photo by: Kansas Historical Society

The Flippers performing at the Red Dog Inn in Lawrence.

Once a popular rock music venue known as the Red Dog Inn, Liberty Hall will revive its past next weekend as original house bands reunite for a tribute concert tied to the Kansas Music Hall of Fame’s 20th anniversary.

What many know today as Liberty Hall used to be known as the Red Dog Inn – a music venue that operated from 1965 to 1973 and was owned by John Brown and Mike Murfin. It was a major site for rock and roll, blues and horn-based bands, including the local favorites The Red Dogs, who served as the original house band.

There were several other bands that would play at the Red Dog Inn too, such as The Flippers, The Rising Suns and The Young Raiders. All of these bands – including The Red Dogs – will be playing at Liberty Hall next weekend.

The bands will be playing on Friday, Nov. 21, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., and it will be for a tribute concert to the Red Dog Inn. The event is a part of a larger weekend event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Kansas Music Hall of Fame, and there will be a separate event on Saturday, Nov. 22, inducting new musical artists into the Hall of Fame along with concerts from the inductees.

photo by: Kansas Historical Society

The Red Dogs performing at the Red Dog Inn.

Evan Johnson said while he was a drummer for The Red Dogs, he’s played with some of the other bands as well. Johnson said he’s most excited about the opportunity for all the bands to perform together in one night on the same stage.

“That’s the first time that’s ever happened, to my knowledge, because when we played back in the day, we were always in different locations and never got to really hear and see each other, and we certainly never got to perform together at an event,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the event was about tributing to the two that founded the Red Dog Inn, Brown and Murfin, who are now both dead.

“It just occurred to all of us that experienced that era that we needed to give them a proper send off, and that was the inspiration for this particular event,” Johnson said. ” … So it’s a lot of years later now, but it’s kind of the last hurrah for these bands and for fans of our bands to celebrate a really special time for people back in those days.”

Johnson said The Red Dogs has a lot of its original members who will be playing on that Friday. In addition, all of the bands performing have been inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame and other music halls of fame across the Midwest.

“I mean, we’re all older now, but we’ve never lost our love for music,” Johnson said.

photo by: Kansas Historical Society

A sign for the Red Dog Inn.

The weekend’s tribute aims not only to reunite the musicians but also to rekindle the atmosphere that once defined the venue.

“The dancing area in the Red Dog Inn is, by far, the largest in Lawrence, and the entertainment is, by far, the best,” according to an ad in the Journal-World archives dating back to 1965. “This is the largest and most spectacular thing to hit the mid-American entertainment scene.”

At the time, the venue was advertised to have spacious new polished wood flooring where one could look up fifty feet to the ceiling and see a seven-tier balcony with each tier having tables and chairs overlooking the stage. The stage wings had an area for people to enjoy the entertainment at close range.

The reputation of the Red Dog Inn had reached outside of Lawrence and Douglas County – even outside the state. An Oklahoma City, Oklahoma radio station regularly aired advertisements for the music venue. There were also banners that followed behind planes circling Memorial Stadium during football games, and it brought crowds from other schools that played at the University of Kansas to the Red Dog Inn.

But the building had many names, even before the Red Dog Inn. Just before 1910, the building was the Bowersock Theatre, where it was opened to host many traveling Broadway shows. Later, it was operated by Commonwealth Theatres and renamed the Jayhawk Theatre. Following a period of inactivity, the historic landmark was reopened again after being remodeled, where it then became the Red Dog Inn. When the Red Dog Inn stopped operating, it was called other names like Bugsy’s and is now Liberty Hall.

photo by: Kansas Historical Society

The Young Raiders

Johnson said that while all the bands knew each other back in the day, they rarely had the chance to see one another perform. He added that he’ll be joining The Flippers onstage that night, as well as performing with The Red Dogs, because The Flippers’ former drummer passed away several years ago.

“They are all proficient musicians,” Johnson said. “The quality of the bands and their music will be great, and they’ve got pretty much the core of their original lineup, each of them, even though some players have changed through the years.”

Johnson added that while this is the first time an event like this has been held at Liberty Hall, it may also be the last.

“It’s kind of a reunion … it may be our last opportunity to perform publicly,” Johnson said. “Who knows, you know? So we’re going to take advantage of it and enjoy it to the fullest.”

Dean Edington II, events, rentals, operations & technical director at Liberty Hall said he’s most excited about getting a chance to see some of the classic artists from that era all together in one night.

photo by: Journal-World archives

A newspaper clipping from Lawrence Journal-World archives about Red Dog Inn owners John Brown and Mike Murfin in 1982.

“I have to think this may be a lot of younger folks’ first, and maybe only, opportunity to see some of the artists who defined that era of music from Kansas,” Edington II said.

Edington II added that he hopes audiences will be reminded “that Kansas is a state rich in diverse music, both historically and in the modern era.”

People can buy tickets on the Liberty Hall website for both the Red Dog Inn tribute concert and the 2025 Kansas Music Hall of Fame induction and concert. Tickets are priced at $50 for the tribute show and $51.75 for the Hall of Fame event.

photo by: Kansas Historical Society

The Red Dog Inn is pictured on its opening night in 1965.

photo by: Journal-World archives

A Lawrence Journal-World newspaper clipping of an ad for the Red Dog Inn in 1967.