DURANGO, Colo. – Asleep at the Wheel, the Grammy-awarding winning band revered for sustaining Texas-based Western Swing, returns to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College by popular demand, Wed., Aug. 13 at 8 p.m.

Since the early ‘70s, Asleep at the Wheel has been the most important force in Western swing – a mix of big band, country and dance music popularized in the 1930s and '40s by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. Formed out of reverence for Wills’ freewheeling, eclectic sensibility, Asleep at the Wheel and founder Ray Benson have boldly defied the fickle lures of mainstream – and thrived – by keeping the distinctly American art form of Western Swing, alive and kicking.

"I think Bob Wills is one of the iconic figures of popular music – one of the people who set the standard in the way we do music today," Benson said in an interview with CBS “Sunday Morning.”

Typically featuring 8-11 musicians, the group has gone through myriad personnel changes (at last count, some 90 members had passed through the ranks), but 6'7" frontman Ray Benson has held it together for nearly four decades, keeping Asleep at the Wheel a viable recording and touring concern, maintaining devotion to classic-style Western swing. Core members currently touring are Benson (lead guitar, vocals), Jason Roberts (fiddle), David Sanger (drums), David Earl Miller (base, vocals), John Michael Whitby (piano), Elizabeth McQueen (acoustic guitar and vocals) and Eddie Rivers (steel guitar, sax).

Notes McQueen on the Wheel’s web site, “One of the things about Asleep at the Wheel is that they always have great musicians. That’s what they’re known for. So for them to ask me to join and then to keep me in the band, and to let me step out a little more and stand in the shoes of Chris O’Connell and Maryann Price, who were amazing singers – that’s an incredible honor. It’s above and beyond my greatest expectations.”

Benson formed Asleep at the Wheel in Paw Paw, West Virginia in 1970, playing straight-ahead country, but soon shifted to Western Swing thanks to influences from Merle Haggard and Commander Cody, and he moved the band’s base to Austin. Hit singles followed, including “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read,” and “One O’Clock Jump.”

The nine-time Grammy award winning band has also been named “Best Country & Western Band” by Rolling Stone, as well as “Touring Band of the Year” by the Academy of Country Music.

The name is derived from the expression “asleep at the wheel” referencing falling asleep while driving a vehicle – or someone who is blissfully unaware of a dangerous situation.

Tickets for Asleep at the Wheel - $25 for Balcony and Orchestra and $30 for Plaza – are available on the web at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657. Or visit the Ticketing Services Offices in Downtown Durango at 7^th and Main Ave.

Showtime is 8 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 7 p.m.

The Community Concert Hall is located in the growing arts complex of Fort Lewis College.  It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.

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