It’s going on 25 years ago that Dwane Hall bought the Sportsmen’s Tavern in his native Black Rock. Though a musician himself, Hall had no immediate intention to host live music; he just wanted to supplement his income with a bar. Sportsmen’s wasn’t configured for music, he explains: The restrooms were in the wrong place, there were too many dividing walls and a 22-foot shuffleboard game ate up too much room. About 10 years ago, however, Hall knocked down some walls, chucked the shuffleboard and built a stage—and now, to accommodate the growing crowds drawn to the Sportsmen’s top-shelf slate of local and touring acts, he’s pulled out the pool table and the dart machine, too. Sportsmen’s is a neighborhood tavern, but it’s also a musicians’ bar: It’s a home away from home for the region’s lcoal artists, and its reputation as a terrific place to play is well known among touring acts. Artvoice spoke recently about the bar’s evolution with Hall and Kenny Biringer, who books all the shows:

Artvoice: Who were the first acts to play here at Sportsmen’s?

Dwane Hall: Well, Stone Country was among the first, of course, because I play with Stone Country, and a lot of the veteran musicians that played around town. The work was drying up just because we were a little bit older. Our music was getting better because we were getting older, but we just weren’t getting as much work. We kind of needed a place to hang around and play and keep our camaraderie going with each other.

AV: And you never charged a cover.

DH: No, we never charge a cover charge here. I always thought it was tough to get a cover charge though my years of experience playing. I wanted a place where people could come and get a good drink and see the bands for free. In order for us to do that, of course, the bands had to agree to play for less money, but get a chance to play in front of a full house and an enthusiastic crowd, which is what the musicians want anyway.

Then recently Kenny Biringer booked Dave Alvin here. He got this idea for this private party concert series here at the Sportsmen’s.

Kenny Biringer: Probably seven or eight years ago we had a chance to bring in Bill Kirchen, and his fee was certainly more than the normal, but Dwane agreed to cover it and offer it as a sort of gift to the patrons. That started the flow of national artists: Since then Jim Lauderdale has been here, Dale Watson several times…several Grammy-nominated and Grammy-award-winning artists have played here. It finally got to the point where, when Dave Alvin contacted us, he had a fee that was more than anything that had been considered, and we decided to attempt to charge for a ticket. It was extremely successful: Dave Alvin sold out in eight days without any advertising, simply word of mouth. So the idea for the private party series was born. We’re trying to get artists who might not normally play in a room this size and make a real nice ticket that looks like a backstage pass and sell out these shows well in advance of the performance date…but that’s a very special occasion. Ninety-nine percent of the music here will continue to be no cover.

AV: Can you describe a typical crowd?

KB: It usually breaks down into three groups. One is people that come in simply because the door’s unlocked and the beer light’s on. It’s a neighborhood tavern still and that helps support everything that goes on here. Usually one third of the people here are other musicians who are not playing that night; they come in and hang out because they want to see other strists play. And the other third might be music fans.

DH: Lots of musicians.

KB: It’s a well rounded group. There’s young people and old people and everything in between. There’s suits and there’s jeans.

DH: It’s kind of funny to have some Lexuses and Cadillacs and nice sportscars parked out in front of Sportsmen’s in Black Rock once in a while. The neighbors like it, it’s a positive thing we’re doing here.

AV: How about NASCAR fans?

DH: Lots of NASCAR fans. But that’s a whole different interview. We’re cool with the NASCAR.