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Bayou Bedlam, the contra dance weekend in Houston, Texas Bayou Bedlam, the contra dance weekend in Houston, Texas

Bayou Bedlam

February 21-23, 2025

Bayou Bedlam is the annual contradance festival held in Houston, Texas. The 2025 festival, our 31st, features Lisa Greenleaf calling to Stringrays.

Lisa and Stringrays

Lisa Greenleaf is a well-loved dance caller specializing in contras, squares, family programs, and leadership workshops.

Note: Lisa will be using gender-free terms throughout the weekend.

Stringrays are Rodney Miller on fiddle, Max Newman on guitar, and Stuart Kenney on bass and banjo. They are an inimitable three-some of musicians with a shared interest in exploring great fiddle tunes. Their playing is fueled by a love of the living tradition of New England fiddle music and its cousins. Expect dynamic, lyrical improvisation and fresh, dance-inspired interplay.

Tea&Whiskey

Our Saturday morning band is Tea&Whiskey from Charleston, South Carolina. Tea&Whiskey is Karin McQuade on fiddle and vocals and Andrae Raffield on fiddle and guitar.

At A Glance

  • Registration is open. Tap to register.
  • Policies and pricing are on this page.
  • The schedule is on the schedule page.
  • There will be a pre-event callers workshop with Lisa Greenleaf. It is tentatively planned for Friday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, but that may change to Thursday evening. It will be at a different location than the other weekend events, and it is not included in the price of the weekend. We'll have all the details soon.
  • All events except the callers workshop take place at the Knights of Columbus Roemer Hall, 607 E. Whitney 77022. Details on the location page.
  • If you are in the Houston area, visit this page for very important information.
  • Volunteers during the weekend are greatly appreciated! Visit this page and sign up to help out.
  • Bayou Bedlam is a smoke-free, alcohol-free, and fragrance-free event.
  • Tap the menu in the upper right or use the links below to find other pages on this site.

Why Attend Bayou Bedlam?

  • We are fortunate to have an older hall with a sprung wood floor that was built specifically for dancing.
  • Houston's February weather is normally mild—comfortably cool and sunny.
  • The food! We include home-cooked lunch on Saturday and brunch on Sunday as well as snacks throughout the weekend.
  • We offer the opportunity for callers in attendance to work with the featured band. See the schedule page for details.
  • We strive to keep the price as low as possible without losing (too much) money, and we offer several discounts. See the Policies page for details.

Please join us!