Joe Bethancourt
He's been playing the banjo since he was old enough to know better, and is a compulsive picker, collector and learner of weird instruments. He plays (at last count) 65 different instruments, and sings in several languages. What makes this even more remarkable is that he has never had any formal music training, doesn't read music, and is on leave from the Phoenix Home for the Musically Bewildered. Joe's clawhammer banjo technique is unique.
Broken Chair Band
Todd and Melinda Carter are singer-songwriters for the Broken Chair Band and cattle ranch, riding for the brand every day. Original songs described as ‘Americowboyfolkgrass’, inspired by hardships, lessons and blessings, with stories of folly, wisdom and grace. Touring schedules are limited as they are raising a young daughter, who started opening for the band. When they’re not workin’ or cowboyin’, they’re pickin’, strummin’ and singin’ as a family!
Buckshot Dot
Buckshot Dot is a very talented western singer, songwriter and writer. She can be found at most of the major western music and cowboy poetry events across the country.
Chuck & Mae Camp
Dean Cook
Dean is a performing songwriter, storyteller and cowboy poet. A native Arizonan, he weaves his life experiences into songs and stories about the West as it was, is, and should have been. Dean is a regular at cowboy gatherings, music festivals, and historical events around Arizona and the Southwest. His original songs are being performed and recorded by other western musicians, including several WMA performers, and a number of his songs are receiving national airplay.
Jan Corey
Jan was born in Michigan and lived on a small farm. In order to hear country music from the Southern States, he would fill his ‘49 Ford with nineteen-cent a gallon gas and drive all night into the country so that his AM radio would pick up the stations from down south. He owned and operated a machine shop in Mesa for 31 years and is now retired and can pursue his passion, Classic Cowboy Poetry.
Jim Dalglish
Jim has “almost dual citizenship” living half of each year in Grand Forks, ND and the other half in Sierra Vista, AZ. Three generations of Jim’s family lived in New Mexico beginning in 1880. He spent most of his life on the Great Plains. In 1991 he began his annual treks to winter in Arizona. Jim has been writing poetry all of his life but has concentrated on the desert and cowboy life since1996. He also enjoys singing old cowboy songs.
The Honey Dews
We were both born in the mid-west but have lived in Arizona over 50 years. Virgil is 74 years old and I am 72. We have been married since 1978. We started playing music in the 70's. Our main musical background has been in a square dance band. Our experience includes playing sets at folk festivals with a repertoire consisting of big band, folk, country, gospel, Western, cowboy, sing-alongs and Irish music.
Gary "Arizona" Johnson
Gary "Arizona" Johnson is not only a very talented Western Entertainer and Recording Artist, he's a very fine Photographer, too! He's been entertaining audiences professionally for over 30 years working as a Cowboy Singer since the 1970s. His first break was as the emcee and headliner for the ever popular Sundown Cookout at Rawhide Arizona's 1880s Town. Gary also served as the Official Balladeer for the Parada Del Sol Rodeo and Parade in Scottsdale, Arizona from 1982-1984. In 1988, he rode horseback 189 miles from Flagstaff to Scottsdale through the Matazal and Sierra Ancha Wilderness following the General Crook Trail. With 9 days of hard riding in extreme weather conditions, Johnson, although a little battered from his first long trail ride, was hooked on documenting guest ranches and trail rides for the media, including Arizona Highways Magazine, the L.A. Times and the New York Times Travel Section. In 1991 he was invited to represent the State of Arizona in Tokyo entertaining audiences for a trade mission for the Arizona Office of Tourism and Arizona Governor Rose Mofford. This was the first of many international performances he has made for the Arizona Office of Tourism. Gary rode for 11 seasons in Monument Valley and Canyon De Chelly as a Trail Guide, Photographer and Entertainer. His photographic talents landed him 3 cover photos for Arizona Highways Magazine on Cowboys in Monument Valley.
katy creek band
"Authentic, real deal cowboy, compelling, engaging, mesmerizing story-telling" are terms used time and again to describe the songwriting, poetry and performance of Wes and Nancy Ruybal as Katy Creek Band. A direct aim to capture and entertain the audience drives this Arizona based duo, sometimes accompanied by fiddle and bass, to deliver songs and recitations that are based on true, half true, as well as entirely made up stories, in a manner that firmly impresses the tale on your mind like a classic movie you want to watch again and again. WMA Song of the Year nomination for "Where the Wind Blows a Different Song" by Nancy Ruybal.
