40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering: Full Schedule

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

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Schedule is subject to change. We recommend double-checking Sched regularly for the latest updates.

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8:30am PST

Music Open Mic Signups

Saturday February 1, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

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

Saturday February 1, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Signup, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

8:30am PST

Poetry Open Mic Signups

Saturday February 1, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST

Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

Saturday February 1, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

Signup, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

9:00am PST

Doris Daley

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am PST

Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Poetry/Prose, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

9:00am PST

Badger Clark: Poet Among the Pines

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am PST

Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

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.

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

Film, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

9:00am PST

Growing Up at the Gathering

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Artists & Special Guests

Riata Brown

Riata Brown was born, raised, and wed in the high deserts and ranches of northeastern Nevada. Growing up in a family steeped in music and cowboy culture, Riata learned to sing and play alongside her father Larry Schutte, one of the original performers at the National Cowboy Poetry... Read More →

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 →

Terri McCall Knight

Terrill Anne McCall Knight, known as Terri, grew up sharing poetry at small community gatherings and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, where she first found her voice. Over the years, she recited at larger events in Prescott, Arizona, and Alpine, Texas, but after the loss... Read More →

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 →

Chaz Mitchell

Born and raised in rough-and-rugged northern Nevada, Chaz Mitchell grew up cowboying alongside his father, the well-known cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell. Known for making custom hats that express the personality of the owner, Chaz built his first hat during a workshop at the National... Read More →

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

9:00am PST

Huevos Rancheros Christmas

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am PST

Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

9:00am PST

Dusty Vaquero

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PST

Elko Convention Center - Auditorium

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PST
Elko Convention Center - Auditorium 700 Moren Way, Elko, NV 89801, USA

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

9:00am PST

Music Open Mic 7

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

More details: NationalCowboyPoetryGathering.org/open-mics-jams

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Open Mic, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

9:30am PST

Poetry Open Mic 10

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:30am - 11:00am PST

Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

More details: NationalCowboyPoetryGathering.org/open-mics-jams

Saturday February 1, 2025 9:30am - 11:00am PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

Open Mic, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

10:15am PST

Indian Relay

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am PST

Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

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.

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

Film, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

10:15am PST

The Stories Behind the Art

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am PST

Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Join Native American artists Kevin Jones, Jack Malotte, R. James Shoshone, and Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr. as they talk about their art and discuss the importance of creativity in their lives. They’ll reminisce and swap stories, revealing insights into their artistic inspirations and how their cultural backgrounds inform their work. As they share stories of personal experiences that have shaped their creative journeys, they explore the role of art in expressing identity and connecting with community.

Artists & Special Guests

Kevin Jones

M. Kevin Jones, of Washoe/Pima ancestry, specializes in acrylic painting, pen and ink, and traditional crafts as well as creating silver jewelry. His designs are featured on the Alpine County flag, the Diamond Valley Elementary School mascot, and various Washoe tribal logos, including... Read More →

Jack Malotte

Jack Malotte, a Western Shoshone and Washoe artist, combines wry humor with serious subjects, rethinking historical narratives and myths of the American West. His work explores the landscapes of the Great Basin and contemporary Native political issues, focusing on environmental and... Read More →

James Shoshone

R. James Shoshone, Jr. was raised Washoe and is a member of the Timbisha Shoshone, based in Owyhee, Nevada, on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. A renowned buckaroo, James has worked on many of the Great Basin’s legendary ranches, including the 25, Cross Ranch, IL Ranch, Spanish... Read More →

Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr.

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Storytelling, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

10:15am PST

Chronicling the Cowboy

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:45am PST

Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

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 →

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 →

Forrest VanTuyl

Forrest VanTuyl is a songwriter and poet from Goldendale, Washington. Much of his work is based on years spent packing mules and cowboying in the steep, remote, alpine and canyon country of Wallowa County, Oregon. Early on, he paid for his songwriting and wandering addiction with... Read More →

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:45am PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

10:30am PST

Kristyn Harris

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:30am - 11:15am PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:30am - 11:15am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

10:45am PST

Rebel Rousers

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am PST

Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

Poetry/Prose

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

Poetry/Prose, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

11:00am PST

Jessie Veeder

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

11:30am PST

First Came Collaboration: Managing for Riparia

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:30am - 11:45am PST

Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

Steve Kinion (director),
United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (producer),
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (producer),
Intermountain West Joint Venture (producer),
Western Landowners Alliance (producer),
Open Range Consulting (producer)
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.

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:30am - 11:45am PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

Film, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

11:30am PST

Stories from the Workshop

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm PST

Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

Traditional artists like cowboy bootmakers, silversmiths, and the like, are most often working alone in their workshops, creating beautiful things, ruminating on their work and life, and thinking about the future of their craft. They’re full of stories of highs and lows, as well as ideas on how to keep their practices and their craft alive. Join cowboy bootmaker Morgan Buckert, and some of her maker pals, for stories about why they love what they do, and some anecdotes from their workrooms, which are sure to bring some smiles to your face, and maybe a tear to your eye.

Artists & Special Guests

Morgan Buckert

Morgan Buckert is a master bootmaker based in Hailey, Idaho, where she creates custom cowboy boots and accessories built to last a lifetime. Starting with custom patterns and the highest quality leather, she ensures every pair fits perfectly. A seventh-generation Texan rancher, Morgan’s... Read More →

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

Storytelling, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

11:45am PST

Learning From the Land: Women in Ranching

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:45am - 11:55am PST

Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

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.

