The Original West Texas Saturday Night

National Ranching Heritage Center

Postcard – 1998

Lanny Fiel & the Ranch Dance Fiddle Band plays historic music from the days of cowboy and ranch dances in the Texas Panhandle and the Llano Estacado. Performing traditional fiddle tunes of two-steps, waltzes, schottisches, polkas, and specialty numbers,

The Ranch Band recreates music that has been played for dances since the arrival of the first settlers on the Texas Plains.

Musician Lanny Fiel founded the group in 1995 as a result of his experience learning the tradition from cowboy fiddler and ranch foreman Frankie McWhorter. Fiel, in turn, is teaching the music to young string players who appear on occasion with the band.

The Fiddle Band consists of a core group of twin fiddles with guitar and bass accompaniment. This group can be expanded to include piano, twin mandolins, drums, and six apprentice fiddlers. On occasion, mentor Frankie McWhorter joins any configuration of the band.

The group performs regularly across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, entertaining audiences with this rich musical heritage. Recent performances include authentic “platform dances” with Frankie McWhorter in Lipscomb, Texas; the Ranch Dance Summer Series at the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas; a showcase appearance by student fiddlers broadcast live throughout the Western United States during the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium in Ruidoso, New Mexico; and the 14th Cowboy Poetry Gathering at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada.

Through their work with fellow artists, institutions, and associations that value the past, Lanny Fiel & the Ranch Dance Fiddle Band are working to broaden public awareness of the region’s musical heritage and preserve this rich legacy for future generations.

Promotional Flyer 1996
Ranching Heritage Center