© 2009 Michelle Davidson/Uncharted
Photos by Michelle Davidson

Casting all diplomacy aside, I will admit these were the first words out of my mouth when I came back from living in England to discover my former employer – 96.1 FM in Idaho Falls – had switched from an adult contemporary format (i.e. “light rock”) to 90’s country. I was grateful to be offered my job back as a DJ, but not so thrilled to have to play yee-haw-belt-buckle-and-boots music. It was at a time when Sammy Kershaw’s She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful was number one on the charts and one late-night caller was eager to hear the live version of Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places every single night I worked there.

So I can already imagine the response of many “city folk” when I break the news that the Bar J Wranglers are, as their group’s name would imply, a bunch of cowboys belting out all the old country classics. But please don’t stop reading. Because, as an “I hate country” DJ of the 90’s, I can assure you this is country like you’ve never experienced it before – and I say that with unbridled enthusiasm.

You’ve heard the old country music joke, “What happens when you play a country song backwards?” Answer: “His wife comes back, the dog comes back, he gets his job back, and his truck works again.” What happens when you take that country music and hand it to the Bar J Wranglers? Your toes tap, your hands strum, and your jaw drops when you realize what tremendous individual talents have been pulled together to light the fire under what would otherwise be nothing more than the same old western music. And if not entirely careful, you may just laugh hard enough to run the risk of an aching face and sore rib muscles by the time the night is over.

Using a working cattle ranch near Jackson, WY, as their basecamp, the Bar J Wranglers perform seven nights a week all summer long at the Bar J Chuckwagon, providing a modified chuckwagon meal (with plenty of seconds) and a full night of entertainment. Babe Humphrey, armed with a rich baritone voice and a passion for western music, provided the backbone for the Bar J from early on, only recently handing the reins over to his sons Scott and Bryan to carry on this rich legacy of music and entertainment. At present, the Bar J Wranglers consist of five musically gifted – and down right funny – cowboys, each bringing a unique talent to the group, which invariably adds to the “wow” factor as old songs are given new life. But it’s more than just the music. It’s the carefully timed banter that gives this show the extra “oomph” to make it about more than just cowboy music.

The thing I love most is that an evening at the Bar J is not simply a “concert.” The music is, in fact, just one part of a world all it’s own.  Since seats are not assigned when you make the reservation, it means the wise come when the gates open at 5:30 to claim the closer tables, in anticipation of the 7:00 meal and performance. Having made it through check-in, where you claim your meal tickets and seating assignments, the Bar J then opens into what has become its own miniature western village. Stroll the wooden walkways, relax in one of their porch swings, or check out western souvenirs and Bar J Wrangler recordings at one of their souvenir shacks. It’s all family friendly, including a great little train ride – for kids and parents alike – through various still scenes ranging from Indians and mountain men to grizzly bears and waterfalls. Better yet, take your kids on the train ride and then shuffle them into line for fresh biscuits smothered in honey, cooked in dutch ovens by a guy who looks like he really could be the chuckwagon cook. (My advice is, hit the biscuit line twice – they’re that good!)

Finally, after you’ve had time to explore and relax, prepare for the real fun, inside the large wooden building where the meal and show take place. The meal is chuckwagon style – albeit a bit modified for the sakes of us “city folk.” Served on tin trays, it includes your selected meat course (steak, chicken, or barbecue beef), a baked potato, applesauce, more biscuits ( not from the dutch oven this time, but still just as good), and spice cake, topped off with your choice of coffee, lemonade, or water. No alcohol is available, but don’t worry: carbonation and chocolate addicts can still head over to the “Waterin’ Hole” and grab that much-needed cola drink or packet of M & M’s before the performance begins.

The meal may not be schmaltzy, but then again, that’s not the point. It’s all about atmosphere, and the Bar J is bursting with it, inside and out. Guests eat at long wooden tables and benches on a concrete floor, with dozens of old boots, flags, and similar cowboy memorabilia lining the high rafters and walls. Even the stage is cluttered with western memorabilia and all things cowboyish, in keeping with the intended atmosphere.

