Asleep At The Wheel in Chicago

Asleep at the Wheel is an American western-swing and country band formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970 and led by singer-guitarist Ray Benson. The group became known for carrying forward the repertoire and dance-band sound of Bob Wills, alongside its own recordings “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” and “Miles and Miles of Texas.” Its albums include “Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys” and “Ride with Bob.” Asleep at the Wheel appeared on the first regularly scheduled episode of Austin City Limits in 1976 and returned to the program repeatedly over the following decades. The band later developed “A Ride with Bob,” a stage musical based on Wills’s life and songs, and took the production to theatres after its 2005 premiere. The concert format is a country dance band led by Benson, with arrangements built around fiddle, steel guitar, piano, guitar, bass and drums; saxophone and other horn parts also feature in its western-swing sound. Gruene Hall in New Braunfels is among the dance halls the band plays, while its theatre dates have included Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.