We are proud to announce our 2012 line-up ~
7:00 PM THURSDAY and FRIDAY ~ The Legendary Ian Tyson |
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| IAN TYSON ~
Calgary, Alberta, Canada Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi award winner Ian Tyson is celebrating five decades of performance in 2012 with the release of a new CD and a full schedule of concerts. His recent music documentary which aired in Canada and, with additional live footage, on the CBC Network are now available in a double DVD package titled “Ian Tyson, This Is My Sky.” In December 2010, Ian’s memoir, “The Long Trail,” became an instant best seller. Ian combines a busy touring schedule with the work on his Alberta ranch, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary. It’s a workload that would exceed that of most people generations his junior but Ian is one of a kind ... authentic and durable. In the tough world of show business where an artist can consider himself lucky to have one hit and a few good years, Ian has had two distinctly brilliant careers and forged a trail of musical innovation. At the age of 24, he left behind the itinerant logging and rodeo life of British Columbia and hitchhiked to Toronto. Caught up in the folk music revival, he formed, along with a very young Sylvia Fricker, the legendary duo of Ian and Sylvia. After hosting a national Canadian television music show from 1970 to 1975, Ian returned to the Canadian West. The music and marriage of Ian and Sylvia had ended and he decided the time had come to return to his first love – training horses in the ranch country of southern Alberta. After three idyllic years cowboying in the Rockies, Ian recorded the album Old Corrals & Sagebrush, consisting of cowboy songs, both traditional and new. “Kind of a musical Christmas card for my friends,” he recalls. “We weren’t looking for a ‘hit radio’ play or anything like that.” Unbeknownst to Tyson and his friends, the cowboy renaissance was about to find expression at the inaugural Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering. In 1983, a small coterie of saddle makers, rawhide braiders, cowboy poets and pickers discovered one another in the small cow town in northern Nevada. Tyson was invited to perform his “new Western music” and the overwhelming response brought Ian the realization that he had found his true audience. Now in his mid-70s, Ian’s music career takes him to concerts all over North America, and the songs keep coming from this “word painter of the West.” More information: www.iantyson.com |
DORIS DALEY ~
Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada “If cowboy poetry was fresh milk, and the cream that rises to the top was the best of the cowboy poets, then Doris Daley would be very rich and very, very fattening!” (Waddie Mitchell) Fast paced, witty and authentic, Doris comes to Durango this year with her brand new book, West Word Ho! Twice voted top female cowboy poet in North America, this dynamic wordsmith comes from a gene pool that includes Mounties, desperados, hardy Saskatchewan homesteaders, sorry team ropers, Alberta ranchers, petitcoated-bushwackers, good pie makers and fancy two-steppers: the perfect pedigree for a cowboy poet! Doris and her husband Bob live in a small town in the foothills southwest of Calgary, Alberta. More Information: dorisdaley.com | |
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Join us for two evenings of Cowboy Poetry and Music!
Performers at 6:00pm on Friday and 8:00pm on Saturday Performers at 8:00pm on Friday and 6:00pm on Saturday |
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| HOST ~ TOM WEATHERS ~
Flagstaff, Arizona Tom comes from the far end of the food chain, as far as his place in the ranching world. From the age of seven, he grew up in his dad's meat market with an apron and his own set of knives. Trips to small outfits around eastern Washington state made it vividly clear that beef wasn't a product of cellophane wrapping. Dreams of the "horseback side" of the mountain were fueled when he made the acquaintance of works by such poets as S. Omar Barker and Bruce Kiskadden. With the fire kindled, his recitations of the classics are poignant, and he's become a student of some of the most beloved cowboy poets of our times. He's also well-versed in cowboy song and his performances depict the deep respect he has for the lifestyle and the writings of those who live it. |
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| BILL MAY ~
Kearney, Nebraska Bill is just a common old "country boy" doin' what he likes, not makin' much money but enjoying life whatever it hands him. He and his wife, Sue, live on the family farm that his parents bought 62 years ago. He sayd he's past retirement age but likes raising cattle so much he just keeps on working. He started writing poetry 20 years ago and writes about everyday life on a livestock farm. He attends poetry gatherings throughout the West and has produced eight CDs and a book. His reward is to see his audience laugh and maybe look on the brighter side of life. |
