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Asleep at the Wheel (Uncredited)

Asleep at the Wheel

Can a wheel reinvent itself while it’s still rolling? Sounds like an impossible task -- but you never want to say “impossible” to Asleep at the Wheel, the famed western-swing, boogie, and roots-music outfit that is still on the upswing. That’s saying something considering the group’s been around for nearly 40 years, turning out an incredible 25+ albums while playing an unrelenting schedule of one-nighters that would make a vaudevillian dizzy. “In terms of how many people we played for, what we accomplished, and how much money we made – well, we didn’t make any money – this year was absolutely our best year ever,” says Wheel founder and front man, Ray Benson, with a chuckle.And even as the Wheel rolled on, the reinvention had begun. You could see and hear it in their live shows, where new vocalist Elizabeth McQueen invited comparison with the classic female vocalists of the band’s earlier era, and fiddler-singer Jason Roberts gave the band a second male lead voice to complement Benson’s immediately identifiable baritone.

Watch Past Performances

Asleep at the Wheel 11/17/11: Asleep at the Wheel

Entertaining audiences with its own genre-busting music for four decades, the famed Western swing, boogie, and roots-music band performs an evening of Western swing music. A dance floor will be installed. Part of Swing, Swing, Swing.

Asleep at the Wheel

Entertaining audiences with its own genre-busting music for four decades, the famed Western swing, boogie, and roots-music band performs an evening of Western swing music. A dance floor will be installed. Part of Swing, Swing, Swing.
Asleep at the Wheel 4/9/06: Asleep at the Wheel

9th Anniversary of the Millennium Stage: Nine-time Grammy Award winners Asleep at the Wheel bring their distinct style of Western swing—an amalgam of jazz, bluegrass, and Southwestern fiddle music. Part of the Center’s Country: A Celebration of America’s Music

Asleep at the Wheel

9th Anniversary of the Millennium Stage: Nine-time Grammy Award winners Asleep at the Wheel bring their distinct style of Western swing—an amalgam of jazz, bluegrass, and Southwestern fiddle music. Part of the Center’s Country: A Celebration of America’s Music

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