The highlight of Kosse Homecoming Weekend is the
Street Dance in downtown Kosse.
Street Dance in downtown Kosse.
Bring your chairs... coolers are welcome. Enjoy lots of food and a
full array of soft drinks, beer and coolers.
Discounted early-buy tickets go on sale online January 2023!
Our 2023 Street Dance will feature 3 great bands!
full array of soft drinks, beer and coolers.
Discounted early-buy tickets go on sale online January 2023!
Our 2023 Street Dance will feature 3 great bands!
Bob Wills' Texas Playboys
under the Direction of Jason Roberts
Bob Wills was born just outside of Kosse in 1905. Kosse is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the establishment of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
in Waco, Texas in 1933.
under the Direction of Jason Roberts
Bob Wills was born just outside of Kosse in 1905. Kosse is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the establishment of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
in Waco, Texas in 1933.
About Bob Wills' Texas Playboys
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When Texas Playboys front man Jason Roberts steps onto a stage with his fiddle and utters his first “AH-ha” of the evening, western-swing fans know they're seeing and hearing nothing less than the living embodiment of a tradition that stretches all the way back to 1933. That was the year the charismatic fiddler Bob Wills and several other musicians in a group called the Light Crust Doughboys broke away from Fort Worth's Burris Mills and its autocratic business manager, W. Lee “Pappy” O'Daniel, to form their own band. As Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, they became one of the most popular touring and recording acts in the nation, offering audiences the highly danceable musical mixture that came to be known as western swing.
Following Bob's 1975 death, a group of ex-Playboys led by former Wills steel-guitarist Leon McAuliffe and hand-picked by McAuliffe and Bob's widow, Betty, came together to keep the Bob Wills sound alive. Those men made a promise to one another that when the first of their number died, they would disband – and, true to their word, the group dissolved in 1986, following the death of piano player “Brother” Al Stricklin. Eventually, with the blessing of the Bob Wills estate, guitarist-producer Tommy Allsup, a longtime Wills collaborator, and Leon Rausch, the Playboys' last great vocalist, took over Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. They continued squarely in the Wills style, delighting old fans |
and making new ones, until 2018, following the death of Allsup and the retirement of nonagenarian Rausch.
Today, the Bob Wills sound continues, as big and bright and brassy as ever. The newest Texas Playboys aggregation is led by two-time Grammy winner Roberts, hand-picked by both the Wills estate and Leon Rausch, whose nearly two decades in the famed western-swing band Asleep at the Wheel includes an eight-year stint actually playing Bob Wills in the Wheel's nationally touring musical-theatre production, A RIDE WITH BOB. And, like Bob's original band, this group of Playboys includes some of the best swing musicians both Oklahoma and Texas have to offer. The Okies include trombonist Steve Ham, trumpeter Mike Bennett, drummer Tony Ramsey, and fiddler Shawn Howe. The contingent from south of the Red River boasts piano player Wayne Glasson, steel-guitarist Dave Biller, saxophonist Larry Reed, and bassist Albert Quaid. Many of these top-notch players from both states have already done stints with the band's earlier incarnations. Together, Bob Wills' Texas Playboys forge on through the 21st Century, bringing a nostalgic glow to longtime Wills fans and the joy of discovery to those who might not have even been born when Bob died. Once again, the baton has been passed, and the hands that grasped it are crafting some of the finest examples of Bob Wills-style western swing anyone could ever want to hear. |
James Carothers
Nashville honky-tonk crooner, James Carothers, is best known for his stone-country originals and spot-on impressions of some of country music's greatest icons. On September 28, 2021, James released his most recent album, Whatcha Got Left. Previous albums include Songs & Stories (2019), Still Country, Still King: A Tribute to George Jones (2018), Relapse (2017), and Honky Tonk Land (2014).
Just prior to the 2020 shutdown, James fulfilled a lifelong dream by making his Grand Ole Opry debut at the Ryman Auditorium, receiving a standing ovation from a crowd full of friends and family. Another recent highlight was being selected by Alan Jackson to open his show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in 2021, as well as several other dates on Jackson’s “Honky Tonk Highway” tour from 2019 to 2022.
