Louie Bond-Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter In the tradition of famous country guitar players like Hank Garland and James Burton, Louie Bond is known as one of Montana’s best country/rock/blues guitarist (see Missoula Independent Volume 25, Issue 23- 2014). He is also a gifted singer/song-writer performing and publishing many of his originals. He has proudly been a full time journeyman guitar player for 45 years. Louie was born in Miami, Oklahoma and began playing guitar in 1965 at age 16. At 21 he moved to Dallas, Texas and landed professional gigs in house bands playing 5-6 nights a week (Longhorn Ballroom, etc.). He discovered Montana on a road gig and moved to Missoula in 1974 where he found ample work as a guitarist and sideman. Continuing his touring career, Louie opened for and backed up many famous country stars, including Bakersfield artist’s David Frizell, Lawanda Lindsay, Tony Booth, Buck Owens and his son Buddy Allen in the 1970’s as well as Restless Heart, Sawyer Brown, Bobby Bare, Ferlin Husley, Roy Head and Vern Gosdin. Playing gigs locally in Western Montana 5 nights a week continually for many years Louie has played regularly with Country Boogie Boys, Haywire, Monte Monroe, Wild Coyote Band, Andrea Harsell and many other bands as lead guitarist and vocalist. After a recording date in 1998 for a TV ad with Hoyt Axton Louie became Hoyt’s personal guitarist helping the retired songwriter/performer co-write several of his last songs before Hoyt’s passing in 1999. Currently he is still regularly employed as a picker and has never looked back. Kimberlee Carlson, from Odessa, Texas, has been singing jazz, swing and country since 1979 and as professional dancer she performed dancing and singing in reviews in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York City. In the 1980’s and ‘90’s she performed and toured internationally with the Los Angeles jazz band Swingstreet as well as fronted her own jazz quartet performing regularly at the Vine Street Bar and Grill (Los Angeles) for many years. Along with gigging regularly all around Western Montana with her jazz trio, she has been featured at Missoula’s jazz festival Jazzoula in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Louie and Kimberlee began creating music together in 2011 combining their musical styles of classic country, jazz and swing to create "Louie Bond & the Texas Playgirl" which has played out as a duo and a 4 piece band. Their love of western swing created the band Western Union now known as one of Montana's best western swing bands with members from Montana's famous Big Sky Mudflaps-David Horgan and Beth Lo. Currently they are working on a new album of originals, a Hoyt Axton tribute album and Louie's pet project-The UFOkies. They also perform in the classic country band-Stubborn Belly Fat.