Randy “Stretch” Mayer will return to his ol’ disc jockey days as the featured attraction during the after-party following the Friday, July 10, performance of the Cattlemen’s Days PRCA Rodeo. Mayer, who has worked some of the biggest events in rodeo and is a regular nominee for PRCA Music Director of the Year, has been part of Cattlemen’s Days for more than a decade.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF RANDY MAYER)

 

GUNNISON, Colo. – Folks in Gunnison know how to throw a party.

As America celebrates its semiquincentennial this July, the Cattlemen’s Days volunteer committee is planning something big for this year’s community gathering and rodeo, set for Thursday, July 9-Saturday, July 11, at Fred Field Western Center in Gunnison.

“Our Friday night is going to be big,” said Kevin Coblentz, the rodeo’s general manager.

Yes, it is. He’s calling it a Cowboy Coachella, an evening of fun and a way for everyone to get together for it. The night will begin with a salute to the military, with the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard presenting the colors.

“I can’t think of a better way to honor America than having the Marines here,” Coblentz said. “They’ve been here before and are always a big hit, and with the United States celebrating 250 years, we knew it would go over well.”

The main event will feature many of the top cowboys and cowgirls in professional rodeo, then the after-party will kick off with a drone show.

“These drone shows are like fireworks on steroids,” Coblentz said. “It’s going to be spectacular.”

It will also lead into the Dance in the Dirt, where anyone and everyone can participate and enjoy family-friendly music from Randy Mayer, the rodeo’s sound director.

We are going to open the gates at the start of barrel racing, and anyone who wants to come in and enjoy the drone show and the dance can,” Coblentz said. “This is really for everyone, whether their 8 or 80. We want it to be a blowout, and what a better place to have it and celebrate Cattlemen’s Days than at the arena.”

Mayer agrees. He is a five-time nominee for the PRCA’s Music Director of the Year and has been selected as the sound director for the National Finals Steer Roping, which features the elite single steer ropers in the country.

“Andy Stewart came up with the idea of it, and he was talking about it with Jack (Hanson),” said Mayer, who worked at a radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, years ago. “Andy noticed after the rodeo that there were kids hanging out, playing in the arena and jumping around.

“That’s where the idea came form to do the Dance in the Dirt, and now we’re going to see how it plays out. I think it’s going to be a good thing.”

Organizers are hoping for a big time but in a setting that is conducive for everyone to enjoy. Music will range from country music to Top 40 to even some “old school hip-hop and rap,” Mayer said.

“We’re going to have kids down there that want to enjoy it, so we’ll keep it clean,” he said. “There won’t be anything explicit.”

The committee wants the fun level of the evening high for people of all ages.

“Cattlemen’s Days was created to bring everyone in this valley together, and we have kept that tradition going for 126 years,” Coblentz said. “This is a great time to make that night for the community.”