The Time Jumpers perform in Sarasota
It's one of the most popular music events in Nashville, a town that's bursting with great music events. But to Ranger Doug Green, it takes the place of visiting a shrink.
"We call Monday night our therapy," Green said. "And that's what it is for us, it's therapy."
Every Monday night, Green and nine of his friends perform at a Nashville club called the Station. Their band is called the Time Jumpers and they've been playing at the Station for decades. They pack the place every week. A lot of the crowd consists of their fellow musicians who come to hear the town's best pickers and strummers perform old-fashioned Western swing.
"What you're seeing is the elite studio musicians and touring musicians from Nashville, getting together and playing the kind of music they love to play," Green said. "There's not a lot of money in it, because it's music that's out of the mainstream. We do it because we all love Western swing music."
This weekend, Bradenton-area fans of the Time Jumpers won't have to travel to Tennessee to see them. They'll be in Sarasota, at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center.
"We're really looking forward to coming to Florida in February," Green said. "That sounds good."
The band has a fluid membership, and in fact none of its original members still perform with them.
Most people wouldn't recognize the names of the individual members. They're very well known in the music industry, and they're among Nashville's most respected musicians.
"They're on just about every album that comes out of Nashville," Green said.
But they're not stars. Except for one. Vince Gill is a Time Jumper, and he'll be with the band in Sarasota.
"He makes sure to take the time to do all the road dates with us," Green said, "because, of course, people expect to see him."
It's not going to be the Vince Gill show, though, or even the Vince Gill and the Time Jumpers show.
"He's one-tenth, and that's the way he wants it," Green said. "He doesn't want the spotlight. I think at this point in his career it's extremely refreshing for him to not have to carry a show by himself."
Green's more widely known than most of the other Time Jumpers, thanks to his work with his other band, the Grammy-winning Riders in the Sky, who have been together since 1977. He also has a satellite radio show about cowboy music, and he's known as one of the country's best yodelers.
"What you're going to see at this show is elite musicians," he said. "But mostly you're going to see a bunch of middle-aged guys having a great time."
Details: 7 p.m. Feb. 8, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $30-$55. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.
Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919.
Follow twitter.com/martinclear.
This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "The Time Jumpers perform in Sarasota ."