We are proud to be presenting the first show of the Denver Steel Guitar Show!
Come on down to see and hear the finest steel guitarists in Denver and beyond. This ALL DAY event is hosted by steel aficionados and ace players, Chuck Lettes and Bob Case.
Here are just some of the amazing steel guitar players you’ll hear:
Scotty, George Sypert, Daniel Jones, Margie Mays, Harold Palmer, Glenn Taylor, Chris Kennison, John Arnold, Chuck Lettes, Bob Case and more! The Jim Hyatt Band (www.jimhyattband.com), a top notch group, will back up many of the steel players, so you can count on a great concert!
WHAT IS THE STEEL GUITAR?
The steel guitar has been around as long as the guitar. Usually the musician uses a metal bar (or plastic or a piece of wood) instead of fingers. The pedal steel guitar is relatively new, invented in the 1950s. It has since become the heartbeat of Country music and is heard on all of the hits, from Hank Williams to George Strait, as well as the signature sound of the great western swing bands like Bob Wills and Spade Cooley.
ABOUT THE JAM
Some will do a set with the house band, while other steelers will bring their own working band. Expect to hear a wide variety of musical styles, from traditional non-pedal sounds to some more modern sounds and beyond! The whole idea is to showcase the versatile sounds of the steel guitar in a variety of musical settings, from trios to five-piece bands.
ABOUT SOME OF THE PLAYERS
Glenn Taylor has been working in many musically diverse bands over the last many years, from Slim Cessna’s Auto Club to the Glenn Taylor Orchestra. Styles range from honky tonk country to electronic dance to free improvisation and more. glenntaylormusic.com
Daniel Jones has been playing pedal steel since the early 70s in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the Denver area, like Chuck Lettes he has played with Lannie Garrett in her Patsy DeCline Show, and the Denver Center’s, Always Patsy Cline production. Daniel has always enjoyed exploring non-traditional styles for pedal steel, an interest he continues in the jazz direction with his quartet, Standard Deviations.
Margie Mays has worked with John Agar (the movie actor) when he was a country singer in Southern California with the “Freedom Train” and has shared the stage with the Gatlin Brothers. Margie continues to perform Hawaiian music and western swing in the style of her mentors, Speedy West and Noel Boggs.
Scotty (DeWitt Scott) is influenced by the Jerry Byrd, Don Helms and Little Roy Wiggins style of music. Scotty has written 8 instruction steel guitar books published by Mel Bay Publications, as well as many instruction books on his Midland label. He is member of the International Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame and has hosted the annual Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis for over forty years. For more about Scotty check out his website, www.scottysmusic.com.
Chris Kennison is a performer with Barleen’s Arizona Opry in Apache Junction Arizona, as well as the Rocky Mountain Opry in Estes Park. Chris is also on the board of directors of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association. When he’s not playing with the Barleen’s you can find him sharing the sound of steel with his Hawaiian band, Book ‘em Danno.
Chuck Lettes is a featured writer for several steel guitar magazines, teacher and player with many touring artists from Doug Kershaw to Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and locally with everyone from The Jim Hyatt Band to the longtime sideman, “Chester Drawers,” in Lannie Garrett’s, Patsy DeCline Show. He is a recent inductee into the Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame.
Susan Alcorn is a Baltimore, Maryland-based composer and musician who has received international recognition as an innovator of the pedal steel guitar. Her original music reveals the influence of free jazz, avant-garde classical music, Indian ragas, indigenous traditions, and other musics of the world. www.susanalcorn.net
Bob Case has been playing steel guitar in bands since the early 1970s. He has worked with Billy Spears, Dusty Drapes and the Dusters, Lynn Morris, Junior Brown and Doug Kershaw among others. He is currently playing with Jockamo, a New Orleans style rhythm and blues band and at annual steel guitar shows.
Bret Billings has played professionally for over forty years. Introduced to the pedal steel by none other than Dick Meis, Bret and Bret Bertholf, aka Halden Wofford, are the charter members of the Hibeams. Bret plays a triple neck Fender Stringmaster.
Howard “Happ” Palmer’s love for country music and dance floors filled with two-stepping couples keeps him playing honkytonks up and down the front range. He has worked with Bitter Creek, Silverado, Sandy Skees Band, Gretchen Peters, and currently plays pedal steel and electric dobro for The Wild Road Band.
George Sypert is a veteran of the country music scene and has managed his own band for 40 years. His love for the steel guitar has made him a popular performer with many bands in Southern Colorado.
Ron Elliott has had a long and varied musical career. He has performed on television and on the Grand Ole Opry, backing many Nashville greats, and he has also helped to design premier steel guitars and amplifiers. He was inducted into the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2009.
SHOWTIME AND TICKETS:
Sunday, July 29th – JAM starts at NOON
Goes all day until 7pm
Doors open at 11:30am
Tickets: ONLY $10