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There's a moment every caller knows: you step up to the mic, the music starts, and suddenly twenty people are staring at you waiting to move. Your job isn't just to call the steps—it's to pick songs that make them forget they're thinking. After a year of trial and error, watching dancers shuffle awkwardly or light up with joy, I've figured out which tracks actually work.
1. Cotton Eyed Joe
This is my secret weapon for the first song of the night. Most people know it—even beginners who've never set foot in a square have heard Cotton Eyed Joe. That familiarity is everything. When the fiddles kick in and everyone starts grinning, the nervous beginners in the room realize they actually know this dance. It's permission to have fun.
I learned this the hard way at my third session. I thought I'd impress everyone with some obscure traditional tune. Half the room stood there. Nobody knew what to do. Switched to Cotton Eyed Joe and suddenly the energy flipped. A grandmother in the back corner—who told me later she'd been "coerced" by her church group—ended up teaching the younger folks the steps. That song gave her permission to be the star.
2. Boot Scootin' Boogie
Brooks & Dunn gets a bad rap in some caller circles. Too mainstream, they say. Here's what I know: it teaches. The rhythm on Boot Scootin' Boogie is almost metronomic—steady enough that beginners can feel where the beats land without counting in their heads. I've used it specifically for teaching the swing and do-si-do, because when the tempo is predictable, the movement makes sense.
Last month I watched a guy who'd never square danced before nail a do-si-do on his first try because the song let him feel the timing instead of thinking about it. He celebrated like he'd won something. Now it's our "welcome new dancers" anthem.
3. Footloose
I save Footloose for the energy dip—the twenty-minute mark when people start checking their phones or the caller before me went too hard on the fast songs.
There's a reason this song movies. It's not just the tempo. It's the way it makes you want to move even when you're tired. I had a caller mentor tell me once that Footloose is the only song where she's seen someone actually clap in the middle of a tip. True story. The song carries the dancers when the caller needs a minute to drink water.
4. Buffalo Gals
This is controversial, but I'll tell you anyway: sometimes you need to slow things down. Not every tip needs to be a sprint. Buffalo Gals has this gorgeous lilt that lets you work on the figures—really work on them—without anyone feeling rushed. It's also where you see the old-timers light up. They know the history. When I play Buffalo Gals, I can always spot the caller who's been at it for thirty years. They get this look, like I just handed them something they'd forgotten existed.
I use it for teaching the more intricate patterns—promenade, grand square. The slower tempo isn't a crutch, it's precision. And the older dancers appreciate that we're not blasting through everything at maximum speed.
5. Uptown Funk
Yes, I know. A modern song in a square dance set. Here's what happens: the younger people in the room—who came because their aunt dragged them—suddenly pay attention. The bass line hits and they look at each other like, wait, we're doing THIS to THIS?
It bridges worlds. I've watched a sixteen-year-old show his grandfather "the funky chicken" as a square dance movement, and both of them laughing. That moment is worth more than any traditional credibility. Square dance survives because it changes. Uptown Funk gets young bodies moving, and once they're moving, they're hooked.
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My oldest dancer—Miss Gloria, eighty-four years young—told me after a recent session that the best callers don't play it safe. They take risks, mix the old with the new, and watch what happens. She said she once called a whole tip to a Beatles song and nobody complained. I'm not that brave. Yet.
But I know this: those five songs above have never failed me. Pick the right music, step up to the mic, and watch what happens when you give people permission to move.
