There is some evening entertainment to enjoy as well. From a sports bar to a wing place, you can take your choice how to start an evening or wind down the day. BUT, when it comes to night life....well....we are in central Texas, and Country is still king. There is a bar/honkytonk located right smack in down town Kyle. You can't be any more country than an old BBQ joint, located on some railroad tracks, that has been converted into a bar. Unless of course there is a cow/corn field out back (thankfully there is not in this case). The joint is called Down South Railhouse (DSR for short) http://www.downsouthrailhouse.com/ .
When you pull up to DSR, it resembles everything you have seen in the movies, without the stereo typical bar fights. There is a dirt parking lot on the side, or parking along the street. The property and facility is located on a corner and houses 2 buildings, a fenced in yard with some food trailers, picnic tables, and room for outdoor games. The 2 buildings are connected by a porch in between them. There is also a large porch which runs the length of the main building and wraps around to the front, all of which faces the streets on which the bar sits.
The entrance to either building is the porch in between them. The small building houses a pool table and I believe some dart boards, the larger building is the honky tonk. As you walk in, through what feels like a side or rear entrance, you a greeted by a door person and another person sitting in a cage (WTH?!) collecting the cover charge. The cover charge is very low (it changes so check their page or call - or just don't worry about it and cough it up), but I don't think the cover charge goes to the band of the evening (I have never been a fan of that)!
Once you are passed the entrance, you go down a hall with the bathrooms on your left. Once you pass the bathrooms it opens to the main area. The bar runs down the length on your left and the stage is in the back right corner. Seating is limited at the bar and there are a few tables to sit at in the large open area, as well as some tables in VIP looking area immediately to the left. It may be a hard push to sell this place as any kind of dance hall, as they have just about 0 for a dance floor.
Don't get me wrong, there was PLENTY of dancing. Folks were taking a twirl and stepping without a care in the world. The problem is the set up of the stage vs. the proximity to the bar and the seating on the floor. It either makes it hard for the dancers, or hard for everyone else trying to move around. But, there was a band and a stage and this is why I was here.
This particular evening was Keith Kelso and 90 Proof (https://www.facebook.com/keithkelsomusic). A country band that very nicely covered generations and decades of country music. From Ol' Hank all the way up to some of the new country like Dierks Bentley. With Keith fronting the band with his voice and his acoustic, he commanded the crowd very well. The lead guitarist also did vocals on some of the songs to give it some variety. OF COURSE there is a steel guitar, and the rhythm section to bring it all together.
The band was very fun, and the crowd seemed to love every minute of their long performance on stage. With some small banter and great interactions with the crowd, Keith Kelso and 90 Proof is a band you want to go see in a Honky Tonk or bar, if you wanted a variety of country music and you wanted to dance. They kept the dance floor(?) in constant motion and had us hoisting our drinks to the sky and hooping an hollering (yes I joined in).
My criticism about the band was the few time it seemed like the had to stop and restart some of the songs they were doing. i later found out the, drummer was a pick-up drummer, so all is understandable. Hell, I never heard anyone in the crowd bitch or complain, so it is a small thing to complain about.
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