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The 40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering—Be the Poem. Be the Song. 
#cowboypoetrygathering #westernfolklifecenter #ncpg2025

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Thursday, January 30
 

TBA

Between Grass & Sky: Rhythms of a Cowboy Poem
Thursday January 30, 2025 TBA
Jerry Dugan (director)
5 min | 2009

Showing continuously in the Wiegand Gallery

Set against the backdrop of striking western landscapes, cowboy poets Jerry Brooks, Andy Hedges, and Joel Nelson perform Buck Ramsey’s “Anthem.”

Produced in collaboration between the Nevada Museum of Art and the Western Folklife Center to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Gathering. 
Thursday January 30, 2025 TBA
Western Folklife Center - Wiegand Gallery
  Film, Free

8:30am PST

Music Open Mic Signups
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST
Want to share your talents with the Gathering audience? Do you have poems to recite or songs to sing? Take the stage at an open mic session and let your voice be heard, PLAN AHEAD! Signups start at 8:30am each day (Thu-Sat and close when slots are full for the day. Sign up outside the respective open mic rooms).

More details: NationalCowboyPoetryGathering.org/open-mics-jams
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

8:30am PST

Poetry Open Mic Signups
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST
Want to share your talents with the Gathering audience? Do you have poems to recite or songs to sing? Take the stage at an open mic session and let your voice be heard, PLAN AHEAD! Signups start at 8:30am each day (Thu-Sat and close when slots are full for the day. Sign up outside the respective open mic rooms).

More details: NationalCowboyPoetryGathering.org/open-mics-jams
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

9:00am PST

Wiegand Gallery & Gift Shop
Thursday January 30, 2025 9:00am - 10:00pm PST
Step into the heart of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering with Be the Poem. Be the Song--a heartwarming exhibit honoring the individuals and special moments that have animated the Gathering over the past 40 years. This exhibit not only highlights the rich history of cowboy poetry and song, but also brings to life contemporary western experience and expression. Featured artists include Jeff Mundell, Sue Rosoff, Sean Sexton, R. James Shoshone, Don Weller, and gearmakers from around the West.

Stop by the Gift Shop to take a bit of the Gathering home with you, from high-quality western art to whimsical cowboy poetry momentos. Find official National Cowboy Poetry Gathering merch and memorabilia, as well as products from Gathering artists and local artisans. Gathering posters, silk wild rags, one-of-a-kind jewelry, CDs and books from your favorite poets and musicians, mugs, magnets, and more!
Thursday January 30, 2025 9:00am - 10:00pm PST
  Other, Free

9:30am PST

Keynote
Thursday January 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am PST
From cow camps to the mainstage, cowboy poetry is a cherished oral tradition, uniting people from different walks of life. But why does cowboy poetry matter? Growing up surrounded by the rhythms of ranch life and the verses of a legendary grandfather, ranch foreman and multitalented artist Gail Steiger knows firsthand how cowboy poetry captures the heart of rural existence. Its stories of resilience, struggle, and triumph resonate across cultural and occupational boundaries. It serves as a platform for raising awareness about contemporary issues facing rural communities, and it creates spaces for meaningful conversations. Gail will share insight on cowboy poetry’s vital role in today’s world and set the stage for a Gathering that emphasizes what matters.

The keynote address will be opened by Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr. and closed by Painted Horse drum group and horse dancers.

Sponsored by Nevada Humanities and the Humanities Center at Great Basin College, made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Painted Horse

Painted Horse

Shoshone, Paiute, and Pit River tribal members make up Painted Horse–a drum group from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Nevada and southern Idaho. The Painted Horse drum group represents the eighth generation descended from Shoshone tribal member Old Horse, who... Read More →
avatar for Gail Steiger

Gail Steiger

Gail Steiger, foreman of the 50,000-acre Spider Ranch in Yavapai County, Arizona, has been playing guitar and writing songs for over 30 years. He has released two albums, The Romance of Western Life and A Matter of Believin’. A talented filmmaker, Gail produced and directed the... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am PST
Elko Convention Center - Auditorium 700 Moren Way, Elko, NV 89801, USA

11:00am PST

First Came Collaboration: Managing for Riparia
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:15am PST
Steve and Abbey Kinion, Little Wild, LLC (director, producer). Made possible with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension; Intermountain West Joint Venture; Western Landowners Alliance; and Open Range Consulting.
15 min | 2025

The stories of the Cottonwood and Boies ranches in northeastern Nevada are stories of innovation, collaboration, and landscape recovery. Since the 1990s, the two families, in partnership with federal and state agencies, have developed a collaborative grazing plan that integrates ecological, economic, and social considerations. The result: healthier rangelands with restored willow-lined creeks, expanding beaver ponds, and healing waterways.

