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Barn Dance Apocalypse Comes to Thalia Hall Saturday

By Stephanie Lulay | November 5, 2014 6:06am
 The Golden Horse Ranch Band will bring its Barn Dance Apocalypse to Thalia Hall this Saturday.
The Golden Horse Ranch Band will bring its Barn Dance Apocalypse to Thalia Hall this Saturday.
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The Golden Horse Ranch Band

PILSEN — The “loud, wild, and loaded with love” Barn Dance Apocalypse is coming to Thalia Hall Saturday.

The Golden Horse Ranch Band will host its first-ever public Barn Dance Apocalypse Saturday at the Pilsen venue, 1807 S. Allport St.

The event began 10 years ago as a gathering of the band’s friends at the now-closed Open End Gallery on the city’s Near West Side, said band member Jeanine O’Toole. Since then, the square dance has grown to welcome huge crowds at secret locations around Chicago.

When members of the Chicago-based band toured the unfinished Thalia Hall last year, they knew the old dance hall would make the perfect location for their next barn dance.

The band is led by third-generation square dance caller Annie Coleman, who grew up calling dances at her grandparents' dude ranch, after which the band is named.

Tickets, priced at $15, are still on sale.

“It’s a beautiful, communal party. People come to dance with the people that they came with, and end up dancing with strangers, too,” O’Toole said of the barn dance.

She added: "It's loud, wild, and loaded with love, with a strong queer following."

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