BROWNFIELD —Asleep at the Wheel began with a simple goal: to play and help revive American roots music.
Over its 40-year history, the band has garnered nine Grammy Awards and released more than 25 studio and live albums. Last year, the band earned a Grammy nomination in the newly minted Best Americana Album category for “Willie & The Wheel,” released on Bismeaux Records. Most recently, another collaborative project paired the band with the legendary lead of Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, Leon Rausch.
On Sunday, Oct. 2, Asleep at the Wheel will perform its brand of western swing at Stone Mountain Arts Center.
Back in 1970, Asleep at the Wheel landed a gig opening for Alice Cooper and Hot Tuna in Washington, D.C. At the height of Vietnam, many Americans were using their choice of music to express their stance on the conflict in southeast Asia. “We wanted to break that mold,” band leader Ray Benson said in a prepared statement.
“We were concerned more with this amazing roots music, which we felt was being lost amid the politics. We were too country for the rock folks and we were too long-haired for the country folks,” Benson said. “But everybody got over it once the music started playing.”
Asleep at the Wheel’s big break came when Van Morrison praised the band in an interview with Rolling Stone. The band has constantly toured nationally throughout its history, with anywhere from seven to 15 of the finest players Benson could talk into jumping in the bus to play a string of dates. The alumni roster is well over 80 members and includes musicians who have gone on to perform with artists such as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Lyle Lovett and Ryan Adams.
Any band that spends upwards of 250 days on the road each year is likely to see its fair share of dives, gin joints, biker bars, clubs, auditoriums and dance halls. The Wheel is no exception, but it has also played in symphony halls. In 2006, the group released a CD of its performance with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
For tickets, $50, to the 8 p.m. concert, call 866-227-6523 or visit www.stonemountainartscenter.com/ArtsCenter/. Stone Mountain Arts Center is at 695 Dug Way Road.
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- Nine-time Grammy winning Asleep at the Wheel will play its brand of western swing at Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield on Sunday, Oct. 2.
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