Films show multiple times. See schedule for other showings.
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:15am PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

11:00am PST

Adrian Brannan
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Adrian Brannan

Adrian Brannan

Adrian Brannan is a chart-topping singer-songwriter who is equally at home in the branding pen, on stage, or on a bucking horse. An author and musician, she is also known for her successful series of publicly written “Dear Cowgirl” letters on social media that spurred an online... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

11:00am PST

Dave Munsick
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Dave & Tris Munsick

Dave & Tris Munsick

Father and son Dave and Tris Munsick hail from northern Wyoming, where they have ranched and made music together for most of their lives, often as The Munsick Boys with Dave’s other two sons Sam and Ian. Tris trains horses and works in the ag industry, while Dave has run mountains... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

11:00am PST

Andy Hedges
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Andy Hedges

Andy Hedges

Andy Hedges is a songster, reciter, storyteller, guitarist, and collector of cowboy songs and poems. The son of a schoolteacher and a rodeo-cowboy-turned-preacher, Andy grew up in Tokio, Texas, where his family paid rent on an old farmhouse by looking after a few head of cattle. There... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

11:00am PST

Why the Cowboy Sings
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Hal Cannon (producer), Taki Telonidis (producer)
58 min | 2002

A cowboy’s job has always been low paying, dangerous, lonely, dusty, and gory. One would think this wouldn’t be much to sing about, yet sing the cowboy does. Journey to four remote ranches in the middle of winter, and explore the inspiration behind the music and poetry that accompany ranch life, with Stephanie Davis, Glenn Ohrlin, Henry Real Bird, and Larry and Toni Schutte, along with cameos by Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Wallace McRae, and Waddie Mitchell.

Produced by Western Folklife Center Media in collaboration with KUED-Channel 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah, with support from the Dick Burton Foundation, Wes and Sue Dixon, and Anne Pattee.
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Western Folklife Center - Black Box Theater 501 Railroad Street, Elko, NV, USA
  Film, Free

11:00am PST

Poetry Open Mic 1
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

11:00am PST

Finding Your Place
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Patricia Frolander

Patricia Frolander

Wyoming Poet Laureate Emeritus Patricia Frolander is author of award-winning books including Married Into It and Second Wind. For more than 50 years, she has ranched in the Black Hills, enjoying a profession that brings families closer to livestock and nature, and that develops pride... Read More →
avatar for Lone Piñon

Lone Piñon

Lone Piñon is a New Mexican string band, or orquesta típica, whose music celebrates the integrity and diversity of their region’s multicultural and rural roots. The group spurs creativity around the oldest sounds of the region's traditional string music, which had all but disappeared... Read More →
avatar for Sam Platts & the Plainsmen

Sam Platts & the Plainsmen

Sam Platts and the Plainsmen is an energetic Americana band that brings traditional country and western swing to modern audiences. Sam’s songwriting is in the vein of “old” country music, and his inspiration comes from rural, agricultural life and his family’s western heritage... Read More →
avatar for M.L. Smoker

M.L. Smoker

M.L. Smoker is Nakoda, Dakota, and Lakota, a citizen of the Fort Peck Tribes, and rooted in her family’s homeplace Tabexa Wakpa (Frog Creek). M.L.’s poems speak to  themes of personal struggle and identity, drawing from Native American culture, language, and history. “Being... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

11:00am PST

Have I Told You About My Horse
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Maria Lisa Eastman

Maria Lisa Eastman

Maria Lisa Eastman and her husband Skip recently retired from their farm and ranch in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin. They now live in Sonoita, located in the high desert grasslands of southeast Arizona. Maria Lisa is really enjoying the softer weather and more time to continue her lifetime... Read More →
avatar for Doug Figgs

Doug Figgs

Doug Figgs is an AFA Certified Journeyman Farrier, horseman, and western music singer-songwriter from New Mexico. For more than three decades, Doug has lived close to his greatest love—horses! He has shod tens of thousands of steeds, started around a hundred colts, raised cow ponies... Read More →
avatar for Dakota Holdaway

Dakota Holdaway

Dakota Holdaway is a storyteller and poet out of Nephi, Utah. His introduction to the cowboy lifestyle began like many before him—on the back of a horse or mule, with his father and friends, in the mountains and deserts surrounding his home. He learned many of life’s lessons and... Read More →
avatar for Jarle Kvale

Jarle Kvale

Jarle Kvale turns his experiences with horses, rodeo, and North Dakota rural living into humorous verse. He's been writing cowboy poetry for over 25 years, sharing his stories with friends and family members over trail ride campfires, at various community events, and at cowboy poetry... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

11:15am PST

Learning From the Land: Women in Ranching
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:15am - 11:25am PST
Katie Klann (director, producer)
10 min | 2018
A network of women ranchers in the West is pioneering an ethos of nurturing and sustainability across the region. One of these women, Julie Sullivan, is championing these practices in southern Colorado. She wants to paint agriculture as more than just a job or even some sort of passing adventure. It’s a way of life.

