Gala means rodeo on horizon

John Goodspeed - John Goodspeed

The Go Western Gala is the event that puts the rodeo on the radar for many folks, and for good reason.

Priming the faithful less than three weeks before the beginning of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, galagoers get name-brand entertainment and top-shelf catering for all they can eat and drink.

Kicking off the music at 7 p.m. Saturday at the AT&T Center will be Jeff Griffith, followed by Luke Bryan and Asleep at the Wheel.

Griffith, a Spring Branch resident, is making a name for himself playing real-deal country in dance halls and on the radio, with tunes such as “Drinkin' Thing” and “If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another,” the title cut from the album produced by country veteran Joe Stampley.

Georgia native Bryan ditched the family peanut farm for Nashville as a songwriter and scored his debut album in 2007 with the No. 2 “I'll Stay Me,” which spawned the hits “All My Friends Say” and “Country Man.”

Bryan also will perform at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo at 1 p.m. Feb. 15.

Asleep at the Wheel, the Grammy-winning torchbearer of Western swing, also throws in a bit of boogie with its big band and three lead singers — lead guitarist and band leader Ray Benson, fiddler Jason Roberts and guitaristElizabeth McQueen.

“We went with these entertainers because they know how to get a crowd going. And Luke Bryan has a new album coming out soon and was named a face to watch for 2007 in Billboard magazine,” said Dinah Covert, the gala's new chairman who's worked on the committee for nearly 20 years.

Covert plans to kick the gala up several notches over the next few years, beginning Saturday with the premiere of a wine event — a tasting from Alexander Valley Wines at the entrance.

“We'll gradually roll out more of a wine element over the next year or two,” Covert said. “Also, this year the Golden Corral tables (seating 10 at the stage for $4,000) will be served an exclusive menu, not to take away anything from the other food offerings.”

RK Group will cater a broad range of food, from duck and barbecue-stuffed potatoes to calf fries and chicken-fried bacon.

“That clogs arteries just to hear it, but it's to die for,” Covert said about the bacon. “It just melts in your mouth.”

Like proceeds from other rodeo events, the gala's go to the San Antonio Livestock Exposition scholarship fund. Single tickets cost $100, and a few floor tables for 10 are still available for $1,500.

Tickets will be available until noon Saturday, and they can be picked up at a will-call table at the door. Call (210) 225-5851 or click on www.sarodeo.com.

•If you want to know how to get a gig performing at the Stock Show & Rodeo, you're in luck. You'll hear all about it at the Texas Music Coalition's free program at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Tycoon Flats.

Panelists will be the rodeo's assistant executive director Debbie Dreyfus-Shrunk, assistant vice president Jackie Van De Walle and exhibit directorEllen Andrus. There will be an open mike after the program.