All the nostalgia of the cowboy era came crashing through the silver screen and onto the stage of the Erie Meyer Civic Center in Gulf Shores on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Riders in the Sky, proponents of the “the cowboy way!” shined as brilliantly as a sunset on the prairie with stellar musicianship, singing, showmanship and humor.

Ladies and gents, bucks and buckaroos were all welcomed to era of horse-bound heroes who were as quick to save the day as they were to pick up a guitar and harmonize.

“So let’s put another piece of cellophane on the fire,” said Ranger Doug, idol of American youth, as bunkhouse bassist Too Slim “warmed” his hands over a faux fire to the delight of a sellout crowd of more than 600.

Soon after Too Slim and Woody Paul, King of the Cowboy Fiddlers, staged a “face off” each trying to one-up the other with various slaps and thumps to their cheeks to make sounds with open mouths. Too Slim was the runaway winner when he made noises by hitting himself on top of the head.

“Now that’s what old man Meyer had in mind when he built this place,” Too Slim said. “His dreams have come true.”

“And our dreams began 33 years ago to keep good ol’ cowboy songs like ‘Cool Water’ going,” Ranger Doug chimed in and the band swung into the classic desert song.

During the course of the night the band deftly went through “Wahoo,” “How Does He Yodel,” “Clarinet Polka,” “Sioux City Sue” and even led a sing-a-long in a touching version of “Red River Valley.”

An introduction by Too Slim of “Rawhide,” a song made famous from the 1960s TV show, brought a huge roar and applause.

“Let’s return to the golden age of television when there were only three channels and plenty to watch, unlike today when there are 180 channels and nothing to watch,” he said.

The group then did a melody of songs from its Grammy-winning children’s album and band members reminisced about hobnobbing with stars at the ceremony.

“We were in this room surrounded by famous people,” Ranger Doug said.

“Yeah,” deadpanned Woody Paul. “We were the only people there I’d never heard of.”

One of the songs from that album, “Woody’s Roundup” was used as a wake-up call Saturday for astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, an honor the group didn’t know was coming until after the fact.

Other selections for the evening included a song made famous by Gene Autry, “Mexicali Rose,” “Santa Fe,” a cowboy rap by Too Slim and “Cowboy Camp Meeting,” a song from an inspirational album expected out in April.