Films show multiple times. See schedule for other showings.
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:15am - 11:25am PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

11:45am PST

Cowboys Without Borders
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:45am - 1:15pm PST
Gaston Davis (director), Ilissa Nolan (producer)
1hr 23 min | 2020

Follow along with Gaston Davis, a sixth-generation Texan from a ranching background, as he explores ranches from Montana all the way down to Argentina, working alongside American cowboys from North America to Central and South America. Although these cattle operations are thousands of miles apart and decades separated in technology, the heart of the American cowboy remains the same, forever serving their people on their respective frontiers.

Films show multiple times. See schedule for other showings.
Thursday January 30, 2025 11:45am - 1:15pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

12:15pm PST

Dom Flemons
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Dom Flemons

Dom Flemons

Dom Flemons is a GRAMMY-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music scholar, slam poet, podcaster, and creator and host of the American Songster Radio Show on WSM in Nashville. Carrying on the songster tradition, Flemons strives to mix a repertoire covering over one hundred years... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

12:15pm PST

Juni Fisher
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Juni Fisher

Juni Fisher

Growing up in a central California farming family, Juni Fisher participated in 4-H and FFA. She captained her college horse show team, then worked for a reined cow horse trainer before hanging her own shingle and winning her first Snaffle Bit Futurity. While working for a cutting... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

12:15pm PST

Cowboy Poets
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:15pm PST
Bill Jersey (producer), Kim Shelton (producer)
53 min | 1988

Although cowboys had been writing poetry for more than a century, in the 1980s, for many Americans, cowboy poetry was something new and unexpected. This film focuses on three working cowboys and poets from Arizona, Montana, and Nevada, examining the sources of inspiration for their artistry. It features Slim Kite, Wallace McRae, and Waddie Mitchell, who each represent different facets of the cowboy poetry tradition.

Produced in collaboration with the Western Folklife Center with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; Arizona Humanities, Humanities Montana, Nevada Humanities, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; Levi’s Western Wear, Charles Redd Foundation, and George Gund.
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:15pm PST
Western Folklife Center - Black Box Theater 501 Railroad Street, Elko, NV, USA
  Film, Free

12:15pm PST

12:15pm PST

The Bull Got Out
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:15pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Yvonne Hollenbeck

Yvonne Hollenbeck

Yvonne Hollenbeck is a South Dakota cattleman’s wife who writes poetry about her life on a beautiful, remote ranch where she has spent years putting up hay, feeding a crew, doing bookwork, or working cattle. Although her poetry is often humorous about situations that were not humorous... Read More →
avatar for Katie McCall-Owen

Katie McCall-Owen

Cowboy poet Katie McCall-Owen grew up reciting classics, first with her family and then at gatherings. Katie works in town, but still brands and works cows with friends and family every chance she gets. After stepping away from the poetry side of things for nearly 20 years, she is... Read More →
avatar for Andy Nelson

Andy Nelson

Andy Nelson is an energetic and high-spirited cowboy poet and humorist from Pinedale, Wyoming. As a second-generation farrier raised in Idaho, he traveled the Great Basin with his father on farrier jobs. Now, he and his brother Jim co-host the Clear Out West (C.O.W.) Radio Show weekly... Read More →
avatar for Tom Sharpe

Tom Sharpe

Born and raised in south central Colorado, Tom Sharpe grew up working in the family packing plant and feedlot. Convinced from birth that one must be good with horses to be good with cows, he has spent his life studying horses and following cows. Tom has worked the beef industry vertically... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:15pm - 1:15pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

12:30pm PST

Matt Robertson
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:30pm - 1:15pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Matt Robertson

Matt Robertson

Raised in Wyoming, Matt Robertson grew up on the back of a horse, starting colts as a young teen and riding broncs through his youth. He has been writing and playing music since the age of 16 and credits Ian Tyson and Chris LeDoux for his inspiration. In his earlier years, Matt made... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 12:30pm - 1:15pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

12:30pm PST

1:00pm PST

Indian Relay
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Charles Dye (director, producer), Aaron Pruitt (executive producer)
54 min | 2013

Follow teams from the Shoshone-Bannock Nation in Idaho, and the Crow and Blackfeet Nations, both of Montana, as they prepare for and compete across a grueling Indian relay season—all hearts set on the glory and honor of winning the National Championships. As the young relay racers face triumphs and setbacks, their strength and determination shine through, and serve as a beacon of hope for their families and communities.

Films show multiple times. See schedule for other showings.
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Northeastern Nevada Museum 1515 Idaho St, Elko, NV 89801, USA

1:00pm PST

Crittering
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:15pm PST
From the loyal cow dogs who assist us in our daily work to the ornery cows who insist on spicing up our days, critters loom large in our lives. Every rancher has encountered a creature worthy of immortalization in verse…and some worthy of a choice curse. Critters make us laugh and they make us cry. If there’s one thing that unites DW Groethe, Darrell Holden, Betty Lynne McCarthy, Jonathan Odermann, and Dick Warwick, it’s critters. From laughable observations to humorous run-ins, these poets share stories, and snortles, inspired by the non-human occupants that skitter through their days. 
Become a member and get free tickets to this show!  

