In naming our beloved honky-tonkin' Wilders Best Band, we're doing a couple of things (in addition to ensuring that they'll be lionized in the hearts of Lee's Summit youth). First, we're full-frontal hugging them for 12 years of being our city's greatest old-time American music band. That alone, some would argue, makes the Wilders more important than the damn Chiefs. Second, we're congratulating our friends Betse, Ike, Nate and Phil for the great year they've had. Touring as hard as ever behind the excellent, murder-trial-inspired Someone's Gotta Pay, they've waltzed further onto the worldwide stage, with spots at South by Southwest and on NPR's Weekend Edition. Even more notable was when a friend down in Florida who doesn't even like country music sent us an e-mail saying that he and his co-workers were rocking the new Wilders album in the office. Wilders: Don't ever leave.