MARY KAYE ~ Manti, Utah It is said that the spirit of the West sings in every soul. Mary Kaye believes it and shares this spirit in every performance. This singer and songwriter was born in Texas and raised in Mississippi. As a young woman she moved out West and “married her a cowboy.” She and her husband Brad now reside on a 100-year-old pioneer homestead in central Utah with their 10 children. Mary Kaye was recently awarded the Academy of Western Artist's 2011 Western Female Performer of the Year and in 2010 was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Western Music Association. That same year she also won the Crescendo Award for best new act and received a total of seven WMA nominations two of which were for best song. In 2010 her CD, Clean Outta Luck, was on the top 20 western music charts for 12 months. Her latest CD, No Wilder Place, is rooted deeply in the Western landscape. More Information:www.marykaye.bandzoogle.com | |
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| DORIS DALEY ~
Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada “If cowboy poetry was fresh milk, and the cream that rises to the top was the best of the cowboy poets, then Doris Daley would be very rich and very, very fattening!” (Waddie Mitchell) Fast paced, witty and authentic, Doris comes to Durango this year with her brand new book, West Word Ho! Twice voted top female cowboy poet in North America, this dynamic wordsmith comes from a gene pool that includes Mounties, desperados, hardy Saskatchewan homesteaders, sorry team ropers, Alberta ranchers, petitcoated-bushwackers, good pie makers and fancy two-steppers: the perfect pedigree for a cowboy poet! Doris and her husband Bob live in a small town in the foothills southwest of Calgary, Alberta. More Information: dorisdaley.com |
JACK "TREY" ALLEN ~
Junction City, Kansas Trey has been writing and reciting cowboy poetry longer than his two-year-old daughter can remember. He began memorizing and reciting poems as a means to entertain himself, then a few friends suggested that he attend some gatherings and the rest has been ... a work in progress. Trey rodeoed and day-worked in high school and college and gained a few "truths" to share in his writing. He prefers poems to tell a story but says that the term storyteller may imply that a feller might tell outside of the truth so he engineered the phrase "quality truth improvement" to better describe any work that may seem far-fetched. Although he does not currently draw cowboy wages he still likes to start colts, day-work for neighbors and sit and visit, always in search of material. As one of his "good" friends put it, "Nobody's safe when he's around." |
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| BILL BARWICK ~
Denver, Colorado Bill was the 2009 Western Music Association’s Male Performer of the Year and the 2005 Male Vocalist of the Year awarded by the Academy of Western Artists. Hailed as a cowboy’s cowboy-song singer, and accompanied by superb guitar work, his singing, songwriting and storytelling are a performance not to be missed. You might also recognize him as the spokesperson on the Starz/Encore “Westerns” television channel. An internationally recognized entertainer, Bill appears regularly at Denver’s historic Buckhorn Exchange, and is a frequent guest at cowboy gatherings and music festivals around the country. More Information: billbarwick.com |
BARRY WARD ~ Kansas Barry Ward is an original songwriter from southwest Kansas. His inspired music is a living example of Western traditions and lifestyles. A fourth generation farmer/stockman, Barry and his family continue to live in the farmhouse and work the land where he was raised. Many of the ideas for Barry ’s songs come from his experiences growing up in the heart of rural America, ranging from the humorous observation that every married man shares in “The Look,” to a heart-wrenching true story of a rancher whose son was tragically killed on horseback. The grieving father’s only prayer was for the Lord to let him “Saddle Up” his pony and ride away to meet his son. The Western Music Association nominated Barry for 2003 Male Performer of the Year. He has opened for such music notables as Michael Martin Murphey, Don Edwards, Sons of the San Joaquin and Red Steagall. He has been featured at hundreds of festivals and gatherings around the country and has produced four albums to date. More Information: barrywardmusic.com | |
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| WASHTUB JERRY ~ McDonald OBS, Texas The farther you live from what some people consider civilization, the more self reliant and innovative you have to be. You have to admire a guy who enters a field and actually creates his own genre by making a musical instrument with which to conquer a niche that any other mortal is afraid to even challenge. That is exactly what Washtub Jerry has done. He is the only “tub-bass” player in the field of cowboy entertainment today. Not only that, he may very well be the hardest working man in the business. Go to any show where Washtub is performing and you’ll find performers lined up to get him to play backup bass for them. He understands a lot about music theory and can illustrate it to you on his unique instrument with the skill of a philharmonic surgeon. To top it all off, he was named "1999 Instrumentalist of the Year" by the Western Music Association. More Information: washtubjerry.com |
