Fifty-seven years in, and Asleep at the Wheel has not a single note of rust on them. Leading the band through 90 minutes of high-energy country and western swing Saturday night at the Lobero Theatre, founder Ray Benson proved this legendary group is still at the absolute top of their game. There was no coasting or nostalgia trips here — just serious musicians playing serious music at a seriously high level.
The Lobero was the ideal room for it. One of Santa Barbara’s true gems, the intimate 600-seat house offered a sound system that was warm and precise. It was the kind of pristine mix where you could hear every instrument doing its job without anything fighting for space.
Benson remains the anchor and the only original member standing after more than a hundred musicians have cycled through the lineup over the decades. For the gearheads in the audience, Benson’s custom-made Collings guitar — built larger to match his massive frame — produced a tone as pure as mountain spring water and as warm as a mid-summer’s night. Every note had a gorgeous, unforced depth that rolled out into the theater like it had always lived there.
But the players standing next to him Saturday sounded like they’d been together forever as well. Fiddler Ian Stewart, pianist Connor Forsyth, bassist Josh Hoag, steel guitarist Curtis Clogston, saxophonist Nick Brown, and drummer Jason Baczynski were completely locked in. The precision was something you normally associate with a tight studio recording session, not a touring band on a Saturday night.
The setlist covered serious musical ground. Bob Wills classics “Cherokee Maiden” and “San Antonio Rose” set the table early with complete conviction. Hank Williams showed up in a swaggering “Lovesick Blues,” while Willie Nelson got his due with a moving rendition of “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” By the time they roared through “Hot Rod Lincoln” and “Route 66,” the room’s energy peaked. The encore of “A Big Ball’s in Cowtown” into “Happy Trails” provided the perfect landing.
You walk into a show like this with whatever problems are on your mind, and somewhere around the second song, all of that is just gone. The groove on this night was completely irresistible. The whole audience felt it; nobody was checking their phones or shifting in their seats. Ninety minutes went by and felt like 20.
Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel are the real thing, and the Lobero gave them the room they deserved. Don’t miss them if they come anywhere near you.
