Riders in the Sky at the University of Dubuque -- October 28.
Friday, October 28, 7:30 p.m.
University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, 2255 Bennett Street, Dubuque IA
Two-time Grammy Award winners who have released more than 40 full-length albums to date, the lighthearted country, Western-swing, and children's-music entertainers of Riders in the Sky perform an October 28 concert at the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, the beloved singer/musicians famed for NPR's serial Riders Radio Theater and their songs and companion albums for Pixar's Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.
For more than 30 years, Riders in the Sky have kept the alive flame passed on by such legends as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, becoming modern-day icons with their wacky humor, Western wit, and cowboy way of life. The group pays tribute to and pokes gentle fun at the classic cowboy songs of the 1930s and 1940s, and is composed of lead singer and guitarist Ranger Doug (Douglas B. Green), guitarist and bassist Too Slim (Fred LaBour), fiddler Woody Paul (Paul Chrisman), and accordion player Joey the Cow-Polka King (Joey Miskulin).
Formed in Nashville in November of 1977, Riders in the Sky released their first album Three on the Trail in 1979, and began to gain significant national attention throughout the 1980s and 1990s with their numerous appearances on The Nashville Network, including their own show Tumbleweed Theater that ran for five seasons. The group's musicians also starred on the critically-acclaimed NPR series Riders Radio Theater from 1988 to 1995, and their talents were showcased in the Emmy Award-winning CBS children's show Riders in the Sky in 1991. The band is perhaps best known for their collaborations with Disney/Pixar in 1999 and 2001, where they created the Grammy Award-winning albums Woody's Roundup: A Rootin' Tootin' Collection of Woody's Favorite Songs and Monsters, Inc. Scream Factory Favorites.
Among additional laurels, Riders in the Sky received the 1995 Cowboy Hall of Fame Wrangler Award for Outstanding Western Recording and were named Western Music Group of the Year at the Academy of Western Artists' 2006 Will Rogers Awards. Their album Cowboy Jubilee made the New York Times' 10-best list for 1982 and was voted Best Independent Country Album of the Year, while 1985's Saddle Pals was named by the paper of record as Best Independent Children's Album of the Year. The band's musicians have also appeared as themselves in such TV series as Hee Haw and Barney & Friends, appeared in the Oscar-nominated Patsy Cline bio-drama Sweet Dreams, and delivered vocal performances in the animated features For the Birds and Duck Dodgers.
Riders in the Sky perform in the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on October 28, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert is $23-40, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)585-7469 and visiting Dbq.edu/HeritageCenter.
