In its 23 years of history, ACL Festival has had one constant: Asleep at the Wheel.
The band has been singing songs about Texas and beyond since 1970, when it was formed by Ray Benson, Lucky Oceans, and Leroy Preston in Paw Paw, West Virginia. They moved to Austin just a few years later (at the recommendation of Willie Nelson) and quickly became a household name.
If you’ve ever been to ACL Festival on the first Friday, you’ve probably heard Benson (Asleep at the Wheel’s only remaining original member) and the band perform. They’ve opened up the festival every year since it began in 2002.
We met up with Benson during Weekend One to ask how he became ACL’s mainstay.
Editor’s note: Some responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
How do you feel about having played every ACL Festival?
“Well, it’s a great honor. When we started the festival, they were negotiating the deal, and things got a bit messy, and so I helped clean it up. So Charlie (Jones) said, ‘Alright, you’re going to open the festival up,’ because I did the first ‘Austin City Limits’ television show after Willie had done the pilot. We had no idea it was going to last this long and continue — it’s been wonderful.
What has changed about Asleep at the Wheel from 1970 until today?
“The band has gone through 100-some-odd people, some incredible players. The alumni of Asleep at the Wheel are scattered over with incredible (players like) Bob Dylan, Junior Brown. ... Having young guys come up, learn the music and learn the style, has kept us — kept me — young and on the road.”
What has changed about ACL Festival from 2002 to today?
“I looked out the window 23 years ago and half of y’all weren’t born. Every 10 years, it’s really a new generation. (Now, ACL has) legacy acts and brand new acts I’ve never heard of, they always have some Austin acts. It’s amazing to see generation after generation involved in the Texas music scene.”
What does being a “Cosmic Cowboy” mean to you?
“There was a great rift between country music and hippies, or young people. Willie and us and Waylon, we kind of sealed that rift. We’re a divided nation right now, and music is the one that can bring all kinds of different people together. ... If you open your ears and open your mind, people realize we’re all in this together. Music can bring us together.”
What’s your favorite song to play on stage?
“We always open up with ‘Miles And Miles Of Texas.’ We recorded that song close to 50 years ago and that is as much a tradition as there is here — Asleep at the Wheel always plays ‘Miles And Miles Of Texas.’”
