Joe Carta had just settled into his seat as the airplane sped off the runway heading for the Dominican Republic when he heard his name over the airplane speakers. A flight attendant beckoned for him to come to the front of the cabin.

“Someone saw that I carried my guitar on the plane and told the flight attendant that I was a talented singer,” said Carta, 74, of Glenwood. “They had me entertaining the whole flight down to the Dominican Republic.”

 The impromptu airplane performance was nothing unusual for Carta, an entertainer since age 5 who is best known in recent years for his Singing Cowboy act. Over the years, he’s played at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, the D.C. Labor Day festival, and countless other fairs, festivals and events.

Carta and fellow Singing Cowboy, Danny Contreras, 56, of Woodbine in Carroll County, will take their act and their Gibson J-200 guitars to Washington on Saturday for the Independence Day Parade. The parade begins at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and Seventh Street.

According to Carta, the Singing Cowboys were chosen from more than 10,000 applicants. He said they originally wanted to play in this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival, but signed up too late. The parade coordinator recommended they apply for the Independence Day Parade and soon enough, they received a “congratulations” letter in the mail securing their spot on the “America’s Show Boat Float” accompanying Miss Maryland, Miss Maryland Outstanding, and Miss D.C. Outstanding.

Carta and Contreras will play a mix of bluegrass and country western  — their favorite genres — including “Singing the Blues,” which the duo is slated to perform in front of the parade grandstand.

Although their performance will be judged, the Singing Cowboys said they’ve essentially outgrown pre-performance jitters.

“When you’ve been playing as long as we have, you just do it,” Contreras said.

Carta and Contreras formed the Singing Cowboys three years ago when Carta asked Contreras to perform with him on the “Country Showcase America” radio show Carta sings on every Sunday morning. The show is taped locally in Clarksville and broadcast over the Internet from www.csajamboree.com, with weekly appearances by the Singing Cowboys.

“We had played randomly at a few gigs together, but I asked him to come to the show,” Carta said. “I wanted to see if our voices and styles were compatible.”

Ever since, the Cowboys have been performing together at restaurants, bars, museums, schools, birthday parties and any event they could fit in.

The pair describes their sound as a mixture of Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers, Elvis Presley and Freddy Fender. They sing country western, Tex-Mex, rockabilly and anything classic, clean and fun for families. Carta said some of their most popular songs include “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “Walk the Line,” “Stand By Me,” “Country Road” and “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.” They often take requests, and sometimes improvise, Contreras added.

Pulling off the cowboy look isn’t a stretch for the pair, as cowboy hats and boots are typical attire for both men — Contreras with roots near Kansas City, and Carta a former Midwest rodeo worker who raises chickens, cattle and horses on his farm in Glenwood.

Livestock occasionally make an appearance in the duo’s songs, much to the delight of children in the audience, as Carta has a tendency to slip in a few friendly “neighs” between stanzas.

“We don’t plan it out — you just gotta run with it,” Carta said. 

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