Western swing is alive & well in the mountains of Montana with the music of Open Range & the Swing Stampede. As Montana's premier western swing band, when this energetic 6-piece band, hits the stage & starts to jam, you can almost bet there'll be no toe left untapped! Using sophisticated three part instrumental passages, Open Range brings back the "big band" feel of "horn section" parts, played with string instruments, which was one of the many musical signatures of the Bob Wills sound. Their music focuses on western swing songs of the 40's & 50's, along with their own originals. Their three-part harmonies are some of the best you'll ever hear on classic songs such as Choo Choo Cha Boogie, Faded Love, Route 66, and many more. Other songs that they cover are from artists such as Asleep at the Wheel, Tex Williams, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Spade Cooley....and....the list goes on! Their latest CD, "Swingtime in the Rockies", full of original songs, has been receiving national attention, including their title cut hitting the #2 spot on the Sunset Network western music chart. They've also garnered a total of 11 nominations for awards with the Academy of Western Artists and the Western Music Association. A few of the categories they are included in are, "best western swing group", "best western swing album", and "best western swing song", for their title cut. Their song, 'Blue and Lonesome' also recently won the award for Dancer's Choice-Best Original New Dance Tune from the United Country Western Dance Councel. Band members consist of Linda Hausler on vocals and rhythm guitar, band leader Ric Steinke on vocals, lead guitar, non-pedal steel guitar and mandolin, Dean Anderson on vocals, keyboard and accordion, past Montana state fiddle champion Nancy Padilla on fiddle, John Morford on bass and Bruce Campbell on drums.