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| DAYTIME SESSIONS OF COWBOY POETRY, MUSIC, STORYTELLING AND FOLKLORE ~ 10:30 am to 4:20 pm ~ Strater Hotel, General Palmer Hotel and Rochester Hotel. The “heart” of the Gathering, featuring 40 invited performers in four concurrent theme sessions every hour. In open sessions anyone can entertain. To sign up, call Karren Little at 970-382-8897. FREE admission. |
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| GARY ALLEGRETTO ~
Laurel Canyon, California American Cowboy magazine calls Gary Allegretto's performances... "Amazing. This good-natured cowboy singer-songwriter blows you away with his talent. You've never seen or heard anything like it." Indeed, Gary is a five-time Western Music Association award nominee, including Outstanding Entertainer and Outstanding Instrumentalist. He's also a Best of the West Award winner with two Grammy Award considerations for his unique brand of song writing and music that's been featured on soundtracks for major motion pictures and television. in addition to his performances, Gary is also providing the gathering his award-winning harmonica workshop (that sold out last year) in which complete complete beginners learn to play Cowboy songs instantly. Don't miss an opportunity to witness the worlds top "Harmonicowboy"! More information: www.myspace.com/harmonicowboy |
JERRY BELL ~
Riverton, Wyoming Jerry spent 27 years in the Jackson Hole/Yellowstone area on a cow outfit working cow camps and guiding. He has played music and recited poetry at the local lodges and all over the west. He performs at as many gatherings, fairs and private parties as possible, but said he still loves to help the neighbors gather, brand and ship. To him, nothing is better than a pack trip with good friends. |
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| JACK BLEASE ~ Krum, Texas Jack lives in a log cabin on a small ranch near Palo Duro Canyon, but said he doesn’t pretend to be a real cowboy. “I’m still a cowboy wannabe.” He raises registered Texas Longhorns and Appaloosas, but works at a day job to support that habit. Jack was born in Michigan and spent much of his childhood on his grandparents’ farm where the farmer down the road still plowed with horses. He grew up playing piano, organ and trumpet and added guitar at age 25. A communications degree and study at a Methodist seminary launched him down a path that eventually brought him to the west. His career has typically been in sales and marketing, but side jobs have included singing cowboy songs, reciting poetry and officiating at weddings. “Cowboys aren’t religious in the normal sense, but they are spiritual,” he said. “If a cowboy gives you his word, you can bank on it. If people would live their faith the way working cowboys do, it would be a better world.” |
JERRY BROOKS ~ Sevier, Utah A coal miner for 26 years, Jerry uses her unique voice to recite dramatic versions of the great poetry classics as well as contemporary poetry destined to become masterpieces. She has several awards for her presentations as well as a silver buckle from the Kanab Country Poetry Rodeo. |
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| ERNIE BUHLER ~ Sierra Vista, Arizona Ernie grew up on a farm in southeastern Minnesota and spent four years in the U.S. Air Force after high school. He completed a master’s degree in school counseling and spent the next 35 years counseling students in the Winona, Minnesota, public schools while continuing to serve in the Air Force Reserve. After retiring, he and wife Nancy moved to Sierra Vista where a whole new life began for them. Ernie was introduced to cowboy poetry in 1997 and has “been hooked ever since.” His passion is to help preserve the classics by memorizing and performing the best works of past and present cowboy poets. He sums it all up by saying, “I’m doing this because it’s important.” |
JEANNE AND JEROME - CALL OF THE WEST ~ Strang, Oklahoma Exquisite harmonies, top-notch musicianship and on-stage fun add spice to the lively Western tunes, country standards, cowboy poetry, Western swing favorites and originals performed by this duo. Besides lead and harmony vocals, both possess formidable instrumental skills. Jerome was the 2006 Merle Travis National Thumbpicking Champion and Jeanne was nominated for the 2006 and 2007 Western Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year. Call of the West was nominated for 2007 Western Music Association Traditional Duo/Group of they Year and they have been featured on RFD-TV's "Best of America by Horseback" and "Midwest Country Theater." |
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| JEFF CARSON ~
Heber City, Utah Jeff lives high in the Wasatch Mountains and those long nights alone with his mules has “led him to spoutin’ poetry and prose like a hot tin coffee pot on a blazin’ campfire.” Jeff was born and raised in Utah and has lived in Heber City for the past 18 years with his wife, four daughters and several mules. His passion in life is spending time on pack trips in the high country and green breaking mule colts. His life experiences have been the inspiration for most of the poetry he writes. More information: jeffcarson.net |
