Bandwagon

Bandwagon is a half-hour music program featuring traditional dance music, most notably polka, performed in front of a ballroom audience dancing along. The program is produced and broadcast by KEYC-TV in Mankato, Minnesota. The show began airing November 21, 1960; the title Bandwagon was added on March 30, 1961. It is one of the longest-running televised music programs in the world. In the past, the show was sponsored by John Deere, and aired as the John Deere Bandwagon; later it was sponsored by Randall's, a defunct Midwestern supermarket chain, and was titled as Randall's Bandwagon. Earl Lamont was the original host of the program. Chuck Pasek began hosting the program in 1967. Dick Ginn, who worked for Randall's and was involved in their sponsorship of the show since 1974, joined Pasek in hosting in the early 1990s. Following Chuck Pasek's retirement in 1995, Tom Goetzinger began co-hosting the program. Bandwagons current host, as of May 2023, is KEYC chief meteorologist Shawn Cable. The format of the show is simple: the host introduces the band for the week, which performs a number of music selections. During each show, the second song is referenced as the roll-up selection, it features submitted birthday and anniversary announcements of viewers rolling-up over the screen.