We Visited Dallas' Green Rooms, and One Music Venue Slayed the Competition

The green room is generally a mystery to concertgoers, but these spaces — where an artist or band can relax before or after performing — are essential to any good music venue because musicians often spend hours on the road each day. Here's a peek inside the green rooms at some of Dallas' best-known venues.

Texas Theatre
231 W. Jefferson Blvd.
The iconic Texas Theatre, famous for being the site of Lee Harvey Oswald's capture, today hosts a variety of performances ranging from stand-up comedy to live music. To get to the theater's green room, you must go backstairs and ascend a flight of white-walled stairs. The room is dimly lit by a single lamp in one of the corners, and the warm color palette of the decor on the walls, many of which are simple exposed brick, gives off a '70s vibes that suits the space. It's a very compact green room but it makes up for its lack of space with personality and history.

Kessler Theatre (pictured at top)
1230 W. Davis St.
Just a few blocks from Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff is The Kessler Theater, a pristine music venue that provides a rich experience for guests. The Kessler even has a dedicated section where musicians can conduct meet-and-greets with their fans. It's equipped with a full bar covered by a crimson curtain, couches to lounge in and a set of TVs.

Stroll across the catwalk and behind the stage, you'll find the green room, where the first thing to catch your eye will be a surrealist artwork that takes up a good portion of one wall. "Is that Kim Jong-Il? And what’s up with that lizard?" you'll ask yourself. It's just one of many original art pieces and music posters that decorate the walls.

In The Kessler's green room there's plenty of space to hang around, and you can pass the time between sets watching TV if you so choose. There's also a refrigerator — stocked on show nights – a coffee maker, an electric oven and a tea kettle. There's even a full bathroom stocked with toiletries in case you need to shower before your gig.

Three Links
2704 Elm St.
Three Links' hard-hitting shows are some of the best live music experiences in Dallas, but the venue doesn't have much of a green room. It's pretty small, although it does include an office space with with an eye-catching D'Angelo computer wallpaper. There's also a black couch and a mini fridge loaded with drinks, and a well-maintained bathroom. And this green room wins points for actually being green.

Granada Theater
3524 Greenville Ave.
When you enter the backstage door of The Granada Theater, you're greeted with posters signed in gold or silver Sharpie by various artists who have performed there. There are two rooms to accommodate the performers of the night. The first is narrow, with two couches facing each other, a small fan and a cabinet. In the larger room there is a U-shaped couch that hugs the entire room. The room is fully furnished with a mini fridge, a coffee maker, a couple of blue jugs of coffee stored in chrome baskets and a set of fans.

Trees
2709 Elm St.
We got to see Trees' green room in action, since a band was playing at the time of our visit. Like most of the other green rooms it contained an abundance of black couches. There were lots of power outlets to accommodate all of the band’s gear, and light bites and drinks were provided.

The Bomb Factory
2713 Canton St.
Since it reopened, The Bomb Factory has been one of Dallas' best venues — arguably the best. But there's no room for comparison when it comes to Bomb Factory's green room. It's the standard all others should strive for. Here's just a sampling of the amenities they offer: a dining area; a weight room; and three rooms with their own TVs, couches and spacious, fully stocked showers. But the most useful amenity of all to touring bands is the set of three washers and dryers available for their use.