WALT ‘BIMBO’ CHENEY ~
Spring Creek, Nevada A poet, philosopher and western storyteller, Bimbo has cowboyed in Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon and Nevada. He began writing poetry as a means of passing the time in line camps and behind the bucking chutes at rodeos. He’s been staying busy this year, between working, performing and recording a new collection of his poetry. |
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| DYER HIGHWAY ~ Highland, Utah Sisters Tiann and Mady Dyer started playing bluegrass tunes at age four, just as soon as their hands fit around the neck of a guitar, fiddle and mandolin. They have been wowing audiences all over the western United States with their tight harmonies, fast fiddlin', mandolin pickin' and guitar strummin', and they recently returned from Nashville where they recorded their second album. Dyer Highway is a family band that for the past 10 years has included their brother Tel, but he recently left to serve a two-year church mission in South Korea so the girls are continuing to perform as a duo in his absence. |
DICK ELDER ~ Cave Creek, Arizona Dick was born on 1927 and grew up in Ohio. After high school he enlisted in the Navy and served as a combat air crewman in World War II. He attended Ohio State University and worked in business until 1959. During the '50s Dick became active in horse training, showing and teaching. In 1960, along with two partners, he purchased 500 acres of land near Durango and built Colorado Trails Ranch which he managed for 37 years. He was in the cattle business but soon learned that "dudes" were a more reliable cash crop. Working with the American Humane Association, Dick taught at their National Horse Abuse Investigators School and was their representative on a number of films including City Slickers and The Horse Whisperer, and he lectured and taught riding at Monty Roberts’ International Learning Center. Dick has been writing poetry since his high school days, plays piano and guitar and has written more than 40 songs. His books include Which Way is West and Lovers & Liars, and his latest, It Sure Beats Working. Retired since 1997, Dick and his wife Ginny divide their time between homes in Durango and Cave Creek. |
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| DOUG FIGGS ~ Lemitar, New Mexico Doug is the quintessential cowboy singer/songwriter and a great vocalist and guitar player. Doug and his wife Cathy run a full-time farrier business along with raising and training paint horses and running a few mama cows. His acclaimed musical interpretations of Western and Country classics have made him a favorite across New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. |
KRISTYN HARRIS ~
McKinney, Texas This 17 year old singin’, yodelin’, swing rhythm guitar playin’ cowgirl has a passion for cowboy and Western swing music. She lives the songs she sings as top hand for her family ranch. She has adopted and trained a wild mustang, and considers her horses a primary and constant inspiration and her best friends. She enjoys learning and writing new songs, and her performances reflect her love and understanding of the land and ranching culture. In 2011, Kristyn was awarded the Western Music Association’s Janet McBride Yodeling Award and was the winner of the Rising Star Competition at the Kamloops, B.C. Cowboy Festival. She was a top five finalist for the 2012 Academy of Western Artists Female Performer of the Year, and has been in the top five for WMA’s Crescendo Award in 2010 and 2011. More information: kristynharris.com | |
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| JESSICA HEDGES ~
Ontario, Oregon Jessica spent most of her childhood on a cattle and hay operation in northeastern Nevada, about an hour west of Elko. It was here that she learned about the cattle, the land and the people of the Great Basin and where she also developed a love for and appreciation of cowboy poetry, music and it’s rich history. She started writing and performing poems at age 12 at the open mic in the Sherman Station in Elko. Last year, Jessica’s debut album, History in the Barn, was chosen as the Cowboy Poetry CD of the year by both the Academy of Western Artists and the Western Music Association. Now 22, Jessica continues to write and perform her cowboy poetry when she’s not pushing cows with her husband Sam at a cow camp southwest of Ontario. More information: jessicahedgescowboypoetry.com |
GT HURLEY ~ Big Timber, Montana GT is passionate about music and how it tells its story. After two decades serving his country as a career Marine, he has returned to his first love, songwriting and music about the West. He writes from the heart and his music covers the landscape in which he lives. Living, working and understanding the challenges of the ranching community, having worked as a cowboy and a miner, bring realism to his work. Come and listen – and hear what his songs say to you. |
