The High Road On Dawson

When I bought tickets to the Dolly Parton Birthday Tribute Night Benefit Show at The High Road on Dawson, I wasn’t sure if it was that building that was right at the corner of Dawson and Barton Springs, or if it was the old Elks Lodge, or if it was something completely different. Luck and serendipity colluded and it is in fact, the old Elks Lodge. So in addition to going to a great event at a new to us venue, it was great to revisit the scene of so many 90s/​00s Yuppie Pricks parties and SXSW parties. I may have even seen a water ballet here once.
From their website: «The High Road on Dawson is a Non-​Profit Organization committed to service and fundraising to benefit the Austin Community.» They seem to host a monthly public event (Mardi Gras Party in February, yall!) and weekly events for their members, such as Burger Night and Steak Night.
It’d only take a few months to recoup your application and annual fee ($ 100/​$ 120 respectively) if you ate here twice a week. Plus they have a pool and its proximity to downtown, Auditorium Shores, and Zilker Park, HR could be your base camp for the various events that occur nearby during the year.
This event benefited Dolly’s charity «Imagination Library» which sends age-​appropriate books to children all over the world to encourage literacy. I bought early bird tickets on Eventbrite (~$ 17 ea) and Shannon B. was my date. My name was on the list when we arrived, so I didn’t even have to have my Eventbrite ticket out. One thing to note: the event was sold-​out but it definitely was not over-​sold. It did not feel too crowded at all, which I appreciate.
We bought several $ 1 raffle tickets for a gorgeous framed portrait of Dolly and koozies with her face printed on for $ 2 each, all being sold by the three small child laborers in attendance.
Also in attendance was the Fine Southern Gentlemen printing who were making semi-​custom t-​shirts on site from about four different designs. If you ever see an event where the FSG will be there, here is a super pro-​tip that we learned: bring your own shirt, jacket, or tank top to be printed. While the shirts they had were high quality and very soft, they were still unisex and Shannon has her work cut out for her on making our shirts look a little more feminine. You can do it, Shay-​Shay!
We got shirts with Dolly’s face and the event name on the front and her signature on the back for $ 15 each (which is about $ 10 less than the FSG’s normal prices). Score!
They have a full bar here and the drinks were reasonably priced. I heard some complaints that the drinks were not strong but I was getting Side Bar pours so they were strong enough for me.
There is a huge terrace overlooking downtown, and can see the Capital from it, if you get right in the right spot and squint and turn you head slightly. In the old days, that was the only thing you could see in the skyline but that’s the price of progress.
The band was great and it was the most interesting stage set-​up I’ve ever seen: instead of a squarish stage, High Road has a long skinny stage where each member had their own spot and no one standing in front of them. That was cool, cause I’m usually curious what the drummer is doing, so this made it really easy to see. Alas, the musician who stole the show was a man who could play a trumpet and a Moog at the same time. Don’t you just love/​hate those people? Like people who can play piano with their eyes closed. Those jerks. In addition to the backing band, they had about four female singers and two men to cover the duets, and presumably the various ranges in the songs, and the singers’ song preferences.
There was also a Dolly Parton /​Burt Reynolds look-​alike contest. The Dolly that one totally deserved it, she had the hair, dress, and attitude. The Burt Reynolds dressed as Sherriff Ed Earl from the «Best Little Whorehouse in Texas» was totally robbed of the crown. I really thought he was a sheriff for a minute. See, I told you the drinks were good!
Couples were dancing all night and by the end of the night, even the singles were singing along and dancing to «Islands in the Stream» and «9 to 5,» both of which the band could have played 15 minute versions of and no one would have complained.
There was a free photo booth and we got a few pictures which Shannon says she can clean up so we both look decent. We met someone who told us there is going to be similar events for Tammy Winnette and Loretta Lynn. Or we wishfully thought that up because I cannot find anything on the internet about those events. The only other blight on the evening was the raffle scandal in which the nude pic of Burt Reynolds was being raffled off but you had to buy separate tickets for it. We didn’t want to win that one anyway, but it would have been a nice consolation to missing out on the Dolly portrait. Probably why you shouldn’t trust a 7-​year-​old selling you a raffle ticket.