Cain's Ballroom — Tulsa, Oklahoma

Cain's Ballroom at 423 North Main Street in Tulsa's Brady Arts District is one of the most storied music venues in America — a 1924 dance hall that has hosted Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys (who performed there every Saturday from 1934 to 1942, establishing it as the home of western swing), the Sex Pistols on their chaotic 1978 American tour, and virtually every significant touring act of the past century. The ballroom's wooden spring dance floor, its intimate atmosphere, and its extraordinary acoustics have made it a favourite of performers for a hundred years.

Bob Wills made Cain's the home of his radio broadcasts on KVOO, which carried the Texas Playboys' music to listeners across the Southwest. The daily broadcasts and Saturday dances made Wills a regional star and Cain's a destination for dancers and music lovers from across Oklahoma and neighbouring states. When Wills and his band were at their peak in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Cain's Ballroom was the most important dance venue west of the Mississippi. The Sex Pistols' appearance there in January 1978 — part of their disastrous and brief American tour — was a deliberate provocation: booking the home of western swing for a punk band was a statement about what punk meant.

Cain's Ballroom continues to operate as an active music venue. The original wooden floor has been maintained and is still used for dancing. The walls are covered in photographs and memorabilia documenting a century of performances. It is one of the few genuinely historic American music venues still functioning in essentially its original form, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.