The Wilders ? a popular Kansas City-area honky tonk band ? will return to this year’s Walnut Valley Festival after a year away. It will be the ninth appearance for the four-member group.
Over the years, fans of the Wilders have become known for following the band from stage to stage and often dancing along to the music the group plays. The group performs in period style clothing and plays many honky-tonk music favorites.
Members of the Wilders have come together from a wide variety of backgrounds. Betse Ellis started out as a classically trained violinist. She grew up playing classical music, but listening to The Who, Talking Heads, The Police, and other ’70s and ’80s punk and new wave groups. In 1990, Betse met Phil Wade and the two formed a world music duo.
It was during this time that Phil and Betse became acquainted with a singer named Ike Sheldon, who was trained to perform operatically. ?Nate Gawron joined the Wilders in 1999 as the bass player.
When they started the group, band members listened to a lot of early country music, old-time music from the ’20s and ’30s, and early honky tonk.
"There’s a good maxim in art," Sheldon says. "You shouldn’t really break the rules until you know the rules. Look at Picasso; the dude was absolutely amazing. He could draw anything perfectly, very detailed and realistic. That’s how he could move on to other things. We said ?If we are gonna play country music, let’s learn what makes it tick.’ And now that we know, we are reaping the benefits; we can throw the rules out the window."
The festival will be held at the Winfield fairgrounds. This year’s dates are Sept. 16 through Sept. 20. Advance tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the festival office, 918 Main Street in Winfield, Kansas or by calling (620) 221-3250.
For more information you can call the office or access the festival website at wvfest.com.
