Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies are an American comedy-bluegrass band that previously performed as Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at Disneyland in Anaheim, California from 1986 until 2014. The group performs a bluegrass country-music-centered show along with classic rock and rap (performed in a country and bluegrass style). During their time at Disneyland, they performed in Bear Country/Critter Country, Big Thunder Ranch, and most notably, Frontierland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon. After the group's run ended at Disneyland in early 2014, they were quickly hired by the nearby Knott's Berry Farm theme park, where they have since performed under the name "Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies".
The group had four original members, all using the stage name of Billy Hill, who performed from August 5, 1992 until November 1994. The original members are:
- Kirk Wall (master of ceremonies and sometime-Elvis impersonator), guitar and fiddle
- Mario Hildago, banjo
- Dennis Fetchet, fiddle
- John Marshall (founder), bass
Mario was later replaced before the opening inside the Golden Horseshoe Saloon on December 18, 1994 by:
- Evan Marshall, mandolin
Evan Marshall left the band in 2003.
Today, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies perform 5 days a week inside the Golden Horseshoe as two different teams; they no longer perform on Tuesdays and Wednesdays: [1]
Prior to February 3, 2009, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies were performing 7 days a week inside the Golden Horseshoe Saloon as three different teams: [2]
On November 6, 2013, a press release On the Disney Parks official Blog announced that Billy Hill and the Hillbillies would be retiring as of January 6, 2014. [3]
A group called "Save The Billys" has started a petition and Facebook event in an attempt to persuade Disney to change its mind on retiring the show. Anyone interested in signing the petition or following the group for updates is asked to visit the official fan page or the official Facebook event "Save The Billys". Links are posted below and at both web locations. Updates are provided to all Facebook event members when applicable.
| Blue Team (Sunday, Monday) |
Gold Team (Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday) |
Green Team (Thursday, Friday) |
|---|---|---|
|
|
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Locations
- Critter Country from 1986 until 1990: The original home of Billy and the Hillbillies.
- Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon from 1992 to June 17, 2012. (scheduled)
- Disneyland's Big Thunder Ranch: 1999-2000 while the Golden Horseshoe was occupied by the Woody's Roundup show based on Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 2.
- Disneyland's Big Thunder Ranch: June 18, 2012 to January 6, 2014: The last home of the act. (scheduled)
References
External links
- Billy Fiddle ~ Dennis Fetchet's website
- Official Webpage of Disneyland's The Billys
- Jan's World's Billy Hill & the Hillbillies Page
- History of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon: Billy Hill and the Hillbillies
- [4]
- [5]
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |