This Saturday night, I’ll once again be privileged to kick off a broadcast of SWING ON THIS with the words that first rang over the airwaves back in 1934: “The Texas Playboys are on the air!”
Yep, Saturday at 7 p.m. Tulsa time we’ll be back with our annual live show from the Cain’s Ballroom, featuring leader Jason Roberts and the rest of those crackerjack Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, along with special guest Katie Shore. If you were around last year, you know what’s in store from them all — a joyous celebration of the Western-swing music we love.
This time around, the repertoire will emphasize songs that were recorded 90 years ago, when Bob and the boys headed to Chicago in the fall of ’36 for what would be their second major-label recording session. Some all-time classic Wills records came out of that trip, including “Bring It on Down to My House,” “Right or Wrong,” and “Steel Guitar Rag,” and chances are very good you’ll hear those played live on the show.
There’ll also be a tribute to Billy Parker, a great friend to the band and to our music.
The SWING ON THIS broadcast brings you the first hour of the live show, but Jason and the guys, along with Katie, will continue to pound out great music from the Cain’s stage for quite a while longer. They’ll also be back on Sunday. So, if you can make it to either of those concerts, you should know that tickets are available at cainsballroom.com, And if you aren’t able to be there in person, then — if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphor — we’ll see you over the airwaves!
That’s the special live SWING ON THIS, featuring Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys under the direction of Jason Roberts, Saturday at 7 p.m. over Tulsa NPR affiliate KWGS, 89.5 FM, and live-streaming everywhere at publicradiotulsa.org
