Nate Gibson & the Stardazers w/ Asleep at the Wheel, Brennen Leigh, and Joshua Hedley 4/13/23

Hey Friends... the word is out. Nate Gibson and the Stardazers are opening for Asleep at the Wheel tomorrow night at the Stoughton Opera House. We're on at 5:55-7:15, then the Wheel gets turnin' at 7:30. I'm super excited about it. The sold-out show is called The Past, Present and Future of Country and Western Music with Asleep at the Wheel, Brennen Leigh, and Joshua Hedley. We're the opening act. I'm not sure where exactly that puts us on the country music time-space continuum, but we're just happy to co-exist. See you there!

The Kids of Country Music on WORT 4/12/23

I recently found a copy of Rhonda Vincent’s first 45, recorded when she was just 8 or 9 years old, and it’s really good. It reminded me of Dolly Parton’s first single, made when she was just 13. And it made me realize that I actually have a lot of great country records made by kids!

I think a lot of folks may be familiar with country music child stars like Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Gilman, and that kid who was yodeling in a Wal-Mart (Mason Ramsey), but child prodigies have been making country music records at least since Grand Ole Opry star and 7-year old Little Jimmie Sizemore first recorded back in 1934. Brenda Lee began her recording career at 11, Larry and Lorrie Collins when they were 10 and 12. Teens like Wanda Jackson, Doug Sahm, Barbara Mandrell, Lenny Breau, Rose Maddox, Little Roy Lewis, and Tanya Tucker gained notoriety at young ages and continued to build their fanbases for decades. A few years later, folks like Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs, and Keith Whitley were turning heads in their early teen years.

So, tomorrow's Back to the Country radio program will be entirely by the kids of country music. Ages 5 to 17. Now, I know there are a few folks out there who really don’t like the sound of children singing, but I can assure you that these kids are rocking, inspiring, impressive, and sometimes downright hilarious. I hope you can tune in tomorrow from 9am-noon (cst) via 89.9FM or streaming via wortfm.org.