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| SUSIE KNIGHT ~ Evergreen, Colorado Her parents were professional singers, and Susie debuted on stage at the wee age of three. Writing cowboy songs and poetry since age 15, her style captures a female’s perspective on rodeo, ranch life and horses. She’s owned Quarter Horses for 30 years and has worked on ranches in Illinois, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Colorado. Her debut album, Western Wordsmith, was placed second in 2011 for the Western Music Association's Top 30 Cowboy Poetry CD’s. An award-winning professional children’s entertainer since 1999 specializing in clown arts and storytelling, Susie still finds time to school horses for private owners and is a kid's camp horseback riding instructor for Bear Creek Stables in Morrison, Colorado. |
SLIM MCWILLIAMS ~ Lewis, Colorado This cowboy singer, songwriter and storyteller is a fourth-generation Colorado native who was reared on the stories of Will James. He started riding when he was four and grew up wanting to ride the rough string. Slim has cowboyed, broke colts, packed and guided for outfits from Arizona to Montana. His experiences lend authenticity and humor to his singing and story telling. Slim and his wife Sue live in Lewis when they are not at their ranch on the rim of the Dolores River or on the road. |
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| MISS DEVON AND THE OUTLAW ~ Fort Worth, Texas Miss Devon and the Outlaw are former winners of the Western Music Association Harmony Duo competition, and in true western style, these two could be stirrin' up the most dust between here and the chuckwagon camp! Devon Dawson, aka 'Miss Devon': Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, Miss Devon is a top entertainer in western music, and has been recognized by the Academy of Western Artists as the Female Performer of the Year 2009. She's noted for her vintage sock-rhythm guitar style, and warm 'swingtime cowgirl' vocals, which bring to mind legendary B-western ladies of the silver screen, Dale Evans, Rosalie Allen, Patsy Montana, etc. Like them, her lively persona intrigues and engages both kids and adults in her audience. She holds a Grammy certificate for her participation as the singin', yodelin' voice of Jessie, on the Walt Disney CD, Woody's Roundup featuring Riders in the Sky, which was the follow-up to the movie, inspired by the characters of Toy Story 2. She has performed in and out of that character coast-to-coast, and all across the American West, including at the renowned Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, and at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California. Around her home stompin' grounds, Devon has made personal appearances with Radio Disney, Imagination Celebration, The National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, libraries, schools, public festivals and private events. She has appeared onstage at the Bass Hall with Riders In the Sky and Michael Martin Murphey, and has performed several dances with the legendary western swing group, The Texas Playboys. She is also frequently seen on Encore's The Westerns Channel, and RFD-TV. Jessie Del Robertson, aka 'Outlaw Jessie Del': When this western gent joins Miss Devon on the stage, things get more fun than puttin' socks on a rooster. According to witnesses, he's the rowdier half of the duo, and he got his name 'cause, as Miss Devon says, "It's plumb illegal what he does with Milk Cow Blues!" Like all outlaws, Jessie has been known to disappear into at least a dozen alias personalities, so watch him close! With fine tenor-to-baritone vocals (sometimes favorably compared to those of Tommy Duncan), added to some swingy saxophone rides, a little sleight of hand, and a LOT of charm, this rascal just might make a clean getaway with yer funny bone. |
MUSTANG MIKKI ~ Fort Worth, Texas This little gal has no problem charming an audience once she takes the stage! A 15-year-old cowgirl from Texas, Mikki has lived all her life on a small ranch. Training her golden palomino, Trigger, adds to her young resume the abilities of a singer, musician and songwriter. Mikki fell in love with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry movies, which influenced her to play the guitar. She taught herself to play, matching their melodies with her sweet lilting prairie soprano. Not long after, she met "yodeling queen" Janet McBride who guided Mikki into the fascinating world of American cowboy-style yodeling and soon Mikki was delighting audiences at the Cowtown Opry, in the Fort Worth stockyards, and at chuck wagon dinners, festivals, retirement centers, schools and private parties. In November 2010 she won Western Music Association’s 2010 Youth Harmony Award and in November 2011 was the Grand Prize winner of the Hayloft Gang national singing contest. |
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| TERRY NASH ~ Loma, Colorado Terry was raised on the eastern Colorado plains near Idalia on a farm/ranch operation. In the late '60s, after the farm was lost in an estate battle, he drifted into a 35-year trucking career – never getting too far away from farming and cattle! Today, the horses, beef and hay that Terry and his wife Kathy raise are the mainstays of a "semi-retired" life that he leads while writing and reciting cowboy poetry and spending as much time a' horse back as possible. His wife suggested he include "raising chickens" in this bio, but that is her enterprise and he publicly denies having any association with poultry. |
