Mishnock Barn is Still Rooted in Fun and Tradition

Addison Albro, right, teaches line dancing at Mishnock Barn. He manages the bar when his father, Dan Albro, left, is away for dance weekends. Photography by Dana Richie

There are no wrong steps on this floor, just variations,” says instructor Steve Dessert, weaving through a gaggle of fifty beginners, many in cowboy boots and denim.

“Start with your weight on your left,” Dessert says, his black cowboy hat covering his eyes but not his wide grin and silver mustache. 

He first teaches the synchronized dance without music and in small chunks. “Point. Right. Step. Left. Quarter turn,” he says with a punctuated shimmy. Some intently study the shuffling feet of the dancers in front of them. 

“Let’s try it with some music now,” Dessert says. “You’re ready.” Some excited giggles. 

At the Mishnock Barn, a family-owned bar on a streetlight-less road in West Greenwich, anyone can learn how to country line dance.  

It’s Beginner Night, like all Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the dance floor by the fireplace becomes a classroom. Surrounded by country music posters and framed photographs, dancers of all ages can learn three basic dances, no prior knowledge required. 

“We’re not your typical bar,” says owner Dan Albro. “You’re not coming here to check out people or get wasted. You’re coming here to learn how to line dance, and once you learn how to line dance, you’re coming here to line dance.” Some nights, they get as many as 300 people on the dance floor. 

Steve Dessert coaches a crowd of beginners through the basic steps of a dance with an enthusiastic “Yeeeaauuhhh.” He started teaching in 2018 and loves the atmosphere. “It’s a family,” he says. Photography by Dana Richie

The place has a rich history of music, entertainment and rhythm. In 1929, Dan’s grandfather started a summer business on the property, complete with a merry-go-round. And in 1940, his father built the frame of the barn that still stands today. Today, wagon wheels are affixed to those beams. 

Dan’s parents met at a performance of Eddie Zack & Hayloft Jamboree, the regionally famous country band that Dan’s mother performed in with her siblings. “The nine months she carried me in the womb, she played the guitar on my head,” Dan jokes. He became a drummer, and in the late 1970s, took the place over from his mother and turned it into a rock club. 

In 1992, Dan returned to his country roots and dedicated the space to line dancing. Since then, he’s become a household name in the dance world, choreographing hundreds of dances and travelling internationally to teach. 

And the next generation is keeping the tradition alive. Addison Albro, Dan’s son, wears the same uniform as his father: a black button-down shirt, dark-wash skinny jeans and a black cowboy hat. 

“My whole life I’ve been following him around,” Addison says. He taught his first dance when he was six. Now, he’s a full-time instructor, and manages the place when his parents are away for dance weekends. His brother Nick deejays a few times a week. 

It’s a family business, and the Albros treat their guests like they’re part of it. 

In the early days, the dances drew middle-aged crowds. Now, there’s more of a range. 

Kara and Audrey Giroux come every Wednesday. The mother-daughter duo started dancing two years ago, when Audrey turned eighteen. “Everyone is so encouraging and makes you feel like you belong,” Kara says.  

On this particular night, Kara celebrated her birthday at the barn with cupcakes. Between dances, people sang for her. 

“Anyone who dances more than six months here is family,” Dan Albro says.