SAN ANGELO, Texas —
Josh "Hambone" Hilton and his black cowboy hat have been synonymous with the soundtrack of rodeos across the country for the better part of the last two decades. He's been a part of the San Angelo Rodeo for many years, as well and now serves as its rodeo manager.
The Iowa native served as the music director for this year’s National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, one of the premier events in the country. He succeeded Benje Bendele, who had served in the same position for the previous 22 years.
Preparation for the rodeo, which ran from Dec. 7-16, was business as usual for Hilton. But before a rehearsal the night before NFR kicked off, Hilton and his colleagues were forced into a lockdown at the arena on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus. That morning, a man walked into Frank and Estella Beam Hall, less than half a mile away, and opened fire - killing three people and injuring three more.
“It was awful,” Hilton said. “So you had the greatest rodeo competitors in the world and all the production staff and everybody in that arena, and we were in there for about three hours.”
The rodeo postponed its first performance after the shooting; a decision Hilton said was made out of respect.
“It was a crime scene until the wee hours of the morning,” he said.
Hilton said event organizers chose to honor first responders and victims of the shooting. He welcomed the opportunity to help provide a way to entertain rodeo patrons after the incident.
Hilton ended 2023 as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Music Director of the Year, an award he also won in 2017 and 2019.