James has been performing in Nashville since 2015, having played over 2,000 shows at places like The George Jones Museum, AJ's Good Time Bar, Martin’s BBQ, and Music City Bar when he's not on the road. He enjoys playing at fairs, festivals, bars, corporate events, and private events all across the United States, and has also traveled to Canada, Japan, Scotland, Norway, and Lichtenstein for shows.
Raised in rural Tennessee, Carothers grew up leading acapella singing every Sunday in the Church of Christ. His father Jim was a hobby songwriter who landed a song he wrote on the Grand Ole Opry (Puttin’ On the Dog performed by Mike Snider). Jim recorded a couple of studio albums in Nashville before moving the family out west for work while his son was still in grade school. Inspired by his dad, James always toyed with songwriting and began playing his own shows in local honky-tonks around New Mexico during his teens and 20s. Meanwhile, he got married, started a family, and paid the bills as a technician at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, working in the same place the atomic bomb was created.
In 2015, James left his job at LANL and returned to his native state of Tennessee to pursue a country music career. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, George Jones's widow, Nancy, personally hired him for his first steady gig at the George Jones Museum, giving him the opportunity to do something he’s thankful for and that so many aspiring artists moving to Nashville dream of doing – make a living playing music. In addition to supporting his family, performing downtown helped Carothers build a large fan base of fiercely supportive followers who appreciate his Tennessee twang, southern storytelling, and throwback country style.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Just prior to the 2020 shutdown, James fulfilled a lifelong dream by making his Grand Ole Opry debut at the Ryman Auditorium, receiving a standing ovation from a crowd full of friends and family. Another recent highlight was being selected by Alan Jackson to open his show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in 2021, as well as several other dates on Jackson’s “Honky Tonk Highway” tour from 2019 to 2022.
James has been performing in Nashville since 2015, having played over 2,000 shows at places like The George Jones Museum, AJ's Good Time Bar, Martin’s BBQ, and Music City Bar when he's not on the road. He enjoys playing at fairs, festivals, bars, corporate events, and private events all across the United States, and has also traveled to Canada, Japan, Scotland, Norway, and Lichtenstein for shows.
Raised in rural Tennessee, Carothers grew up leading acapella singing every Sunday in the Church of Christ. His father Jim was a hobby songwriter who landed a song he wrote on the Grand Ole Opry (Puttin’ On the Dog performed by Mike Snider). Jim recorded a couple of studio albums in Nashville before moving the family out west for work while his son was still in grade school. Inspired by his dad, James always toyed with songwriting and began playing his own shows in local honky-tonks around New Mexico during his teens and 20s. Meanwhile, he got married, started a family, and paid the bills as a technician at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, working in the same place the atomic bomb was created.
In 2015, James left his job at LANL and returned to his native state of Tennessee to pursue a country music career. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, George Jones's widow, Nancy, personally hired him for his first steady gig at the George Jones Museum, giving him the opportunity to do something he’s thankful for and that so many aspiring artists moving to Nashville dream of doing – make a living playing music. In addition to supporting his family, performing downtown helped Carothers build a large fan base of fiercely supportive followers who appreciate his Tennessee twang, southern storytelling, and throwback country style.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Received a standing ovation following Grand Ole Opry debut performance at the Ryman Auditorium in January 2020
- Selected to open Alan Jackson’s show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN in October 2021, in addition to several tour dates on Jackson’s “Honky Tonk Highway” tour (2019 – 2022)
- Listed as one of Rolling Stone Country’s “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know”
- WSM Road Show Winner
- Has opened for Alan Jackson, Ricky Skaggs, Trace Adkins, The Charlie Daniels Band, Mickey Gilley, Dustin Lynch, Cody Johnson, Ben Haggard, Joe Diffie, & The Kentucky Headhunters.
Diamondback Texas
Diamondback Texas is a "Texas Country" band......not to be confused with a "Texas Music" band. You can expect a full-on rock show mixed with foot stompin' country from Texas favorites like Billy Joe Shaver and Willie Nelson. For years the band has been a favorite in many of Texas' finest venues and honky tonks. Their unique approach and stage show are unrivaled in the region. They are not the bluebonnet smelling rich boy college type band but the hog hunting, post hole digging guys that know what work and play really are.
Kosse Economic Development Corp
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KOSSE COMMUNITY CENTER HERITAGE SPONSOR
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