After nearly a year of flood repairs, Crider's Rodeo & Dancehall in Hunt is finally getting ready to flip the lights back on. The Hill Country institution will reopen on May 17 with a benefit concert headlined by Texas music legend Gary P. Nunn, turning its long-awaited comeback into both a fundraiser and a community milestone for a venue that was gearing up to celebrate its centennial before the 2025 floods.
The one-day event, called Plant the Guadalupe, will raise money for the San Antonio Botanical Garden's river-restoration project and will feature local openers Shane Stumpf and John Christopher Way. As reported by CultureMap San Antonio, the show will use a ticket-pricing setup that ties each purchase to planting trees, with organizers saying they want the venue's revival to go hand in hand with long-term river recovery.
Plant the Guadalupe and the TREES Initiative
The San Antonio Botanical Garden's TREES Initiative is a five-year effort to restore 50,000 native trees along the Guadalupe River after the July 2025 floods, and the concert will funnel proceeds into that program. The Garden says it has hand-collected hundreds of thousands of local seeds and is working with partner nurseries and volunteers to grow and plant the replacements, a lengthy, boots-on-the-ground process that local reporting has followed closely. San Antonio Botanical Garden and KSAT have reported on the scale and urgency of the restoration.
How the 2025 floods hit Crider's and the river
Flash flooding in July 2025 swept huge debris down the Guadalupe and left Crider's buried under mud. The deluge overturned pool tables, upended the bar and forced the dance hall to close for the rest of the season. Local estimates cited in coverage suggest stretches of the Guadalupe lost between 70 and 90 percent of their canopy, a level of damage organizers say makes replanting a top priority. The venue's damage and the early relief efforts were documented in local reporting. San Antonio Express-News and CultureMap San Antonio described the impacts and the community response.
Tickets and what to expect at the comeback show
The Botanical Garden's event portal lists the concert on Sunday, May 17 from 12 to 5 p.m. and shows ticket tiers designed to fund plantings: $25 standing-room tickets (one tree), Sycamore tables for eight at $400, and Bald Cypress VIP tables for eight at $800; VIP includes a meet-and-greet and photo opportunities. The ticket page also offers charter-bus seats for a round trip from San Antonio and notes that proceeds go directly to the TREES Initiative. See the San Antonio Botanical Garden for tickets and logistics.
Crider's comeback matters beyond music
Crider's has been a Hill Country institution since 1925 and traditionally operates from Memorial Day through Labor Day, so its reopening is expected to be both a cultural and economic boost for the area. The owners have framed the Plant the Guadalupe show as a concrete way for concertgoers to help heal the river that shapes the community, and organizers say ticket purchases will directly translate into new trees on the banks. Details about the hall's history and seasonality are noted on Crider's Rodeo & Dancehall and in local coverage.
