MAE OUT WEST Episode #27 | Western Swing and Honky Tonk Radio Show
Howdy and Mabuhay,
So glad you’re here. Has it been a good week for you? It has been a good one on this end. I am coming off a high from a recent interview I did with my dear friend, producer, and former Johnny Bush bandolero, Justin Trevino, for the upcoming Mae Out West podcast. Episode 27 is a tribute to Western Swing and Honky Tonk from the traditional artists who built the sound, and the new artists carrying it forward, with a soft spot for California along the way. Pull up a chair and linger awhile.
Thank you to our paid substack subscribers: Dino, Katie, Linda, JP, Bob, and Bonnie.
Notes From the Episode
We catch our train first with Asleep at the Wheel and “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” then settle into a Justin Trevino deep cut, “Loud Music and Strong Wine.” The version is special. Different key, different lyrics, Johnny Bush on drums. Justin tipped me off himself. From there we head into Johnny Bush territory with “Pride Goes Before a Fall,” a track off his 2000 album Lost Highway Saloon. There is not a bad track on that record. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys close out the opening set with “Jolie Blonde Likes to Boogie,” and then we step into the present.
Rob Dehlinger and the Alpha Rhythm Kings have been on heavy rotation in the studio lately. Their cut on “Sheik of Araby” is everything I want from a young California outfit playing this music the right way, with confidence and zero cringe. Eddie Hunnicutt follows with “World of Make Believe” off his 2026 release Steal My Heart. Eddie is as analog as they come, and we love him for it. Two California artists, both worth your time, both proof that the music keeps living when the right people pick it up.
The middle stretch of the show carries us through Justin Tubb’s “Looking Back to See,” The Country Side of Harmonica Sam from Sweden with “I’m Deep in Love,” and Hank Thompson and the Brazos Valley Boys with “When Your Love Burns Low.” If heartache had a sound, that would be it.
Then we go all California. Gene Autry sings “Rancho Grande.” Halcones Del Bajio take George Strait’s “The Chair” and reimagine it in Spanish in a way that lets you know great melodies belong to any genre. Grey DeLisle and Deke Dickerson get into traffic mischief on “That’s My Jam.” And Maddox Brothers and Rose stretch “Faded Love” somewhere only Rose Maddox could take it.
The final stretch belongs to John England and the Western Swingers, with an original called “Old Town,” Lloyd Green’s “The Lovin’ Machine” (which I almost read as “The Louvin Machine,” dyslexia moment), and Lee Harmon’s “Two Empty Glasses.” My band Mae McCoy and Her Neon Stars sneaks in with our take on Patsy Montana’s “If I Could Only Learn to Yodel,” followed by Bobby Flores with “I’d Stop the World” and a Milton Brown classic, “Sweet Georgia Brown.” We sign off the way we always do, with a gospel number, this week from Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours doing “Family Bible.”
This one swings every direction. California to Sweden, 1930s to 2026, Hank Thompson to Halcones Del Bajio. That is the whole point of the show.
Song List
Asleep at the Wheel - Chattanooga Choo Choo
Justin Trevino - Loud Music and Strong Wine
Johnny Bush - Pride Goes Before a Fall
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys - Jolie Blonde Likes to Boogie
Rob Dehlinger and the Alpha Rhythm Kings - Sheik of Araby
Eddie Hunnicutt - World of Make Believe
Justin Tubb - Looking Back to See
The Country Side of Harmonica Sam - I’m Deep in Love
Hank Thompson - When Your Love Burns Low
Gene Autry - Rancho Grande
Halcones Del Bajio - The Chair
Grey DeLisle and Deke Dickerson - That’s My Jam
Maddox Brothers and Rose - Faded Love
John England and the Western Swingers - Old Town
Lloyd Green - The Lovin’ Machine
Lee Harmon - Two Empty Glasses
Mae McCoy and Her Neon Stars - If I Could Only Learn to Yodel
Bobby Flores - I’d Stop the World
Milton Brown - Sweet Georgia Brown
Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours - Family Bible
WHERE TO LISTEN
24/7 + Full Archive: maeoutwest.com
Affiliate Stations:
SteelRadio.org, Tuesdays 1 PM CT, Thursdays 4 PM CT, Fridays 12 AM CT, Saturdays 5 PM CT
Nevada’s Radio Goldfield Network: KGFN 89.1 Goldfield, KDVR 90.9 Dyer and Fish Lake Valley, KHRM 90.3 Hadley and Round Mountain, KBGD 99.5 Beatty, K233BM 92.1 Hawthorne
KeepingItCountryLive.com, Thursdays at 10 PM Central
Mae Out West, Western Swing and Honky Tonk Radio Show & Podcast.
New episodes every Monday. maeoutwest.com | maeoutwestofficial@gmail.com
If you liked this one, the kindest thing you can do is forward it to a friend who needs more steel guitar in their week.
