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Duo to bring classic western music to MAC
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Headlining Monroe Arts Center's Wisconsin Music Arts Festival is a concert by Roy Rogers Jr. and The High Riders at 7:30 p.m. May 16. For tickets and information, contact Monroe Arts Center at 608-325-5700, 888-596-1249, or visit monroeartscenter.com. Pictured, from left, is Dustin Rogers and Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr. (Photo supplied)
MONROE - It promises to be an evening of authentic classic cowboy and western, bluegrass, and country music when Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr. and The High Riders take the stage as the headline act for the Monroe Arts Center's Wisconsin Music Arts Festival at 7:30 p.m. May 16 at the Monroe High School Performing Arts Center, 1600 26th St.

Dustin Rogers, the son of Dusty and grandson to Roy, is scheduled to join his father on stage singing in the cowboy tradition of his father and grandfather. The show concludes the three-day Wisconsin Music Arts Festival.

As the only natural born son of Roy Rogers and raised by the famous entertainment couple, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Dusty has been acting and performing since birth. As a small child, he appeared in his parents' television series "The Roy Rogers Show" on NBC.

"Dusty" Rogers performed with his parents during their summer tours at rodeos and state fairs, and as a young man, he appeared in the movies "To Forgive a Thief" for Cathedral Films and "Arizona Bushwhackers" for Paramount Films. He was a disc jockey for WBKC in Chardon, Ohio, and has made numerous radio appearances throughout the United States. Dusty had his own television show on WEWS out of Cleveland, Ohio, "The Roy Rogers Jr. Show" and has made numerous other television appearances.

He followed in his parents' footsteps and launched his own recording career. He formed his own band, The High Riders, in 1982 and his singing has taken him to concert halls and dinner houses throughout the United States and Canada. In 2003 and 2004, he performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. From 2003 through 2009, he performed in his own "Happy Trails Theatre" in Branson, Missouri, located inside the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum. In 2010, Dusty Rogers moved his show to the Mickey Gilley Theatre in Branson.

In the spring of 2008, Dustin Rogers joined his father on stage to sing in the tradition of his father and grandfather before him.

To purchase concert tickets or for Wisconsin Music Arts Festival information, contact Monroe Arts Center at 608-325-5700 or 888-596-1249; in person at the box office, 1315 11th St.; or online at www.monroeartscenter.com.

The event has been underwritten by corporate underwriter Colony Brands, Inc., and media underwriters Monroe Publishing, LLC, and Big Radio. Additional support has been provided by Wisconsin Department of Tourism; Wisconsin Public Radio; Wisconsin Arts Board; AmericInn Lodge and Suites; John Baumann and Katie Doyle-Baumann; Monroe Clinic; Bob and Gaida Vickerman; Bob and Nancy Faith; Freitag Financial Services/Kay Freitag; Jeff and Barb Ingebritsen; Wisconsin Bank and Trust; and Art and Letha Whipple.