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May 16, 2014

Grab those dancing boots or a guitar -- the country's largest organization of western swing players and fans will return to Cape Girardeau with its popular annual music showcase later this month. The 10th annual Western Swing Society Showcase and Dance draws players and lovers of western swing music, which features a combination of country, western, jazz and blues. ...

Ken Gerringer and Paula Wyckoff dance across the floor during the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest’s eighth annual Western Swing Music Showcase on May 19, 2012, at VFW Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau. (Adam Vogler)
Ken Gerringer and Paula Wyckoff dance across the floor during the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest’s eighth annual Western Swing Music Showcase on May 19, 2012, at VFW Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau. (Adam Vogler)

Grab those dancing boots or a guitar -- the country's largest organization of western swing players and fans will return to Cape Girardeau with its popular annual music showcase later this month.

The 10th annual Western Swing Society Showcase and Dance draws players and lovers of western swing music, which features a combination of country, western, jazz and blues. The three-day event is hosted by local couple Bob and Virginia Dolle, members of the society. The showcase will take place Thursday, May 23 and May 24 at VFW Post 3838, 1049 N. Kingshighway.

To kick off the event, players of western swing spend the first day in open jam sessions that determine who will play together for the showcase's remaining two days. Bob Dolle said many musicians travel from out of state for the showcase because opportunities to play western swing can be few.

"We give anyone who wants to play it a chance," Dolle said. "This is a way we work to help keep our heritage alive."

Past showcases have brought in people who drive from as far as Kansas just to dance and enjoy the music. The event has seen up to 1,200 people over a three-day period in past years, and Dolle said he expects a similar crowd this year. The genre of music, most popular in the 1930s and 1940s, may not be as well known as it was, Dolle said, but it has a dedicated following.

In its heyday, prominent western swing groups included The Light Crust Doughboys and Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys; Asleep at the Wheel is a contemporary western swing group.

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Bob Dolle is a four-time Western Swing Hall of Fame inductee for his playing abilities, while his wife has been honored twice by western swing societies for her skills promoting music events. The couple puts together all five of the annual showcases of the society, four which are in Oklahoma and Texas and the fifth in Cape Girardeau.

Dolle also plays locally, often at River Ridge Winery in Commerce, Missouri, to keep people familiar with western swing.

Scholarship opportunities for those learning to play western swing are a benefit from the showcase. Proceeds from the event fund up to 13 scholarships each year, Dolle said. Anyone may apply for a scholarship through the society, Dolle said.

Tickets for the showcase are $5 for members of the society and VFW members and $10 for nonmembers and will be available at the door. Showcase times are from 2 to 11 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. May 23 and 24.

More information is available by calling the Dolles at 334-1377.

Pertinent address:

1049 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO

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