Houston Post
March 1, 1993
Claudia Perry
Of the old favorites, what could have been better than the rodeo lament “Amarillo By Morning”? Critics made of stone have been known to turn to jelly every time they hear Gene Elders’ fiddle break. Sunday night was no exception.
San Jose Mercury News
April 19, 1996
David L. Beck
. . . ”Milk Cow Blues,” which gave his long-time sidekicks in the band a chance to solo. (Rick McRae is an amazingly adept lead guitarist, and Gene Elders is the most soulful white fiddler you ever heard.)
Albany Times Union
October 4, 2002
Michael Eck
. . . Strait's legendary Ace in the Hole Band was given a great sound mix that gave individual members like steel guitarist Mike Daily and fiddler Gene Elders a chance to shine. And shine Elders did on Strait's romantic rodeo classic "Amarillo By Morning." The marriage of Strait's aching Texas voice and Elders’ keening Texas fiddle was almost too much to take.
Musical highlights: "Amarillo By Morning" still brings chills, just as it has at every one of Strait's shows for the past 20 years. Strait singing and Gene Elders fiddling -- man, that's country music.
New Orleans Advocate
May 28, 2018
Keith Spera
Gene Elders’ fiddle told the sad story of “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” as surely as Strait’s voice.
Chicago Sun-Times
February 2, 2003
Bobby Reed
. . . Strait tipped his cowboy hat to Bob Wills with a sprightly ''Take Me Back to Tulsa," then transformed Kokomo Arnold's "Milk Cow Blues" into a honky-tonk workout for his 11-piece Ace in the Hole Band. These tunes showcased master fiddler Gene Elders, who was superb throughout the evening, whether he was dropping square-dance riffs into up-tempo numbers or adding long, romantic melody lines to ballads.
Entertainment Weekly
April 12, 1991
Alanna Nash
. . . Strait and his Ace in the Hole Band really capture the swing spirit with a slow, stretched-out version of “Milk Cow Blues.” Elvis Presley recorded a famous version of this Kokomo Arnold classic, but here Gene Elders’ fiddle summons up a far more sensual kind of musical foreplay than the King ever did.
Philadelphia Inquirer
March 3, 2014
Dan DeLuca
In a 21/2-hour show Friday in which he was backed by his superb 11-piece Ace in the Hole Band - fiddler Gene Elders was standout soloist - he had his deeply relaxed way with 33 songs, closing out, naturally, with "The Cowboy Rides Away."
Washington Post
November 11, 1986
Geoffrey Himes
. . Strait’s Gene Elders fleshed out with vocal-like fiddle solos what the lyrics couldn’t quite say.
interviews
Weber Mandolins
by Michael Eck
Texas fiddle master Gene Elders doesn’t consider himself a mandolinist.
“I almost hesitate to even call myself one,” he laughs, adding emphatically, “don’t ask me to do anything fast.”
But he plays three to four mandolin numbers at each gig, and seeing as those dates are with multi-platinum country music legend George Strait, we’re going to call Elders a mandolinist whether he agrees with the epithet or not. READ THE REST