, I got pushed over a wall and fell about eight feet onto the field. I completely tore my ACL, partially my MCL and PCL.”
Kayla followed her knee injury with consistent physical therapy and was medically released to walk without her crutches several months after the incident at Kyle Field. Although Kayla was previously familiar with two-stepping, she found her new love for swing dancing to double as an effective form of treatment and recovery.
“I wound up at Harry’s one night, and another dancer there introduced me to the country swing,” Kayla says. “I’m not sure if it was the dance itself or the newfound freedom I had off of my crutches, but that was all it took for me to start going to Harry’s every weekend.”
Kayla explained that the low-impact dance movements expedited her recovery process and drastically improved her mobility on and off the dance floors after she lost close to 50% of her quad muscle. With the muscle she gained back from her frequent dance sessions at Harry’s, she was able to cease physical therapy sessions entirely.
It wasn’t just healing that Kayla found at Harry’s, but also love, meeting a quiet stranger who would soon become her fiancé.
“[Gabriel] asked me to dance, and I accepted it without a second thought,” Kayla says. “But he gave me the best dance of my life, and then we parted ways ... I didn’t even catch his name.”
Kayla says she continued to see Gabriel at Harry’s over the following month. After sharing a few dances here and there, the two finally struck up a conversation over a shot of coffee Jagermeister given out for free one night.
“The rest is history,” Kayla says with a laugh. “To this day, we have still had more dates at Harry’s than anywhere else combined ... I made so many memories, met amazing people, learned to dance and found the love of my life [at Harry’s].”
As one tradition ends, another one begins, although the future of Harry’s is unclear at this time. Despite the whispers of the business relocating with the Legacy Point development, there have been no official statements made regarding what the future holds for Harry’s, but students and residents alike will continue to take advantage of what promised time is left.
“It’s a hard place to duplicate,” Hurricane Harry’s owner, Jack McGregor, says. “We’re not 100% sure what we’re going to do moving forward...There’s not an exact date for when [the development] is going to happen, so we can’t necessarily plan for a new location yet.”
For more information and updates on Hurricane Harry’s, follow @harrysbcs on Instagram and Facebook or check Harrys.bcsclubs.com.
