SHERIDAN, WY — Beginning on Wednesday, the Mint Bar hosted Sheridan's 45th annual five day long Shots & Spurs Street Dance, better known simply as "the street dance."
Friday night's musicians and bands who are featured in the video above, in order of appearance, included Saddle Tramps, Kellen Smith, and Blake Brightman.
“They get so crowded inside the bars, you can’t breathe, or walk, or do anything," said Kaleb Grosso, a tattooer at Black Moon Arts in Sheridan, who grew up in the city.
Many said the event draws crowds of thousands from all over the world, but also noted that the event, a sort of rodeo after party, provides an opportunity for locals to reunite.
“A lot of weddings are planned around it, all of the high school reunions are planned around it," said Kat Deeds, manager of The Mint Bar.
Deeds, who is the primary organizer of the event, said she spent approximately 90 hours coordinating in the week leading up to the street dance.
“I literally start planning (next year's street dance) the week after it ends," said Deeds, "You’ll see merchandise booths, like, the food trailers, all of our music — nobody is charged for anything, we just invite everybody to participate.”
Mario and Maria Montano, owners and operators of Mario's Tacos food truck, said they have given up on calculating how many people they see during the event because they "always get surprised."
Sheridan's street dance tradition began as a form of crowd control, according to Deeds.
“Everybody in Sheridan was partying so hard and having such a great time, that they started a riot and the police came down and started tear gassing the crowd," said Deeds.
Despite once selling shirts that read "I got gassed at The Mint Bar," Deeds now likens the event policies to the slogan of Las Vegas.
"What happens at rodeo, stays at rodeo," said Deeds.
