RTL Today – Runnin’ with the devil: Two Luxembourg sisters bring hard rock to US conservative heartland

Fredericksburg lies around 130 kilometres west of Austin and has about 11,000 residents, many of whom are of German descent. Since its founding, the town has been a popular destination for German immigrants, which explains the abundance of shops, cafés, and restaurants with German names.

Amid the milieu of German names and southern Americana, a sign in bold red lettering sits above a dark wooden building that reads: Der Daiwel Rock Bar. A bar with a Luxembourgish name, right in the heart of Texas.

This is the result of a dream shared by two sisters from Luxembourg, Vicky and Carole Whipple, who took the jump and opened the bar nearly twelve years ago. Vicky explains in conversation with RTL how she ended up running a heavy metal bar in a small Texan town.

Unchained from civil service role to rock bar owner

Vicky was born in Rhode Island on the US East Coast to a Luxembourgish mother and an American father, but moved to the Grand Duchy when she was just eight months old. After finishing school, she took on dual nationality – American and Luxembourgish – so she could work in the civil service.

One reason for this, she explains, was the relaxed dress code in public institutions. She remembers seeing someone with long hair and tattoos working at the post office and realising that government jobs were open to all kinds of people – and importantly, did not require suiting up.

She eventually started working for Luxembourg’s National Health Fund (CNS), a position she held and enjoyed for 22 years, despite occasional stressful moments.

While Vicky and her sister Carole had long imagined opening a bar together, she admits that if they had stayed in Luxembourg, it likely would have remained an idea rather than becoming reality. The 1990s, she recounts, would have been the right time to make it happen, when the nightlife in Luxembourg City was buzzing. But back then, she felt too comfortable in her secure public sector job to take the risk.

It was not until much later – in part due to a midlife crisis and encouragement from her sister’s then-husband – that Vicky finally took the plunge. The idea had been lingering for years, and when her brother-in-law, who was keen to live in the US, made the move, he persuaded her to join. Her sister Carole had moved to Fredericksburg in 2008 with her then-husband and started working in the local hospitality scene.

In 2012, Vicky sold everything she owned in Luxembourg, joined her sister in Texas, and invested it all into their new life – and into what would soon become Der Daiwel. The three of them opened the bar together, but after a year, Carole’s husband returned to Luxembourg, unsettled by the lack of a proper healthcare system.

Despite that, the sisters carried on with the business on their own. Der Daiwel opened on Halloween 2013 – a fitting date for a heavy metal bar, Vicky notes with amusement.

A town in metamorphosis

Since settling in Fredericksburg, Vicky has noticed a clear shift in the town’s character, something she and Carole have helped shape. Before Der Daiwel opened, Fredericksburg had little to offer in terms of live music.

Apart from the occasional blues night and the dominant country scene, there was not much variety. The town mostly attracted older visitors interested in German cuisine, antique shops, and wine tastings.

Finding a venue was not easy either. Initially, the town was not especially welcoming to newcomers.

But Carole’s employer at the time – the owner of the German-themed restaurant Der Lindenbaum – stepped in and helped. When a location became available, she suggested the sisters take it.

Her support proved crucial, especially since starting a business without significant capital was challenging. Vicky describes her as being like a second mother, someone who believed in their idea and gave them a chance.

Local authorities were sceptical at first, unsure what to make of a heavy metal bar in town. But, in time, the police came to appreciate that the venue was trouble-free – there were never any eruptions of violence and they rarely needed to intervene.

Today, Fredericksburg is a very different place compared to ten years ago. The weekends are particularly lively and the sisters are proud to have played a part in that transformation. The town, they say, comes alive – not just in their bar, but everywhere.

A local fixture with an unusual name

When they first opened, reactions to the bar were mixed. On the one hand, they received strong support from people working in the town’s cafés and restaurants – from staff on breaks who would stop by for a drink to restaurant workers dropping in after their shifts. People who looked like they might enjoy heavy metal were routinely pointed in their direction.

Over the years, Der Daiwel has become a well-established fixture in Fredericksburg’s nightlife scene, with a loyal customer base that includes locals and returning tourists alike. One couple even hires a babysitter every few weeks just to spend the evening at the bar. They now host live concerts once a month.

However, the bar’s name initially raised eyebrows, especially in the more religious and conservative part of Texas. Der Daiwel, which could be perceived as simply meaning ‘the devil’, did not go down well with some residents.

The name eventually led to the place being dubbed the devil bar, and many Christians were reluctant to visit. For a time, the sisters displayed a sign in the window explaining that the name was actually a harmless Luxembourgish expression, used to convey surprise or disbelief.

The name itself was inspired by their grandfather, who used “der Daiwel” as a catch-all exclamation – whether tasting a new dish or admiring a new outfit. They felt it was only fitting to name the bar after the expression that had echoed through their childhood.

The only issue now, Vicky says, is that many people struggle to pronounce it. But with nearly twelve years in business and hundreds of T-shirts sold, there is no longer any thought of changing it.

Shifting attitudes – in and around the bar

It is not just the town that has evolved – the people have too. Vicky notes that political attitudes have become more polarised. She and Carole, who lean towards progressive politics and supported Bernie Sanders, are sometimes taken aback by the strong presence of Trump supporters in the area.

At one point, the bar even felt like a local hub for Sanders fans, and Vicky recalls being confronted by a Trump supporter who took offence at their views. While most locals are friendly and kind, she often finds their way of thinking difficult to understand, as if some are still living with a frontier-era mindset, suspicious of outsiders and clinging to a sense of needing to defend themselves.

Despite the shifting political climate, Vicky has no plans to return to Luxembourg. The bar is doing well, and both sisters have built strong friendships in the US, not to mention the pets they care for, which would make an overseas move complicated.

Recently, a couple to whom they are close bought a plot of land outside Fredericksburg and invited them to move there for retirement. The only other option they are considering is moving to Italy for its summer nights after eventually selling the bar, which would bring them a bit closer to Luxembourg again.