Dog 'n Bone Pub

Dog ’n’ Bone Pub sits in Dripping Springs, west of Austin, as a small, capacity-unreported live-music bar built around a historic property. Its distinguishing feature is baked into the name: the building retains references to its past as Dripping Springs’ first local telephone exchange, while “dog and bone” is Cockney rhyming slang for telephone. The result is a pub-scale stop for casual shows, drinks, and community programming instead of a conventional ticketed concert hall.

A telephone office finds a new line

The site’s path to pub life runs through preservation work. A September 2018 City of Dripping Springs review described a proposed adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of the Roberts House, dated circa 1923, at 310 Old Fitzhugh Road. A 2024 historic-resource survey identifies the present venue as Dog ’N’ Bone and records the property’s historic name as the Old Dripping Springs Telephone Office, with communications among its historic uses.

Mike Pelland sought a conditional-use permit in May 2021 to operate a bar on the property. The local visitors bureau then announced Dog ’n’ Bone’s opening for 2023, beginning with beer and wine, acoustic performances on the main stage, outdoor seating, parking, and restroom facilities. Its early role in the town’s music circuit arrived quickly: Dog ’N’ Bone appeared among nine intimate stages for the 2023 Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival, whose program brought 46 songwriters into downtown venues for in-the-round sets.

The room and the rhythm

Expect a patio-forward setup: the city’s 2024 survey notes a covered stage near the parcel’s northwest corner and a food truck near its center, while the pub lists outdoor seating and a 14-tap bar. The weekly format makes space for participation, with open mic on Tuesdays, karaoke on Wednesdays, and live music Thursday through Saturday. The bill ranges across country, folk, rock, indie, pop, hip-hop, alternative, and R&B, with the strongest fit for listeners seeking a relaxed local showcase and a short walk between bar and stage.