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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Riders Swoop In With Musical Humor

Joe Ehrbar Correspondent

The ever-popular Riders in the Sky will high-tail it into the Inland Northwest to play The Festival at Sandpoint on Thursday.

Riders in the Sky feature yodeling baritone/guitarist Ranger Doug, “Idol of American Youth”; fiddler Woody Paul, “The King of the Cowboy Fiddlers”; stand-up bass player Too Slim, “The Bachelor of Science,” “The Licensed Driver” and “The Man of Many Hats and a Dozen Friends.”

The 18-year-old trio plays cowboy music, much the way Gene Autry and Roy Rogers did years ago, but add a heavy helping of cow-poking humor thrown in.

“People forget that music can be fun. They think that music always has to be serious,” Ranger Doug told an interviewer.

What’s more, Riders in the Sky shows appeal to both children and adult audiences.

During performances, Riders in the Sky play old standards that, with their dead-on, note-for-note three-part harmonies, are sure to send shivers down many spines.

It’s between songs that the three, clad in fuzzy chaps, cactus ties and silly western shirts, engage in all kinds of chuckle-inducing antics, such as a roping demonstration, Sidemeat’s (Too Slim’s alter ego) cooking display, advertisement spoofs and various jokes.

Aside from performing 200 concerts each year, Riders in the Sky host their own weekly radio program and a TV show on The Nashville Network called “Rider’s Radio Theatre.” They also continually record new albums.

The threesome has even appeared in movies such as “Sweet Dreams” and “Wild Horses.”

The group’s latest CD comes out in the fall.

xxxx RIDERS IN THE SKY Location and time: Memorial Field, Sandpoint, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $25.50 reserved, $16.80 general admission, $8.65 juniors