What comes to mind when you think of the “music scene” in Fort Wayne, Indiana? The usual, seemingly obvious answer would be that it has a lot of great bands and excellent musicians. But by “bands,” most people would think of rock bands right away.

Country music is also a vibrant part of the local entertainment community, albeit with less recognition and in fewer venues.

That fact hasn’t deterred John Curran and Dakota Sunrise in the slightest. Besides Curran, who does lead vocals and plays guitar, the band is comprised of Jack Martinez, guitar and vocals; Bryan Hitchcock, keyboards and vocals; Dallas McFarland, guitar and vocals; Matt Wood, bass and vocals; and drummer Aaron Wood.

Dakota Sunrise won this year’s Whammy as Best Country Performer. Curran’s former band, Renegade, won the Whammy for Best Country Performer previously in 1998 and 1999.

“I started Renegade about nine years ago,” Curran said. “A lot of people thought that when we changed the name of the band, and made some other changes with personnel, that I was going to be leaving. But as far as we’re concerned, we’re happy where we’re at and we’re good to go.”

Being “good to go” has worked well for Dakota Sunrise. They’ve played extensively in the tri-state area and a quick check of their calendar on the band’s web site (www.dakota-sunrise.com) shows dates booked well into the fall.

They have one CD, The Outlaw, available, if you’re willing to search for any of the limited copies still around. “We’re working on original material to put another CD together now,” Curran said. “We’re doing the Honda Gold Wing Association’s event on July 4, and we hope to have at least a five-song CD ready by then.

“We got involved with [the Gold Wing Association] when Mike Nutter from the Wizard Stadium contacted me and said they were interested in a country band rather than a rock band and asked if I’d be interested. Obviously I said yes. Once we played, it was such a good turnout that the Gold Wing board members and people who came to the show were so pleased with what happened that they thought we were a national act.”

That’s not to say that Dakota Sunrise haven’t wanted to go to the next level. “At one time, I did have an offer from Warner Brothers,” Curran said. “That was right before a lot of changes happened at that label. Basically, I had more questions than they had answers at the time, and there were things I needed to take care of. We all have families and jobs and careers that are established. You have to put your priorities first. But at the same time, if an opportunity came, it would have to be an opportunity worth looking at.”

For the time being, Curran and Dakota Sunrise have gained a loyal following among the region’s country fans. “We’ve had very good reception with our band,” he said. “We have a lot of people who follow us, and it’s not just a certain age group.

“As far as the music scene around here is concerned,” he continued, “there’s an unbelievable amount of very, very talented musicians here It’s hard to believe that some of these guys have never gotten a chance to do anything. But I think that a lot of that has to do with where you’re at and who sees you. As far as any real problems, there just aren’t that many clubs for country music.”

Another aspect of country music that Curran is concerned with is the scarcity of actual working bands in the genre. “It’s all about making money,” he said. “You know as well as I do that a musician makes set pay, and a frontman makes pretty much what they want. As a band, you have some of the same bickering, though. I don’t see it becoming a big deal with bands again until they run out of the single artist guys. But it’s hard to say, because there’s always a phase, and trends come and go.”

Trends notwithstanding, Dakota Sunrise is doing whatever it takes to keep their fans happy. The best example is, well, totally unexpected and a bit unusual.

The band has what they call a “sister act” known as the Dakota Sunettes. You guessed it, they do drag. Before you think they lost one whopping big bet, or get visions of something similar to the Blues Brothers gig in a country bar, Curran is adamant to say that it’s all in fun and well received.

“What we did was sit down and decide to look at the possibility of doing something different,” he said. “All the country bands are disappearing. We thought, you know, we want to do something to make us stand out, regardless.

“So, what we’re trying to do, and what we’re still doing, is to incorporate a little something into a couple of sets, so it just doesn’t come off as straight country. We want to come off as everybody’s band. We absolutely plan on keeping this going. We only do three songs as the Sunettes at the end of a set. It’s done as a big joke, and everybody seems to have a ball with it. They know we’re here to have fun, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

(Pictures of the Sunettes are on the website, but don’t look for them to record, ever. And when asked if there was a future for drag in country music, Curran said flatly, “Not with this band!”)

Further surprises on the band’s site help to prove Dakota Sunrise’s desire to be entertaining and not just straight country. One example is what they call the Redneck Engineering Exam, administered by the University of Alabama Engineering Department:

Question 1: At a reduction in the gene pool variability rate of 7.5% per generation, how long will it take a town which has been bypassed by the interstate to breed a country-western singer?

There is also a drink recipe for something called the Dakota Sunrise Signature Drink:

3/4 oz Wild Turkey

Obviously, Curran and Dakota Sunrise are into having some serious fun with their music and their live stage show, and Curran couldn’t be happier. “

After I played rock for a while, I quit and got out of music for almost 13 years,” he said. “But you get bit ... there’s nothing you can do about it. If music is in you to do, then you’re going to do it.