Nashville North
Hugo
Nashville North was located in Hugo, Minnesota. No street address was ever given in their ads; the description was either North of White Bear Lake on Highway 61 or 30 minutes north of the Twin Cities. It could hold 700 people.
It was new in 1972, and one of its first performers was Sherwin Linton, who was booked to perform there on Sherwin Linton Day, his birthday, on July 28, 1972. (Minneapolis Tribune, July 15, 1972)
BIG NAMES
By 1973, the Ballroom was booking big names in Country music:
June 15 and 16, 1973: Faron Young and His Country Deputies
June 30, 1973: Roy Drusky
Minneapolis Tribune, June 1973
July 8, 1973: Tom T. Hall and the Storytellers, with Tom, Dave, and the Better Half; John Peterson; and Betty Lee
July 21, 1973: David Houston Show
August 5, 1973: Stonewall Jackson
August 18, 1973: The Wilburn Bros. (Teddy & Doyle)
Minneapolis Tribune, July 1, 1973
FOR SALE
In mid-September 1973, Nashville North was advertised for sale in the Minneapolis Tribune classifieds, and the ad gives some great physical details about the place:
A gold mine. Country-Western lounge & ballroom. Hugo. Services Twin City area. Fully equip. & operating. 1 1/2 yrs. old. Seats 700. 75 x 262 bldg. + 3 acres. Prices to sell NOW. Immed. poss. Owner retiring.
AS YOU WERE
After an apparent hiatus, the big shows were back:
November 3, 1973: The Bill Anderson Show, with Jimmy Gately and the “Po” Boys
November 17, 1973: Faron Young and the Deputies
December 8, 1973: Leroy Van Dyke and the Auctioneers
Patrons were invited to bring their cameras and visit with the stars – only possible at Nashville North!
Minneapolis Tribune, October 1973
1974
In 1974 the Ballroom got its liquor license and instituted Back to the 50s nights on Friday nights.
February 22, 1974, featured the local group The Rockin’ Hollywoods.
March 9, 1974 featured Dave Dudley, a combination national/local star.
The June 14, 1974’s Back to the 50s band was the reconstituted Castaways.
June 15, 1974: The Faron Young Show with the Deputies
Brian Tolzmann, my researcher in Forest Lake, found a July 18, 1974, ad for Rockville USA, which succeeded Nashville North that month. The club owner said that country music interest tailed off so much from January-June, 1974, that Nashville North became Rockville USA. Rockville closed early in 1976, due to legal issues and liquor license problems. It became Schmidty’s 61 Club in the late 1970s.
