June 2, 1969, was a historic day in Durango, as it was the start of one of the longest running restaurants and shows in Durango. That’s the day the Bar D Chuckwagon opened its doors north of Durango in Hermosa, starting a now 55-year (and counting) run of classic cowboy and Western tunes performed by the Chuckwagon’s house band, The Bar D Wranglers, along with serving a cowboy and Western-style, out on the range supper.
Open most nights of the week from Memorial Day into late September, it’s been a steady run for the Bar D Wranglers, who play nightly; currently, the band is Gary Cook on guitar; Matt Palmer on fiddle and vocals; Joel Racheff on bass and vocals (who also handles the comedy portions of the night); and David Bradley on guitar, vocals and yodeling. There have been guest appearances by one-time regional musician in the late Charlie Daniels, among others, while this season saw guests guitar players Richard Espinoza, Danny Rogers, Chuck Glass, Alex Graf, and Deanna and Andrew Wilson sitting in for Cook, who missed his first shows in 34 years because of heart surgery. That’s over 30 years of not missing a day of work, which Cook said, “made sitting at home pretty boring.”
If you go
WHAT: Dinner and a show at the Bar D Chuckwagon.
WHEN: Nightly through the summer.
WHERE: Bar D Chuckwagon, 8080 County Road 250.
TICKETS: $39/$43/$57.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.bardchuckwagon.com.
It all started with the late Cy Scarborough – the man who founded the Chuckwagon in Durango after learning the business at the Flying W Chuckwagon on the Front Range.
“Cy and three other gentlemen had come over from Colorado Springs,” Cook said. “They wanted to live in this beautiful part of the country more than they did Colorado Springs, and it worked out great for all of us that have followed in his boot-steps.”
Cook was born for this type of work. Growing up in a family of musicians, he excelled at picking anything with strings, going onto winning guitar flatpicking contests at festivals like Walnut Valley in Kansas and Rockygrass in Lyons.
“Our family had a weekly radio show, we had a sibling band and traveled around the country and did radio programs and different things,” he said. “I always loved acoustic music and Western music, and when there was an opening after the 1988 season at the Bar-D, they asked if I would be interested in coming and joining the group, and I’ve been there ever since.”
While you could call the music of the Bar-D Wranglers “roots” or even “Americana,” the band calls it “cowboy” or “Western” music. Their setlist is a celebration of the American West, digging into songs that if you’ve paid attention to pop culture, you’d know.
“We hope we preserve some of the traditional Western music,” Cook said. “We try to stay geared toward cowboy music, and you know, the great American West.”
The Bar-D Wranglers are at this point a Durango institution. During the months when the Chuckwagon is closed, you’ll find them playing in other parts of the country, one year even traveling to Japan to perform. Cook is thankful that they’ve made worldwide connections.
“We’ve been really fortunate. We’ve played from coast to coast, and border to border. We’ve met so many wonderful people over the years,” he said. “After the Missionary Ridge Fire (in 2002, which jeopardized the Chuckwagon site), people from all over the world contacted us, wanting to know how we are doing and if they could do anything for us. It’s not every business that you’d go into that you’d have that kind of experience. We are really fortunate.”
The Bar-D Wranglers recently recorded a new record at Cook’s “Red Cliff Studios” adjacent to the Chuckwagon. “Buckaroo” is an instrumental release of cowboy and Western tunes dropping this summer, and available at the Bar-D Chuckwagon or via the band’s website.
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
