Baldknobbers Show

       

This is the BEST show in Branson.  I have seen their show four times and I still love it! - Chelle from Texas

Family entertainment and fun are an important part of the Branson tradition. In 1959 four brothers calling themselves The Baldknobbers began entertaining visitors to Branson, Missouri. Fifty years and three generations later, The Baldknobbers are still entertaining audiences with country music and their own distinctive brand of hillbilly humor.

The Mabe brothers adopted the name of an Old Ozarks vigilante group that held their meetings on a treeless hilltop or “bald knob”. So when they started Branson’s first show, it was just natural to take a regional name.

Tim Mabe, known to many as Droopy Drawers, Jr., says, “My dad and uncle founded their hillbilly humor of the Baldknobbers on the adage of the city slicker who comes to town to take advantage of the old hillbilly; in the end, the old hillbilly gets the last laugh. For our comedy 50 years later, that still holds true.”

Although the comedy evolves and routines change, there is always a common thread of what makes it work. Hillbilly humor encompasses universal subjects that everyone knows and experiences: happiness, sadness, love, marriage, car trouble … every aspect of daily life.

At the Baldknobbers first shows, the instruments actually did include a washtub bass, washtub for rhythm, the jawbone of a mule instead of drums, as well as a dobro or flat-top guitar, and an acoustic guitar.

Today, in addition to being a comedian Tim, the producer of the show, explains, “We don’t have a star, the show is our star and all 19 of us put our mark on this show. Many of the talented musicians and singers have been with the Baldknobbers for many years so our show is collaborative.” About the 2009 show Tim says, "We have worked hard on this year’s show. It has old country, new country, gospel, blue grass and a lot of new comedy. It encompasses all the things fans expect from the show that started it all.”

In 2009 Baldknobbers comedians are still adding to the merriment and high spirits that audiences enjoy at the show. Straight-man Bob Leftridge has fresh reactions every night to Stub Meadows’s unbelievable stories and antics. And when “Droopy Drawers, Jr.” and “Hargus Marcel” get in on the act, anything can happen, and often does. The band and vocalists don’t escape the zinging comedy arrows either and seem equally surprised and entertained by the zany hi-jinx.

In 1959 The Baldknobbers sometimes performed for a crowd of just a dozen people. Today The Baldknobbers Jamboree is often a sellout, and entertainers give the same energy and enthusiasm and personal attention to their audiences as they did on the lakefront.

In 1959 The Baldknobbers Jamboree was the only show Branson. Today Branson is known as the Live Music Show Capital of the World, boasting more theater seats than Broadway. But some things never change. Longtime Baldknobbers fans and new fans alike appreciate the Baldknobbers’ family traditions. Great music, excellent comedy, and honoring God and country make their show popular from generation to generation. The natural beauty of the Ozark Mountains are breath taking. Branson has great boating fishing, shopping and dining. And even more great music. Come help celebrate 50 years of Live Music Shows in Branson, with Branson’s first show, The Baldknobbers Jamboree!