Once you’ve downed the last of the spice cake and had one more quick biscuit, then comes the real show. Enjoy special arrangements of western favorites, as well as original tunes, mingled with banter and horseplay, and a surprise visit from “Granny” (Bryan). Whether recounting the story of Rindercella and her two sad blisters, or singing about her genetically altered farm, Granny will undoubtedly have you in stitches.

When the evening’s over, if your laugh muscles aren’t too sore, and you’ve gotten over the “sloshiness” of all that lemonade, you still have one last chance to pop back over to one of their souvenir shacks and pick up a CD or DVD and take these wranglers home with you. I promise you can still consider yourself city folk while enjoying what has become some of my most favorite yee-haw-belt-buckle-and-boots music. And who knows, you may just find yourself singing along. (Yodeling optional.)

Meet the Wranglers

When it comes to onstage antics, Bryan Humphrey has flourished in this role for as long as I can remember, consistently rolling out some of the corniest, most ludicrous lines, and yet always with that genuine look of oblivious innocence. I would dare say Bryan is the Gracie Allen of the Bar J who, just like Gracie, has a lot more going on below the surface than ever appears in cleverly staged routines. But comedy is not his only forte. Just wait until he opens his throat and offers a phenomenal piece of yodeling, as smooth as butter, or you listen to one his original country western tunes such as Wyoming Wind or Long Night’s Ride, for which he may very well provide lead vocal or play bass – or both! As his father Babe has said many times over the years, “Everyone has one. You know who yours is. Well, he’s ours.” True on more levels than the audience may ever realize.

Then again, Babe actually has two, to be more accurate, the other being Scott Humphrey, who has taken on the more contained straight man role, played just as superbly, often allowing himself to be the brunt of jokes, but without ever losing his credibility as a musical talent equal to Brian’s when the time comes to play and harmonize. Scott acts as spokesman for the group on stage and has spent a fair share of time arranging music for the group to help provide that fabulous Bar J sound, as well as offering his generous dose of vocal work as a tenor and his talents on the rhythm guitar.

Tim Hodgson, the other character I’ve watched on stage for many years, is both straight man and top-notch fiddler, putting a shine to classics like the break-neck paced Orange Blossom Express, as well as more unusual pieces, such as Listen to a Mockingbird – an immediate favorite of mine.  Having earned several awards in both state and national championship fiddling, he quickly proves his mastery of the fiddle during their nightly performances.

New”ish” faces include Donnie Cook, although even he reaches the eleven-year mark this summer. Donnie is their wizard of all things stringed – the banjo, steel guitar, flat top guitar and more, although I’m still awaiting his first bagpipe solo, as hinted at in Momma Don’t Allow. And while he may often be earmarked as the most somber and silent of the group, no one will ever top his rendering of Grandma’s in the Cellar. The entire number is straight-faced, straight-laced, and thereby completely hilarious.

The other new face is Danny Rogers, whom I glimpsed for the first time in 2008 as the new bass voice for their melt-in-your-mouth harmonies. And while he may be the new boy on the block, he’s as much wrangler as the rest of them, when it comes to making music. Just be prepared to hear about his rather miniscule, bucolic hometown and the 300-pound sales lady down the street –

Reservation Info and Prices

For more information on reservations and prices, or to check out their growing selection of CDs and DVDs, visit the official Bar J Wrangler website at http://www.barjchuckwagon.com/ or give them a call at 1-800- 905-2275. And if you can’t make it to Wyoming to visit them at their ranch, don’t panic: these boys put on performances across the country all winter long. You may not get to enjoy the chuckwagon meal, but the show is still guaranteed to be well worth the effort to make it there. Take the family, and say “hello” to Granny for me. Just be careful where she’s pointing that pitchfork when you say it --