artist info

Since 1998, the Western swing-gypsy jazz trio Hot Club of Cowtown has traveled the world bringing their own brand of magical musical chemistry to audiences far and wide. They are gypsy-jazz-inspired by the music of Django Reinhardt — which accounts for the “Hot Club” portion of their name — with the hoedowns, traditional tunes, and Western swing-inspired music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, represented in the “Cowtown” of their name. They have created a legacy of the preservation of musical traditions that have often been overlooked by the mainstream and alternative music worlds. Even Americana and roots enthusiasts have only scratched surface of the multitude of musicians, past and present, who continue to inspire the Hot Club of Cowtown.

In 2004 the Hot Club of Cowtown gained a special fan in Bob Dylan when they were invited to open a month-long tour of minor league ballparks with Dylan and Willie Nelson. James sat in with Dylan’s band often on that tour and the following year James was hired to play briefly in Dylan’s touring band — the first dedicated female instrumentalist to join his road band since Scarlet Rivera some 30 years before.

Hot Club has maintained an on-again, off-again relationship over the years, which appears to be more about career choices than personal differences. When asked about the brief times the band has not been touring or recording, James says, “It’s like Brokeback Mountain — ‘I just can’t quit you!’” she laughs. “Some bands are maybe more studio bands, or other bands are really more about songwriting. We came together as instrumentalists who love to jam and play, and we really are at our very best as a live band. To me it’s as almost as though the instruments have gathered us together to sing and play their music.”

AWARDS & HONORS

Ameripolitan Music Awards, winner, Western Swing Group of the Year (2015)

Ameripolitan Music Awards, winner, (Elana James) Western Swing Female of the Year (2015)

Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame (Inducted in 2004)

Crescendo Award, Western Music Association’s (2002)

Best Music Group, True West Magazine’s Best of the West Awards, (2012)

Pazz & Jop Poll, Village Voice’s (2012)

Western Swing Group of the Year (nominated), Ameripolitan Music Awards, (2014)

Western Swing Female of the Year (Elana James nominated), Ameripolitan Music Awards, (2014)

Worldwide Top 20 Roots Country Album “What Makes Bob Holler” Roots Music Reports (2011)