Reid Miller will be playing the Banjo and Ukulele while telling Tall Tales and playing Good Time Music!

Dances of the Pioneers tells the story of how dancing helped settlers on the Kansas Prairie thrive.  How did young people meet and socialize?  When were dances held?  What were, and are, the social and other benefits of dancing?

What was the most fun our great-great-great grandparents ever had?  Imagine gathering after a harvest, or erecting a barn, or celebrating a holiday, and having a community meal marked by happy faces, live music, and dancing.  Youngsters could meet, talk, and dance with their future life partners.  Elders could share the news of the day and swap stories from long before for entertainment.

Our ancestors danced to tunes with names like Golden Slippers, Boil Them Cabbage Down, Haymaker's Jig, Needlecase, Soldier’s Joy, Alabama Gal, and many more. Hear some of these tunes played live on the banjo, the American folk instrument.

Reid Miller’s pioneer ancestors moved west from the Pennsylvania highlands and the southern Appalachians.  His grandparents’ generations were born in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and north Louisiana.  Reid was born in Oklahoma.

As a schoolboy, Reid learned he loved dancing of all kinds, especially square, barn, and contra dancing.  As a young man, he traveled the United States in search of dancing, dance music, and dance-calling opportunities. 

Along the way, he learned the value and importance of dancing in pioneer communities.  He also learned a barrel full of dances and a bag full of tunes which he loves sharing.  He mostly plays old-time banjo.  He is a much sought-after dance caller and mostly calls dances in communities across the Great American Prairie.  He says, “I am excited to share Dances of the Pioneers in Coffeyville, KS, the heart of the American Prairie.”