Artists & Special Guests
avatar for DW Groethe

DW Groethe

DW Groethe is the son of a son of pioneers. He was born and raised in the west of Dakota and has lived the past 25-plus years across the border in Montana. It is the same land...same folks...same weather...same heartbeat. The lyrics may change, but the rhythm stays true. He is a ranch... Read More →
avatar for Darrell Holden

Darrell Holden

Darrell Holden is a proud fifth-generation rancher who raises cattle on Utah’s West Desert. He started writing cowboy poetry in high school, but he only started performing after gentle nudges from his family (“nudges” may have been slightly veiled threats of bodily harm.) He... Read More →
avatar for Betty Lynne McCarthy

Betty Lynne McCarthy

Betty Lynne McCarthy has three award-winning volumes of poetry and has been sharing her work for decades throughout the United States and Canada. She grew up along the banks of Cedar Creek in Eastern Montana, on the range the XIT Ranch left Texas to get to. A lifetime of ranching... Read More →
avatar for Jonathan Odermann

Jonathan Odermann

Jonathan Odermann grew up on a ranch north of Medora, North Dakota. After a short time working as a mechanical engineer in the city, Jonathan and his wife Marie returned to the Badlands to raise cattle on the family ranch. Much of Jonathan’s poetry is inspired by the mechanical... Read More →
avatar for Dick Warwick

Dick Warwick

Dick Warwick lives with his wife Sue on the old home place amid the rolling hills of the Palouse country of eastern Washington state. Dick writes about the foibles and follies of his own life, the land, relationships with nature, and issues regarding the West and rural lifestyles... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:15pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Auditorium 700 Moren Way, Elko, NV 89801, USA

1:30pm PST

Let Me Show You How It's Done
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:15pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Dave & Tris Munsick

Dave & Tris Munsick

Father and son Dave and Tris Munsick hail from northern Wyoming, where they have ranched and made music together for most of their lives, often as The Munsick Boys with Dave’s other two sons Sam and Ian. Tris trains horses and works in the ag industry, while Dave has run mountains... Read More →
avatar for Ed Peekeekoot

Ed Peekeekoot

Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and storyteller, Ed Peekeekoot is a skilled and seasoned performer who has received much recognition over the years. He has a timeless kind of cool that appeals to audiences of all ages. Ed’s performances go from blazing guitar work to foot... Read More →
avatar for R.P. Smith

R.P. Smith

R.P. Smith is the fourth generation of his family to have the privilege to care for a small part of God's creation in central Nebraska. His poetry and stories are drawn from his own experiences and, on occasion, brought to focus through the lens of past and future generations. Thirty-plus... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:15pm PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

1:30pm PST

Don't Touch My Hat
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Venessa Carpenter

Venessa Carpenter

Living in Texas for 12 years shaped Venessa Carpenter’s heart and soul, and it profoundly influenced her personal and artistic development. With a rich family background of ranchers engaged in raising oxen, logging, and moonshine production, she views music as an essential means... Read More →
avatar for Melanie LaRue

Melanie LaRue

Melanie LaRue is a self-proclaimed desert rat, wildflower picker, part-time doodler, paparazzi for the working cowboy, and western singer-songwriter and word-slinger. She grew up on the high desert of Baker, Nevada, surrounded by sagebrush and big blue mountains. Now living and working... Read More →
avatar for Annie Mackenzie

Annie Mackenzie

Annie Mackenzie is a fourth-generation rancher and part-time cowboy poet. She was born and raised in Jordan Valley, growing up on her family’s ranch just north of the small town in southeast Oregon. She spends her days helping her family tend cattle, start horses, and manage the... Read More →
avatar for Olivia Romo

Olivia Romo

Olivia Romo is a farmer, poet, water rights activist, and proud Taoseña. She has dedicated her work to educating and mobilizing New Mexicans around the risks and uncertainties of their natural resources. Currently, she is the Communications Coordinator for Santa Fe County. A bilingual... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

1:30pm PST

Bring Them Home
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm PST
Ervin Carlson (consulting producer), Sarah Clarke (producer),
Daniel Glick (director, producer), Ivan Macdonald (director, producer),
Ivy Macdonald (director), Tyson Runningwolf (associate producer)
1hr 25min | 2024

A small group of Blackfoot people are on a mission to establish the first wild buffalo herd on their ancestral territory since the species’ near-extinction a century ago, an act that would restore the land, re-enliven traditional culture, and bring much-needed healing to their community. Narrated by Academy Award-nominated Blackfeet/Nez Perce actor Lily Gladstone, this documentary is the winner of the Big Sky Film Award.