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:45am - 11:55am PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

Film, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

11:45am PST

Sourdough Slim & Robert Armstrong

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:45am - 12:30pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:45am - 12:30pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

11:45am PST

Cowboy Cult Classics

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:45am - 12:45pm PST

Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Artists & Special Guests

Katie McCall-Owen

Terry Nash

Western Colorado beef producer and acclaimed poet Terry Nash knows how to draw you into his poetry. His tales are of the West not seen from the highway or from the rodeo bleachers. Terry lives the life he writes about, and he’s the master at showing it to you. He and his wife Kathy... Read More →

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 11:45am - 12:45pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Poetry/Prose, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

12:00pm PST

Hot Club of Cowtown

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm PST

Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:00pm - 12:45pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

12:00pm PST

Thought Is Like a Cloud

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm PST

Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

Poetry/Prose

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

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 →

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 →

Olivia Romo

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm PST
Western Folklife Center - G Three Bar Theater

Poetry/Prose, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

12:10pm PST

Cowboys Without Borders

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:10pm - 1:40pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

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.

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:10pm - 1:40pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

Film, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

12:30pm PST

Pipp Gillette & Lloyd Wright

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:15pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:15pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

1:00pm PST

Dave Stamey

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm PST

Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Artists & Special Guests

Dave Stamey

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

1:00pm PST

DW Groethe

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

1:00pm PST

Been There, Done That

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST

Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Poetry/Prose, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

1:00pm PST

Whip Law

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST

Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

Since about 2017, downtown Reno, Nevada, has been punctuated with the small, supersonic cracks of homemade bullwhips. Join radiomaker Fil Corbitt for a live audio podcast presentation digging into this phenomenon, and what happened when the city moved to ban whips in downtown Reno. Originally aired on Fil’s podcast The Wind, and nationally on Snap Judgement, “Whip Law” dives into ideas of craft, community, and homelessness through a western noir search for Reno's master whip maker.

Artists & Special Guests

Fil Corbitt

A few years ago, radiomaker Fil Corbitt found a handsaw in the mountains and built a small desk out in the woods. High in the Sierra Nevada, flanked by an aspen grove and a lodgepole pine stand, this is where Fil makes The Wind—a critically acclaimed podcast that investigates our... Read More →

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Silver Room

Talk/Discussion, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

1:00pm PST

Bring Them Home

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 2:30pm PST

Northeastern Nevada Museum

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.

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:00pm - 2:30pm PST
Northeastern Nevada Museum 1515 Idaho St, Elko, NV 89801, USA

Film, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

1:45pm PST

Lone Piñon

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:45pm - 2:30pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Artists & Special Guests

Lone Piñon

Saturday February 1, 2025 1:45pm - 2:30pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

2:00pm PST

Ranch Parenting 101

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm PST

Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Jessie Veeder

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

2:00pm PST

On the Trail of the Jackalope

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

In this romp based on his book On the Trail of the Jackalope, Great Basin Desert writer Michael Branch (author of Raising Wild, Rants from the Hill, and How to Cuss in Western) takes us on an entertaining and enlightening road trip to the heart of an American legend. Mike’s story spans from the horned rabbit’s origins in rural Wyoming through the many forms of jackalope art that keep this hybrid creature alive in western American folk culture. The talk also reveals that actual horned rabbits exist in nature, and explains their connection to the iconic mythological jackalope of folklore.

Artists & Special Guests

Michael Branch

An award-winning humorist and high desert writer, Michael Branch is Foundation Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has authored more than 300 essays and reviews, and 10 books, including his Nevada trilogy: Raising Wild, Rants from the Hill, and How to Cuss in Western... Read More →

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Lamoille Room

Talk/Discussion, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

2:15pm PST

Trinity Seely

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

2:30pm PST

Tall Grasses & Big Skies

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm PST

Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

DW Groethe

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 →

Jonathan Odermann

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

2:45pm PST

Who Says Cowboys Don't Rock 'n' Roll?

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:45pm - 3:45pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Artists & Special Guests

Doris Daley

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 →

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 2:45pm - 3:45pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

3:30pm PST

Well-Weathered

Saturday February 1, 2025 3:30pm - 4:15pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

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 →

Gary & Kurin Haleamau

Gary Kawiliau Haleamau of Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i began his musical career at an early age; first as a solo artist, then traveling with Hawaiian music groups throughout the world sharing his amazing talent. Gary is a recipient of the 2008 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for “Best Religious... Read More →

Saturday February 1, 2025 3:30pm - 4:15pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Ballroom

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

3:30pm PST

Highlights of the Open Mic

Saturday February 1, 2025 3:30pm - 5:00pm PST

Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

More details: NationalCowboyPoetryGathering.org/open-mics-jams

Saturday February 1, 2025 3:30pm - 5:00pm PST
Elko High School Performing Arts Building - Auditorium

Poetry & Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

4:00pm PST

How the West Is Sung

Saturday February 1, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST

Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Artists & Special Guests

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 →

Kristyn Harris

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Elko Conference Center - Ruby Mountain Music Stage

Music, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass

4:00pm PST

It Didn't Seem Funny at the Time

Saturday February 1, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST

Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Artists & Special Guests

Bill Lowman

Annie Mackenzie

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 →

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 →

Saturday February 1, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Elko Convention Center - Turquoise Room

Poetry/Prose, Day or Deluxe Pass

Ticket Type Day or Deluxe Pass