Reckless Kelley is releasing a new album on September 13th, The final frontierwhich is also the name of their 2024-2025 tour, which is currently underway. The new album was produced by brothers Willy and Cody Braun along with Jonathan Tyler and also features lyrics by brother Gary Braun of Mickey and the Motorcars and frequent Reckless Kelly collaborator Jeff Crosby.
Reckless Kelley recently released the album’s title track, which features Texas music legend Kelly Willis, as well as a video for another early single from the album, “What’s Left of My Heart.” But this isn’t just any old video. It was filmed at South Austin’s iconic honky-tonk bar Giddy Ups. With its Old West-style facade and local charm, Giddy Ups was a favorite of folks from Austin’s Manchaca neighborhood who were reluctant to venture into the city proper.
As you’ll notice, however, Giddy Ups must now unfortunately be referred to in the past tense, at least for now. It has become the latest victim of Austin’s decline in music venues and shifting priorities. On Sunday, August 11, the venue that had been open in one form or another since the ’40s (and in its current form since 1996) officially closed.
The bar’s longtime owner, Nancy M. Morgan, died of cancer in October 2023. She founded Giddy Ups in 1996 after previously bartending at Trophy’s on South Congress, now C-Boys Heart & Soul. At the time of Nancy’s death, the lease on the property was on a month-to-month basis, and has been since the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Nancy’s son Michael Morgan took over the store in his mother’s place and everything went well. The business was profitable. But at the end of June the landlord refused to renew the lease.
“The whole situation feels more like a ‘yay, get out of here’ than a real step forward for the neighborhood,” the venue announced on social media. “We call it gentrification and an unsatisfying act of greed, you could call it progress – whatever you call it, it means losing a piece of that ‘living room extension’ atmosphere as (a) neighborhood bar and concert hall that Nancy M. Morgan built – just a place where you can come as a stranger and leave as a friend.”
Before the closure, there was even talk of a historic designation for the store. Similar to Austin’s Broken Spoke, which is now has historical namesCondominium and apartment complexes have sprung up like mushrooms around Giddy Ups in recent years.
The first eatery on the property was called Dotson’s, opened in 1947 by the Dotson family to serve the families and cowboys who lived and worked in the rural area south of Austin. There were four acres of land behind the house, and lore has it that patrons would participate in turkey shoots behind the eatery while cowboys rode from a rodeo arena across the street across Manchaca Road (pronounced “Man Shack” in Austin’s notoriously lazy slang) and tied up their horses in front of the eatery.
The current building was originally built in 1957, and of course Giddy Ups also featured music on a corner stage. While it may not be as legendary as other Austin venues, Gregg Allman, James Cotton, WC Clark, and other legends have all played on the stage. Unlike other Austin venues, Giddy Ups offered opportunities to local and national bands that others did not. Plus, they hosted an alternative to SXSW for many years.
Appearance by Reckless Kelly, a South Austin resident who is known to stop by Giddy Ups for a drink on occasion. When we were deciding where to shoot the video for their song “What’s Left of My Heart,” Giddy Ups seemed like the right place at the right time. The video was written by Cody Braun and co-directed by Braun and Tony Gates. The video also features several other Austin musicians and celebrities, including the legendary Rosie Flores, Django Walker, and Kelley Mickwee.
For some Austin music venues, it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” they’ll end, and with it all the history, memories, and sometimes friendships and families made in these magical places. Michael Morgan and Giddy Ups insist they will rise again, and are actively looking for another location to reopen the bar. But at least the memory of Giddy Ups will live forever in the minds of the South Austin venue’s regulars, and the images of Reckless Kelly’s “What’s Left Of My Heart.”