Films show multiple times. See schedule for other showings.
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

1:30pm PST

Deep West & Ranch Communications
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm PST
Hal Cannon (producer), Taki Telonidis (producer)
58 min · 2002


From 2000-2019, the Western Folklife Center collaborated with people across the rural West to produce short videos that captured their experiences living and working the land. These homemade productions are simple yet elegant—they are not glossy or commercial, but from the heart. Revisit a curated selection of these short films that tell the stories of those living deep in the heart of the West.

Produced by Western Folklife Center Media and the many filmmakers, in collaboration with Edge of Discovery, the Owyhee Combined School on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Dave Baker, Carol Dalrymple, Karem Orrego, Colene Paradise, and Taki Telonidis. Made possible with support from the R. Harold Burton Foundation, the Golden Rule Foundation, and the John Ben Snow Foundation. 
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm PST
Western Folklife Center - Black Box Theater 501 Railroad Street, Elko, NV, USA
  Film, Free

1:45pm PST

Sam Platts & the Plainsmen
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:45pm - 2:30pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Sam Platts & the Plainsmen

Sam Platts & the Plainsmen

Sam Platts and the Plainsmen is an energetic Americana band that brings traditional country and western swing to modern audiences. Sam’s songwriting is in the vein of “old” country music, and his inspiration comes from rural, agricultural life and his family’s western heritage... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:45pm - 2:30pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

1:45pm PST

1:45pm PST

Between the Silences
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Maria Lisa Eastman

Maria Lisa Eastman

Maria Lisa Eastman and her husband Skip recently retired from their farm and ranch in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin. They now live in Sonoita, located in the high desert grasslands of southeast Arizona. Maria Lisa is really enjoying the softer weather and more time to continue her lifetime... Read More →
avatar for Amy Hale

Amy Hale

Amy Hale is an award-winning author who lives and works on the Spider Ranch, a 50,000-acre cattle operation in central Arizona. She and her husband Gail Steiger cowboy together, spending many nights sleeping on the ground in remote camps, cooking over an open fire, and gathering cattle... Read More →
avatar for Henry Real Bird

Henry Real Bird

Henry Real Bird, a member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation, grew up ranching on the battlegrounds of the Little Bighorn. He still lives on the Crow Reservation in Montana, saying “this is it, I’m not going anywhere.” A former rodeo cowboy and bronc rider, now a renowned poet... Read More →
avatar for M.L. Smoker

M.L. Smoker

M.L. Smoker is Nakoda, Dakota, and Lakota, a citizen of the Fort Peck Tribes, and rooted in her family’s homeplace Tabexa Wakpa (Frog Creek). M.L.’s poems speak to  themes of personal struggle and identity, drawing from Native American culture, language, and history. “Being... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

2:00pm PST

Poetry Open Mic 3
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm PST
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

2:45pm PST

Lara Manzanares
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:45pm - 3:30pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Lara Manzanares

Lara Manzanares

Lara Manzanares is a bilingual singer-songwriter from Northern New Mexico. She grew up singing the traditional New Mexican boleros, rancheras, and corridos of her sheep-ranching childhood, and composes her own style of music in both English and Spanish. Through a combination of storytelling... Read More →
avatar for Lone Piñon

Lone Piñon

Lone Piñon is a New Mexican string band, or orquesta típica, whose music celebrates the integrity and diversity of their region’s multicultural and rural roots. The group spurs creativity around the oldest sounds of the region's traditional string music, which had all but disappeared... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:45pm - 3:30pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

2:45pm PST

Wylie & the Wild West
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:45pm - 3:30pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Wylie & the Wild West

Wylie & the Wild West

Wylie Gustafson is an American original. He was born into a fourth-generation ranching family on the empty sprawl of northern Montana. A singer, songwriter, rancher, horseman, and world-famous Yahoo! Yodeler, Wylie has led the musical outfit known as Wylie & the Wild West for over... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:45pm - 3:30pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Auditorium 700 Moren Way, Elko, NV 89801, USA

2:45pm PST

Thrown but Not Broken
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:45pm - 3:45pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Marleen Bussma

Marleen Bussma

As a young girl, long hours spent on horseback herding cattle stirred Marleen Bussma’s imagination and sparked a desire to emulate Dale Evans. Marleen, described as a formidable storyteller, draws from the lessons she learned growing up on her North Dakota farm. She believes that... Read More →
avatar for Jarle Kvale

Jarle Kvale

Jarle Kvale turns his experiences with horses, rodeo, and North Dakota rural living into humorous verse. He's been writing cowboy poetry for over 25 years, sharing his stories with friends and family members over trail ride campfires, at various community events, and at cowboy poetry... Read More →
avatar for Kye Rieff

Kye Rieff

Kye Rieff’s poetry comes from years spent on the ranch and in the arena, and provides an authentic look into the joy, humor, heartbreak, and hardship of the cowboy life. Kye has ridden saddle broncs, been a professional bullfighter, trained racehorses, started colts, and dayworked... Read More →
avatar for Sandy Seaton Sallee

