Wiley makes Colfax appearance

Wiley Gustafson, former Dusty resident, opened his First Thursday Concert in Colfax Thursday night by reporting he departed his hometown of Conrad, Mont., at 4 a.m. under smoke-filled skies and drove all the way here under smoke-filled skies. He started the concert by singing “Cool Water.”

Gustafson, who noted he and his band have been performing for close to 30 years, pointed out they like to stick with traditional Western music. He made reference to his time in Dusty during the performance and at one point sang his original “Dusty Café” song. Many Dusty area residents and Gustafson friends attended.

Among other songs in the first segment of the program were “200 Tons” which gave an account of bucking hay bales, a hymn and a Gustafson solo on the 1934 Eddy Arnold classic “Lonesome Cattle Call.”

Gustafson also gave an account of the band’s early days when they opened for Merle Haggard in Las Vegas and subsequently recorded their second release at Haggard’s studio in Redding, Calif. The “green room” for the band during their Colfax performance was an upstairs room at Palouse River Quilts. Fonk’s provided snacks for the band prior to the show.

Members of the Wild West Band with Gustafson were Clayton Parsons on electric guitar, Tim Lashley on drums and Gregory Campbell on bass. All have music backgrounds in Montana.