Howdy’s Bar & Chill reopens with karaoke night, offering comfort to a community healing from devastating floods.
KERRVILLE, Texas — Wednesday, a familiar sound returned to the banks of the Guadalupe River: music.
Just days after devastating floods swept through the Hill Country, Howdy’s Bar & Chill reopened its doors — welcoming the public back with karaoke, cold drinks and open arms.
For a community still reeling from tragedy, karaoke night offered something deeper: comfort.
“We’re not celebrating,” said Charlie Hueber, a Comfort resident who hosts karaoke at Howdy’s. “But music heals people.”
Howdy’s sits next to Blue Oak RV Park, one of the areas hardest hit during the July Fourth floods. Water barely breached the bar itself, but nearby devastation forced the team to shut down for days.
Manager Sara Smith says it wasn’t long before they jumped into recovery mode.
“We did have some flooding — maybe a foot — because we’re so high,” said Smith. “Almost immediately we were setting up the bar.”
Footage from the night of July 3 shows people dancing and singing on the deck — unaware of what was coming.
Less than 24 hours later, floodwaters surged.
Smith says looters soon appeared on kayaks, trying to recover items swept away from neighboring homes.
“As soon as they knew things were safe, they were in kayaks and canoes going up and down the rivers, grabbing people’s things out of the houses that are beat up and against trees,” Smith said. “There were people doing it here along Howdy’s, there were people at Ringo’s doing it. It’s crazy. People have somehow found treasure in these people’s belongings that they lost in this.”
Still, the outpouring of support was overwhelming. Donations poured in at Howdy’s. Water, sodas and grab-and-go snacks were handed out to anyone who needed them. And when the restaurant reopened — it was for the helpers.
“We had only opened to any helpers and first responders,” Smith said. “We shoved it in their faces, ‘Hey, you were working hard. Grab you a beer. It’s on us.’”
Wednesday, the bar is back in full swing — food is hot, beer is flowing and for many, Howdy’s feels like home again.
“We treat people here like family,” said Smith. “We just want to hang out, talk, listen to some good country music and have a beer.”
Hueber, who’s been running karaoke for years, says the music hit a little differently this time. One of his best friends, Julian Ryan, was a regular at karaoke and died saving his family during the flood.
“He was a new dad. Brand new baby,” Hueber said. “I’ve got three or four songs that he sang regularly. I don’t know that I’m going to be able to play them. The moment it starts, I’m gonna start crying.”
“Our lives will forever be divided by what happened before that flood and what happens after,” he added.
Even through the tears, Hueber said the goal remains the same — to bring people together.
“People just need to sing right now,” he said. “It’s so easy to begin to spin and think about all the bad things that are happening. There’s gotta be some good out there.”
“We lift each other up with music.”
All proceeds from karaoke night are going straight back to the community.
And at Howdy’s, every song is a reminder: even in the darkest moments, there’s still room for light.
