Dancing to Virginian Texas Swing

Don't listen to the frat boys: The Dave Matthews Band isn't the only DMB that matters in the Charlottesville area. There's also the Duke Merrick Band-- one of the many revelations of the Jenna Bush-Henry Hager wedding weekend.

Turns out that Hager, who'll get his MBA from the University of Virginia this week, has musical tastes skewing to old-school country and Texas swing, which is why he enlisted the Duke Merrick Band to play the wedding eve party in Salado, Tex., Friday.

"This kind of music spoke to them," Merrick told us yesterday.

Merrick, 55, a real estate agent and cattle rancher in Gordonsville, Va., is the lead singer and rhythm guitar player and has been playing with some of his band members for 25 years. He's a distant relative via marriage to Hager, who became a fan after hearing the band play various functions and once hired the group for a college party at Wake Forest.

"It's appealing to the 20-somethings that are learning to appreciate Johnny Cash and that kind of stuff," said Merrick, though the band also likes to cast a spotlight on the works of less radio-familiar acts such as Townes Van Zandt and Billy Joe Shaver. The big dance floor-fillers at the Bush-Hager wedding: Hank Williams's"Hey Good Lookin' " and Bob Wills's"Take Me Back to Tulsa."

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More wedding details leaking out. Ronald Kessler, writer for conservative Newsmax.com and author of books on both George and Laura Bush, reported yesterday:

· The flower girl was the granddaughter of Maria Galvan, the Bushes' beloved housekeeper from Austin.

· A former Bush family chef sang four solos, including "Ave Maria."