Sandy Seaton Sallee

Sandy Seaton Sallee grew up at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone Park where she drove four-up stagecoaches. She was born into a Montana ranching family and worked ranches in New Mexico after college. Sandy and her husband Scott live in a log cabin above the Yellowstone River in Paradise... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 2:45pm - 3:45pm PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

3:00pm PST

Buffalo Kin
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Buffalo Kin

Buffalo Kin

Seldom will you find a duo weaving high and lonesome sounds with such ease as Buffalo Kin. The West comes alive with their blending of traditional cowboy folk tunes and haunting original pieces. At home in rural Oregon, Buffalo Kin is Seth Brewster on guitar, banjo, and vocals, and... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

3:00pm PST

Semblances
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Sean Sexton

Sean Sexton

Sean Sexton grew up on his family’s Treasure Hammock Ranch, where he lives and co-manages a 700-acre cow-calf and seedstock operation with his son. He and his wife Sharon reside on the ranch in a home they built by hand. Sean spends much of his time writing poetry and prose, and... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm PST
Western Folklife Center - Wiegand Gallery

3:15pm PST

Sterling Drake
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Sterling Drake

Sterling Drake

Steeped in the traditions of roots music, songwriter Sterling Drake’s journey has taken him from the Big Cypress of south Florida to the mountains of western Montana and everywhere in between. With a penchant for honest storytelling, Sterling weaves his own perspective into the... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

3:15pm PST

Badger Clark: Poet Among the Pines
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PST
Brad Dumke (director, producer)
56 min | 2023

With interviews, captivating imagery, and heartfelt readings of Badger Clark’s timeless verses, this film paints a vivid portrait of a man who immortalized the spirit of the Old West through his poetic legacy.Other

Films show multiple times. See schedule for other showings.
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

3:15pm PST

Making the Ordinary Heroic: The Story of John A. Lomax
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PST
John A. Lomax grew up on a small Texas farm along a branch of the Chisholm Trail during the cattle drives of the 1870s. Hearing cowboys sing at a young age profoundly influenced his life’s work. He became one of the first individuals to record these songs and, along with his son Alan, made significant contributions to the documentation of American folk music. This practice would lead to lasting partnerships between ranching communities and folklorists and lead to the creation of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. In this presentation, Hal Cannon will discuss Lomax's legacy, drawing primarily on recordings from the Western Folklife Center Archives.


Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Hal Cannon

Hal Cannon

Hal Cannon is a folklorist, musician, and founding director of the Western Folklife Center and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Now a decade into retirement, he is revisiting his fieldwork to explore the incredible impact of the Lomax family in emphasizing the artistic contributions... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

3:30pm PST

Poetry Open Mic 4
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm PST
Thursday January 30, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

4:00pm PST

Wild Women
Thursday January 30, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Juni Fisher

Juni Fisher

Growing up in a central California farming family, Juni Fisher participated in 4-H and FFA. She captained her college horse show team, then worked for a reined cow horse trainer before hanging her own shingle and winning her first Snaffle Bit Futurity. While working for a cutting... Read More →
avatar for Patricia Frolander

Patricia Frolander

Wyoming Poet Laureate Emeritus Patricia Frolander is author of award-winning books including Married Into It and Second Wind. For more than 50 years, she has ranched in the Black Hills, enjoying a profession that brings families closer to livestock and nature, and that develops pride... Read More →
avatar for Amy Hale

Amy Hale

Amy Hale is an award-winning author who lives and works on the Spider Ranch, a 50,000-acre cattle operation in central Arizona. She and her husband Gail Steiger cowboy together, spending many nights sleeping on the ground in remote camps, cooking over an open fire, and gathering cattle... Read More →
avatar for Kristyn Harris

Kristyn Harris

Kristyn Harris is a singer, songwriter, and entertainer known for her western swing spin on original and classic songs of the rural lifestyle. Her music is heavily influenced by her own ranch life experiences and her love for Texas and the West. She has received accolades and recognition... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

4:15pm PST

Brigid & Johnny Reedy
Thursday January 30, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Brigid & Johnny Reedy

Brigid & Johnny Reedy

Brigid Reedy is a singular young voice representing her beloved home state of Montana. A charismatic performer since the age of two when she first yodeled at the Pioneer Saloon, she has traveled widely, carrying with her boundless enthusiasm, grace, passion, and soul. An accomplished... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

4:15pm PST

Collaborative Cowpokes
Thursday January 30, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Brenn Hill

Brenn Hill

For more than three decades, Brenn Hill has stood under a cowboy hat and behind a microphone on countless stages blending his voice with bending guitar strings in a performance style all his own. He uses lyrical language to peel back the layers of life in the West to reveal a more... Read More →
avatar for Darrell Holden

Darrell Holden

Darrell Holden is a proud fifth-generation rancher who raises cattle on Utah’s West Desert. He started writing cowboy poetry in high school, but he only started performing after gentle nudges from his family (“nudges” may have been slightly veiled threats of bodily harm.) He... Read More →
avatar for Zach Martinez

