Country and Western Swing | Seguin, Texas
Sam Platts and the Plainsmen, based in Seguin, Texas, play traditional country and western swing. Sam Platts leads the group on guitar and vocals. Songs range from Sam’s originals to country and western swing covers. They have played around the world for a wide range of audiences, including festivals in France and China. The group originally formed in Montana, but now call southwest Texas home.
Sam grew up in southern Wyoming, listening to music while driving around his grandfather’s ranch and cultivating a passion for traditional country music that few young people have today. His father, Scott, is a luthier and skilled guitar player himself, which inspired Sam to learn to play. He first stepped on the bus with a touring country act in his early 20’s, and the rest is history. Sam later played lead guitar for Wylie and the Wild West, which took him all over the country and world. Sam originally formed his own group while living in Idaho to fill the weekends between being on the road with Wylie. This eventually led to a move to Montana, and striking out on his own. Music has since taken Sam and his wife, Lilly, to southwest Texas where they live with their herd of dogs, Maxine, Woody, Daphne, Albert, and Mae.
Lilly Platts, who has been with the group for 10 years, grew up in a ranching family in southwest Montana. She started playing fiddle at the age of four, and has remained focused on Texas style and western swing playing. Lilly has won numerous competitions, including the adult division at the Bob Wills Fiddle Festival in Greenville, Texas, and the Montana State Open championship. She started with the Plainsmen by filling in during her time at Montana State University, eventually becoming a full-time member. A few years into being a member of the band she and Sam started dating. They eventually got married in Elko, Nevada, during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Lilly has since stepped in to fill many roles for the group, handling the behind-the-scenes tasks, in addition to playing fiddle. In addition to music, she stays connected to her roots in ranching through her work as managing editor for a cattle breed association, and as a freelance writer.