As two men sit and talk about 35 years of progress and change, history literally lies beneath their feet.

It was on this very spot on New Year’s Eve in 1972 — at the front of what is now T.J. Finnegan’s Pub on Front Street in Mankato — that Billy Steiner of City Mouse was on the verge of something. He was in the early stages of a band that would go through more than 30 members, that would become a Mankato country-rock staple at bars and festivals, that still is going strong today, playing about a hundred gigs a year.

Nearby — watching this young group play the second gig ever at his brand new bar then called the Hurdy Gurdy Saloon — Ron Doty also was at the beginning of something. It was a business that would evolve with the times, change identities as entertainment interests went from live rock to disco to comedy, that would last decades as various other bars came and went.

Doty’s bar wasn’t the first gig for City Mouse. The Hurdy Gurdy Saloon wasn’t Doty’s first bar in the Mankato area, either. He had owned Pappy’s Bar since 1971 until opening the saloon a year later.

But both Steiner, who turns 57 today, and Doty, 64, got started with their respective 35-year histories as a band and a Mankato bar owner around the same time. And, throughout the years, as City Mouse developed a following and played numerous gigs at the Hurdy Gurdy, these histories overlapped.

That’s why, a couple of months ago as Steiner and fellow band members realized City Mouse was turning 35 this year, their first thought was to celebrate the occasion at T.J.’s.

For the 35th anniversary show to be held Saturday, they invited as many of the 30 or so former band members as they could to join them on stage throughout the night — except, of course, for five who have died, including longtime member Gus Dewey. They invited friends and fellow musicians to jam with them, too.

Doty is inviting all the former employees and patrons of the bar clear back to the Hurdy Gurdy days. He’s even constructing a new stage in the center of the bar for the occasion, which he may keep for future live acts if the night is as successful as both men think it will be.

After 35 years, they have made quite a few friends, fans and customers who will want to help them celebrate, after all.

The good ol’ days

Both Doty and Steiner agree the 1970s era was a great time for the Mankato bar and music scene.

“Back then everybody wanted to be in a band,” Steiner said.

City Mouse — now made up of Steiner (harmonica), Dale Haefner (keyboards), Ron Arsenault (acoustic guitar), Mike Pengra (drums), Dave Pengra (bass) and Tim Waters (electric and pedal steel guitars and banjo) — started in 1971 as a duo with Steiner and Bob Drengler and played gigs all over the Mankato area. Shortly after the duo formed, they added Bill Denison and became a band, playing the “good time” music they’re still known for that blends blues, pop, folk, jazz and country.

About 20 bars existed at the time, and many offered live music seven nights a week.

“It was different then,” Doty said. “Now you couldn’t do that.”