Zach Martinez

Musician and horseman Zach Martinez is a true western original. Raised alongside horses, mecate reins, and old spade bits, and steeped in the heritage of his Spanish ancestors, Zach developed a profound connection with the rural West from an early age. Influenced by the stunning landscape... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

5:30pm PST

Young Buckaroo Open Mic Signups
Thursday January 30, 2025 5:30pm - 6:00pm PST
Young buckaroos! Want to share your talents with the Gathering audience? Do you have poems to recite or songs to sing? Take the stage at this special open mic session and let your voice be heard!
Thursday January 30, 2025 5:30pm - 6:00pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room
  Signup, Free

6:00pm PST

Class of '85 & That Other Guy
Thursday January 30, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm PST
What’s better than friendship? Pardship, of course! And who knows what could happen when these old-school buckaroo bard pards take our stage to reminisce about the past 40 years through story, poetry, and song. (Hint: It’s going to be epic!) From before the dawn of the Gathering to clean up ’til yesterday, Dick Gibford, Ross Knox, Waddie Mitchell and Gail Steiger have seen and heard a few things, got up to all sorts of shenanigans, and shared more than an adventure or two. If you’ve ever wondered about the Gathering’s early days (or would just like to relive them), this is a show you won’t want to miss.
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Dick Gibford

Dick Gibford

Dick Gibford is still working horseback on the Walking R Ranch in south Central California. He has cowboyed around the West for 30 years, with the past 20 spent on this rough and rugged chunk of real estate that has become his adopted home. With a string of four mountain-raised horses... Read More →
avatar for Ross Knox

Ross Knox

Ross Knox first aspired to be a cowboy as a little boy, when he watched his father work their ranch in central Oregon. At 16, he quit school and moved to Nevada to buckaroo, where he also began writing poetry to occupy his time alone. He has worked at both the Grand Canyon and Saguaro... Read More →
avatar for Waddie Mitchell

Waddie Mitchell

Waddie Mitchell was immersed in the cowboy way of entertaining on the Nevada ranches where his father worked. By age 10, he too was reciting poetry after long days of pushing cows and living off the land. Waddie recites the older classics as well as his own works, eloquently expressing... Read More →
avatar for Gail Steiger

Gail Steiger

Gail Steiger, foreman of the 50,000-acre Spider Ranch in Yavapai County, Arizona, has been playing guitar and writing songs for over 30 years. He has released two albums, The Romance of Western Life and A Matter of Believin’. A talented filmmaker, Gail produced and directed the... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

6:00pm PST

Cowboy Schoolin'
Thursday January 30, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm PST
Whether passed down by compadres around a campfire or grandparents around a record player, cowboy schooling has its roots in all kinds of traditions. Pipp Gillette & Lloyd Wright gain inspiration from the folk heroes of music history. Hot Club of Cowtown repurpose the jazzier roots of country swing. Sourdough Slim & Robert Armstrong take on the image of Hollywood’s “singing cowboys.” And, Doris Daley casts a keen eye on how people and pop culture shape even the most bona fide of buckaroos. They’ll entertain you with lore that reveals even the “real deals” sometimes get their inspiration from TV Westerns.

Sponsored by Nevada Gold Mines
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Doris Daley

Doris Daley

"Doris Daley writes like Fanny Sperry Steele rode broncs—with skill, grace, and a lot of class," says Dave Stamey. Born and raised on the family ranch in the Alberta foothills, Doris is a favorite on stages throughout North America. She has performed at the Smithsonian Folklife... Read More →
avatar for Pipp Gillette & Lloyd Wright

Pipp Gillette & Lloyd Wright

Distinguished singer and musician Pipp Gillette lives and works on the family ranch near Lovelady, Texas, where his grandfather raised cattle and cotton. His lifelong interest in western history and music was fostered as a kid through the stories told to him by his grandfather and... Read More →
avatar for Hot Club of Cowtown

Hot Club of Cowtown

Hot Club of Cowtown has been stunning audiences worldwide for over 20 years with its trademark blend of hot jazz, western swing, American songbook standards, and music from 1930s Paris and the American West. Elana James (fiddle, vocals) grew up in a musical family, and early on spent... Read More →
avatar for Sourdough Slim & Robert Armstrong

Sourdough Slim & Robert Armstrong

.Sourdough Slim and Robert Armstrong joyously rekindle the cowboy classics, country blues, vintage jazz, and string band favorites from 1920s and ’30s prewar America. Whether capturing the haunting refrain of a Jimmie Rodgers’ blue yodel or swinging out a hot novelty number, everyone... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Auditorium 700 Moren Way, Elko, NV 89801, USA

6:15pm PST

Young Buckaroo Open Mic
Thursday January 30, 2025 6:15pm - 7:30pm PST
A heartwarming (and popular) event where all the seats fill up and people try to line the wall to hear and watch our performers 18 and under. Get there early to grab a chair (required) and witness the talents of the next generation!
Thursday January 30, 2025 6:15pm - 7:30pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room
  Open Mic, Free

