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Dan Miller’s
Cowboy Music Revue
By June Johnston
Images provided by Dan Miller
S
addle up and ride on down to a new hitching
post — the Buffalo Bill Center of the West
in Cody, Wyoming — for a fantastic evening
of entertainment. If you haven’t heard Dan Miller
and his Empty Saddles Band before, you are in for
a treat!
Dan recalls that he was in the second or third
grade when his teacher sent a note home to his
parents stating, “Dan has music and rhythm in
him and you should nurture that.” They took
the advice seriously, which must have been a bit
difficult since his family belonged to a church
that did not allow musical instruments.
Dan started writing music when he was eleven
or twelve. Not one to be afraid of stepping to the
front line, Dan formed his first band when he was
in the seventh grade, “The Younger Set.” They
played for lots of high school dances and “we
were actually pretty good!” Dan adds. In his last
three years of high school, Dan assembled a trio.
“I played banjo and guitar. We did all the George
Gershwin stuff, east side, west side — all around
the town of Garrett, Indiana.” Dan developed a
wide variety of musical tastes that would stand
him in good stead in the future. He considers
himself eclectic in his music — Swing, Western,
Roy Rogers, Sons of the Pioneers, Mills Brothers,
Marty Robbins, Gene Autry, Americana,
Bluegrass - Dan loves it all!
His bands have played from Nashville to Alaska,
Vegas to Tahoe — in places requiring tuxedos or
L to R: Wendy Corr, Hannah Miller, Dan Miller
blue jeans. Dan has hosted many TV shows for
ESPN, Outdoor Channel, Nashville Network,
Top Card, Xtreme Bulls, Best of the West, as well
as rodeos and games shows. He’s even played in
some movies (Heaven Sent with Wilford Brimley,
a resident of Greybull, Wyoming), although Dan
much prefers television.
Dan loves small towns. When he came to Cody
and found the triangle of Cody to Powell and
Red Lodge, Montana, he never wanted to leave
— so he didn’t. In 1995, while still doing shows
in Nashville, he made the move and relocated to
Cody. He’s never regretted it. Dan feels fortunate
that he can live in Cody, jump on a plane and be
back in his Nashville office in a heartbeat.
www.wyolifestyle.com
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