After being open for just a month, Two Tones Dueling Piano Bar has consistently brought in 500 patrons on weekends to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, bachelorette parties and even divorces.
However, on Thursday night, it was more intimate with roughly 50 people in attendance — some from Louisiana and others from as far away as Canada.
On YourCourierNews.com: Compassion United to build transitional homes, day center to help Conroe homeless
After some crowd work, taking song requests from those in attendance, co-owner Josh Herod had his eye on a married couple celebrating their second anniversary. As the couple approached the stage to share a dance to commemorate the memory, Herod began playing “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers.
In that moment, everyone in attendance began to sing along while the couple danced in a spotlight.
“Making memories is my big love language,” Herod said, noting his 17 years of experience as a dueling pianist. “We try to make people laugh, we try to make them smile, we try to give them that memory that they’ll leave with.”
For two years, Herod and co-owner Tyler Lewis have been trying to bring a dueling piano bar to The Woodlands, Lewis said. And on Oct. 4, the dueling piano bar off Interstate 45 in Oak Ridge North opened its doors for the first time.
The piano bar is an “interactive, high energy, music, comedy show,” Lewis said. “It’s not a place where you just sit back and watch people sing songs. Everybody’s involved, everyone is included. The audience is the star of the show.”
What is a dueling piano bar?
Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans is known as one of the first bars to introduce dueling piano shows, opening in 1933. The performance evolved from the late 1890s Ragtime era, where two pianists would “duel” for the crowds attention and tips. This eventually would turn into an audience participation show, where the pianists would take song requests.
Creating a space for live entertainment
Spending most of his life in The Woodlands, Lewis said that both owners understood that there wasn’t really a nightlife in the area.
“You can go to (The Woodlands) Waterway, or you can go bar hopping,” he said. “That’s really all there is. There’s not really any live entertainment, especially when it comes to music.”
On YourCourierNews.com: Conroe Vietnam War veteran to share remarkable story 50 years after he regained freedom
Both Lewis and Herod come from music backgrounds, with Lewis growing up playing guitar and later learning from Herod how to play piano with the purpose to become a duelist piano, Lewis said. Herod comes from family of musicians and entertainers, studying theater in New York City before deciding to become a performer himself, Herod said.
The pair had performed at other piano bars in the Houston area for over a decade, Lewis said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to start his own company and perform in travel shows, with Herod joining him later on, he said. It was then that the pair decided they wanted to open their own dueling piano bar.
“There’s nothing like this in The Woodlands,” Lewis said. “The one thing that every single person says when they walk in…they say ‘I’m so glad that The Woodlands finally has something like this. Finally, there’s entertainment.'”
What does the dueling piano bar offer?
Two Tones Dueling Piano Bar is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, with other days reserved for private events, according to the bar’s website.
On Wednesdays, the dueling piano bar hosts karaoke night, while Thursday to Saturday are dedicated to the dueling piano performance. Starting on Nov. 7, the bar will also be open for jukebox bingo, Herod said.
During the dueling piano performance, several performers take the stage, playing a range of instruments including piano, drums and keytar. Lewis, Herod and Karli Mitchell are the full time dueling pianists, while two other performers train to be the next generation of performers, Lewis said.
Performers play a variety of well-known songs, including “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond to “Misery Business” by Paramore.
While Lewis does recommend people eating before they visit the dueling piano bar, “light bites” are served, including chicken wings, pretzels and chips and salsa.
The dueling piano bar also serves local beers along with shareable cocktails. Happy hour is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the days open.
The best way for people to enjoy the experience is to reserve a table ahead of time, Lewis said.
Making memories for all ages
Herod remembers when a woman was celebrating her 86th birthday.
“We had the whole audience cheering for her,” Herod said. “I had a group of guys sing a song for her…when she went to leave, she asked if she could borrow the microphone. We never let people borrow the microphone. We said ‘sure.’ She grabbed the microphone in front of everybody and she said ‘I’m 86-years-old and this is the best birthday I had in my life.’ That’s why I do this.”
For more information, visit the dueling piano bar’s website at twotonespianobar.com.