OTTO ROSFELD ~ Valentine, Nebraska This balladeer, poet and storyteller has spent his adult life as a public school teacher and doing summer work on ranches, mostly in the hay fields and tending cattle. Since 1993, Otto has been a speaker for the Nebraska Humanities. He is considered an independent scholar, with living history and earth wellness his specialties. Otto’s pure voice and simple guitar styling, along with acappella renditions using prairie percussion as accompaniments, brings one back to earlier times. “Bunkhouse entertainment at its best.” Otto makes his home on a small acreage north of Valentine, with his wife Ann. |
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| NANCY RUYBAL ~ Casa Grande, Arizona This poet, singer, musician and author may be petite and soft-spoken, but she hits the stage in a big way, bringing her love of land and our Western heritage to every performance. Audiences are enraptured by her alluring vibrato voice that some declare is pure folk, while others deem it perfect for gospel, swing or blues; each ultimately drawn in by sweet Celtic undertones that reach out and tug at the heart. If the melody and voice isn’t enough to stop you dead in your tracks, her provoking lyrics will. Songs like "Wild Rose," "Autumn's On Its Way," "White Tanks" and "Where The Wind Blows A Different Song," nominated for Western Music Association Song of the Year in 2011, establish Nancy as a true master of Western music. Led by true grit and cowboy know-how, this Ohio-born country girl is weaving a legendary trail of music into the tapestry of the West. |
CHAS SHAFER ~ Durango, Colorado Chas grew up near Santa Fe, traveling frequently with his father on pack trips into the Colorado high country in search of the wily cutthroat trout. He moved to Durango after law school and continued the family pack trip tradition with horses and a small ranch of his own. Inspired by Darcy Brown, a co-founder of Aspen Ski Corp., then age 92, Chas took up cowboy poetry and an eight=string tenor guitar some 10 years ago. He throws in a yodel or two now and then, picked up from time in the Austrian Alps, and enjoys his summers in Durango working with horses and entertaining kids around a campfire. |
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| LINDY SIMMONS ~ Mancos, Colorado Lindy has lived on a ranch with her husband Eldon for 34 years. She followed the family on the rodeo road for several of those years. Her poetry is rooted in the true stories of the cowboys of history and present day. She is fluent in Spanish and is a Mexican and southwestern history buff. Lindy’s “day job” was as a professor at Fort Lewis College in Durango for 27 years. She recently retired to be a full-time writer of poetry and history. |
BROOKE TURNER ~ Clarinda, Iowa It's hard to imagine cowboys east of the Missouri, but Brooke is a real life cowboy who owns and operates a working cow calf outfit in southwest Iowa, along with the help of several dogs and horses, three kids and a top-hand wife. Brooke spends every day of his life ridin', ropin', rhymin' and tending to their herd. His poetry is guaranteed to "make some people laugh, some people cry and everyone think." He draws inspiration for his poetry from all areas of his life, from bull riding, to fishing with his kids, to calving in a blizzard or just riding out across his ranch in the morning light. He loves interacting and performing for all audiences but holds a special place in his heart for young folks. More information: krazykowboy.com | |
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| YAMPA VALLEY BOYS ~
Steamboat Springs, Colorado These “Boys” have been providing great western entertainment for more than 12 years and are crowd favorites with their humor and harmony. The tenor voice of Steve Jones is featured in many of their songs, and John Fisher is well known for his versatility on instruments including the banjo, resophonic guitar, octave mandolin, guitar and others. The Boys were finalists for the Western Music Association’s 2010 Outstanding Entertainer Duo Award and were nominated for the Crescendo Award in 2007 and 2009. They released their seventh CD album in January. More information: yampavalleyboys.com |
WASHTUB JERRY ~
McDonald OBS, Texas The farther you live from what some people consider civilization, the more self reliant and innovative you have to be. You have to admire a guy who enters a field and actually creates his own genre by making a musical instrument with which to conquer a niche that any other mortal is afraid to even challenge. That is exactly what Washtub Jerry has done. He is the only “tub-bass” player in the field of cowboy entertainment today. Not only that, he may very well be the hardest working man in the business. Go to any show where Washtub is performing and you’ll find performers lined up to get him to play backup bass for them. He understands a lot about music theory and can illustrate it to you on his unique instrument with the skill of a philharmonic surgeon. To top it all off, he was named "1999 Instrumentalist of the Year" by the Western Music Association. More Information: washtubjerry.com | |