8:00pm PST

California Gold
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:00pm - 9:30pm PST
When it comes to agricultural wealth, the Golden State has its fair share. Whether you love it or love to hate it, this westest of the western states turns out happy cows and happy artists. An abundance of crops and livestock aren’t the only ranchy riches to be found between the Sierra Nevadas and the Pacific Ocean. Among California’s greatest treasures are gold-dusted songwriter Margo Cilker, rootsy folk gem Ismay, jewel of a singer Trinity Seely, and precious musical resource Dave Stamey. This ain’t no fool’s gold. You’re sure to leave this show shouting, “Eureka! I hit the jackpot!”

Sponsored by Home2 Suites by Hilton Elko
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Margo Cilker

Margo Cilker

Singer-songwriter Margo Cilker has spent the last few years on the road—from South Carolina to Montana, to the Basque Country and back to the American West. She says she pines for “Basque wine, music, and cowboys.” Forging a path that is both deeply rooted and ever-changing... Read More →
avatar for Ismay

Ismay

Melding the experience of taming wild horses, escaping wildfires, and birthing lambs with the mystical soundscape that nature inspires, Ismay has sharpened their musical craft over the last decade while living and working on the family ranch in Northern California. Growing up backstage... Read More →
avatar for Trinity Seely

Trinity Seely

Trinity Seely's life has taken her to many different places, from the Chilcotin of British Columbia to the high deserts of central Wyoming to the Big Belts outside Cascade, Montana. She now lives in Ojai, California, where she is Director of The Thacher School’s Horse Program. Living... Read More →
avatar for Dave Stamey

Dave Stamey

Dave Stamey has been a cowboy, a mule packer, and a dude wrangler. Now, he is one of the most popular western entertainers working today. Dave has made it his life's work to celebrate the rural American West. In the past two decades, he has recorded 11 albums of original music, traveled... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:00pm - 9:30pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Auditorium 700 Moren Way, Elko, NV 89801, USA

8:00pm PST

Now That's Classic
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:00pm - 9:30pm PST
Everybody loves a classic. And, everybody loves it when reciters take the stage to honor the greats of their field. Join poets Marleen Bussma, Andy Hedges, Bill Lowman, Jake Riley, and Tom Sharpe for their favorite classic cowboy poems. They’ll take turns sharing beloved touchstones of the tradition. They’ll go rounds delivering masterpieces that still seem fresh today. And they’ll bandy rhymes that have stood the test of time. This show has cowboy trimmings and cowboy substance…now, that’s classic!

Sponsored by Stockmen’s Casino-Ramada by Wyndham
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Marleen Bussma

Marleen Bussma

As a young girl, long hours spent on horseback herding cattle stirred Marleen Bussma’s imagination and sparked a desire to emulate Dale Evans. Marleen, described as a formidable storyteller, draws from the lessons she learned growing up on her North Dakota farm. She believes that... Read More →
avatar for Andy Hedges

Andy Hedges

Andy Hedges is a songster, reciter, storyteller, guitarist, and collector of cowboy songs and poems. The son of a schoolteacher and a rodeo-cowboy-turned-preacher, Andy grew up in Tokio, Texas, where his family paid rent on an old farmhouse by looking after a few head of cattle. There... Read More →
avatar for Bill Lowman

Bill Lowman

Bill Lowman and his wife JoAnn and family own and operate a 20,000-acre generational ranch in the remote North Dakota Badlands, where they are widely known for their love of and respect for the well-being of their livestock and pets. As a multi-talented visual, literary, and performing... Read More →
avatar for Jake Riley

Jake Riley

Jake Riley grew up, for the most part, in the upper Arkansas Valley of the Colorado mountains. He began roping and rodeoing as a kid, which led to helping out at local ranches, which spawned his love for cowboy culture. Jake has always enjoyed rhyming, publishing some of his first... Read More →
avatar for Tom Sharpe

Tom Sharpe

Born and raised in south central Colorado, Tom Sharpe grew up working in the family packing plant and feedlot. Convinced from birth that one must be good with horses to be good with cows, he has spent his life studying horses and following cows. Tom has worked the beef industry vertically... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 8:00pm - 9:30pm PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

10:00pm PST

Saloon Session: Jessie Veeder
Thursday January 30, 2025 10:00pm - 10:45pm PST
Artists & Special Guests
avatar for Jessie Veeder

Jessie Veeder

Jessie Veeder writes and sings about the Badlands of western North Dakota where she grew up as the fourth generation on her family’s cattle ranch. She released her first original album at 16 and has gone on to tour nationally, releasing five more original albums and two books about... Read More →
Thursday January 30, 2025 10:00pm - 10:45pm PST
Western Folklife Center - Pioneer Saloon
  Music, Free
 

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