The Czech Republic boasts the odd credential of launching the first dedicated country-and-western radio station in Europe, Prague's own Country Radio 89.5 FM. Since 1991, more than a few visitors have been puzzled but pleased to twirl the dial and hear C&W music being taken to with such enthusiasm by a variety of Czech recording artists.

Radio is just the tip of the iceberg, with Czech magazines like Folk & Country and scattered summer festivals across the region boasting a country-and-western-esque image. The Czech identification with C&W may be strong, but those who grew up on a diet of Hank Williams or Buck Owens usually find Czech C&W a slightly different rodeo. As Jakub Racek, a master guitar picker with the bands Lazy Pigs and Monogram says, "We have our Czech version of country music, which tends to be more old-timey and is influenced by [Czech] campfire music."

That campfire sound is known as tramping music, which has roots in the 1920s and '30s and flourished under communism. "People were seeking something different to relate to from what we had coming from Russia and the Eastern countries," Racek says. "Being from the U.S., [country music] was considered something of a forbidden fruit. People could also connect with it because of Western movies. It's a music that gives you freedom."

American gumbo

"You never know where you are until you leave it" is how Jimmy Bozeman recounts his odd musical journey from the epicenter of Cajun and country-and-western music to over 15 years of steady country-music gigs in the Czech Republic.

Bozeman grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Despite a childhood spent in America's Southern musical heartland, in a town with two Cajun stations, four C&W stations and one Top-40 station, Bozeman's first musical love was the rock 'n' roll music of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Kinks. But, even though he was spending his spare teenage cash on British Invasion LPs, Bozeman clearly soaked up the gumbo of American musical culture.

Playing live with his group the Lazy Pigs — and on their past two independently released CDs, Pigs in the Parlor and Bohemian Wetbacks — Bozeman delivers a spontaneous hillbilly thrill. Every Tuesday night, Bozeman and his crew attract both local fans and tourists to his regular gigs at Red, Hot and Blues in Old Town, where a constant flow of guest players includes some of the Czech Republic's most respected country and bluegrass recording artists.

These players include members from a community of Czech bluegrass bands such as P.R.S.T., Monogram and Relief. Sitting in last week were two members of P.R.S.T.: Svatka Štěpánková, lending her full-bodied upright bass lines and tight vocal harmonies, and Pepa Malina, whose expert fiddle chops echoed Appalachian nights. Like many of the local musicians Bozeman works with, both Štěpánková and Malina are internationally known as examples of the Czech Republic's capacity for producing expert interpretations of bluegrass, folk and jazz.

Another example of this level of musicianship is Racek, who plays with Monogram and who spared no tricks that night in making his Fender Telecaster swerve a dreamy hillbilly country twang. With Bozeman at the wheel on guitar and vocals, if you closed your eyes, you might think you were sitting on the Louisiana-Texas border rather than in the center of Prague.

Southern hospitality

The reason why the Czech Republic produces so many accomplished country and bluegrass musicians remains a mystery even to the players. According to Bozeman, the reason is about as clear "as why Czechs have so many great hockey players."

There's clearly no shortage. On any given Tuesday, Bozeman says he is never sure who exactly will show up at the Red, Hot and Blues sessions. Yet, every week, his floating Lazy Pigs ensemble never fails to hit a hillbilly sweet spot that includes bits of what Bozeman describes as "western swing, blues and Gypsy swing, but an overall vibe that is always country."

In Prague and throughout the Czech Republic this winter, there will be no shortage of the unique warmth bluegrass and country music can deliver. The next big musical event is a "Bluegrass Advent" concert Saturday, Dec. 2, in Kralupy nad Vltavou, about a half-hour's drive north of Prague. Relief will headline an eight-band lineup.