Crystal Swygert, lead singer for Crystal & the Cruizers, is telling south side residents to hold on their hats—cowboy hats, that is.

The group, which has earned a reputation as one of Atlanta’s “ultimate party bands,” intends to the keep the 500-plus crowd on their feet at the American Cancer Society’s fifth annual Cattle Barons’ Ball on Saturday, Nov. 3.

“We’ve got the dance team from Wild Bill’s country music dance club coming to do the opening number with me and to perform throughout the evening,” Swygert said.

The Western-style ball, to be held at RiverWood Studios in Senoia, has become a favorite among local residents who return each year for great barbecue, foot-stomping music, Vegas-style games and live and silent auctions. This year the ball is drawing inspiration from its movie studio venue by adopting the theme “Reel Cowboys with a Real Cause.”

Swygert said she’s thrilled that she and her band have been asked to perform at the 2007 Cattle Barons’ Ball. “I have always gone to the event every year,” she said. “I do have loved ones who have had cancer. It’s a disease that no one is immune to, so I feel that it is such a worthy cause.”

A Texas native, Swygert, who now lives on a horse farm in Greenville, said she’s been singing all of her life, “Country has always been my roots.”

After moving to Fayetteville, Swygert said she sang with different bands for about 20 years, eventually starting Crystal & the Cruizers about six years ago. Since that time, the band has gained a reputation for its spot-on rendition of dance, classic rock, funk and country favorites and has opened for Three Dog Night, Rare Earth, The Platters and The Coasters, to name a few.

“We are a dynamic band; we’re fun and energetic,” she said. “We do a variety of dance music that pleases people of all ages. If it’s danceable, then we will play it.”

Swygert, a onetime “WEIS” girl in promotional ads for Budweiser in Atlanta, said her biggest achievement to date was writing the national anthem for the Blue Knights, the international law enforcement motorcycle club.

“I wrote their national anthem, ‘Ride With Pride,’ three years ago and have been touring with them ever since,” she said. “I donate all my proceeds to the families of officers who have been killed in the line of duty.”

The 2007 Barons’ Ball, which is staged by an all-volunteer crew, is hoping to raise $200,000 for the programs and services of the local chapter of the American Cancer Society that are offered free to the community and that fund research, legislative efforts and education. Since the ball’s inception in 2003, more than $650,000 has been raised.

Tickets, which include a dinner prepared by Atlanta’s LowCountry Barbecue, cost $125 per person and are available now at the American Cancer Society’s new Peachtree City office at 301 Kelly Drive. For more information, including how to become a corporate sponsor, call 770-631-0625 or visit www.baronsball.com. For more information on Crystal & the Cruizers, visit www.crystalandthecruizers.com.

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