Photo by Lori Faith Merritt
Dennis Knill, aka Quickdraw
Fourth generation homesteader, that's what I am. In one of my songs, I sing about my great grandfather who came to America from across the sea, passed by the Statue of Liberty, and headed for the high country of Colorado, where I was born three generations later. On my mom's side, they came west in wagons and stopped in Wild Horse, Colorado, out on the plains, later moving to Fort Collins. As a young man, I showed and trained horses for my grandparents. With my active imagination, most of the fences along the roads just disappeared whenever I was a'horseback. I picked up the guitar after high school, but it was just a hobby for many years. Seeking better jobs, my wife and I moved to Arizona in 1998. Then a couple of years ago, I met Jeannie and Jerome (Call of the West) , Katy Creek, Joe Baer and Jon Messenger...and I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: sing and play Cowboy music. I saw Dave Stamey and I was HOOKED! I just joined WMA, and I'm gonna sing till I drop.
Will Merritt
From the heart. From the land. Singer and songwriter Will Merritt features original contemporary and traditional music from the American West. Jubilant or sorrowful, historical or imagined, his songs bring us back to the legends and the truth that make the West great. His amiable "at home" presence on stage, heart touching lyrics and melodies move audience from laughter to tears and back again! For video and audio content please visit the website.
Jon Messenger
Arizona singer/songwriter Jon Messenger sports an impressive list of credentials. An accomplished songwriter, with an extensive musical background, Jon¹s original Folk and Western tunes have been well received by audiences at festivals and gatherings throughout the West. Jon¹s songs reflect his love of the West and the American Cowboy, and his writing has been favorably compared to the works of such notable contemporary Western songwriters as Jack Hannah, Michael Fleming, Dave Stamey, Curly Musgrave, and Bob Wagoner.
mountain saddle band
Stephen Harrington, lead vocals, rhythm guitar. Steve Taylor, vocals, harmonica. Rusty Weiss, bass guitar, vocals. The Mountain Saddle Band has been preforming for many years and has developed their own unique sound, a blend of mostly old, some originals, some new, cowboy songs with rich harmonies and gospel songs with a cowboy touch. Words used by others to describe them have been, smooth, rich, alive. Mountain Saddle Band is committed to preserving and promoting the heritage and culture / life style of the American Cowboy.
Susan Parker
Born with a cowboy soul, Susan grew up with a love for horses, cowboys, rodeos and all things Western. Susan began writing contemporary poetry and prose in 1995. Her passion for cowboy poetry was sparked in 2003 after attending the Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival. It burst into full flame shortly thereafter. Intrigued by pioneering women of the West, Susan has become a student of their writings.
LeeLee Robert
LeeLee Robert grew up in Arizona where three-part harmony with her siblings became her favorite child's play. She wrote her first song at 14 and started her professional career at 16 years old performing in the coffee houses of the 60s. Over the next three decades, she worked as "Lee Robert and Friends" and is best known for her "Cowgirl Jazz" style where she combines the subtle colors and textures of jazz and blues with the storytelling strengths of traditional Western music. She recently released her 5th CD of original music called "Best of Friends."
Rockin' M Wranglers
Jim and Jeanne Martin are a most enjoyable musical duo who perform the full range of cowboy and western music, from the traditional trail songs of the working cowboy, to the silver screen classics of the singing cowboy, and the contemporary western compositions about today's cowboys and an ever popular western lifestyle. Their voices blend in perfect harmony and their championship yodeling is stunning! Their entertainment is complete when they add their brand of family style of cowboy humor.
Clyde Score
Clyde Score has performed music throughout the U.S. and Canada. This includes performances at the Club 58 in Geneva, Switzerland, Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Sahara in Las Vegas, The Fontainebleau in Miami, King's Castle in Lake Tahoe and the L.A. Playboy Club. Since completing his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music at Prescott College, Clyde has taught percussion, jazz and guitar classes and Yavapai College. He also teaches general music at Christian Academy of Prescott. Clyde currently performs on the Grand Canyon Railway and produces a country variety show called "The Arizona Revue." He is also on the artist roster for the Arizona Commission on the Arts, performing throughout the state with "The Diamondback Brothers" and "The Arizona Swing Machine." Recently, Clyde performed at the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island for Win-Some Women Christian Retreat. His special brand of humor always wins over an audience.
Gail Starr
Gail has been singing far a long time on stages, at campfires and corporate events. Her life has been based on the western ways as she has traveled, worked with ranchers and helped bring the romance of the West to folks that just wanted an experience to remember. The Cattle Drives, the Chuck Wagons, and the time on the trail have helped the past meet the present. These experiences have given her the soul that is needed for an authentic western serenade.
Steve Taylor
As a child growing up in the 40's, Steve found that singing and drawing got him a lot of attention. That, coupled with his love of The West lead to his move to Arizona, in 1957. Over the years and through many occupations, he eventually became a western artist, singer, song writer, poet and actor. Steve says, "I'm thankful everyday for the beauty of God's creation and for bringing me and JoAnn to the White Mountains of Arizona in 1982, where the 'cowboy way' is still a way of life and for leading me to sing and play harmonica with Mountain Saddle Band". The deep, resonant tones of his voice and his performance style create imagery that brings his poetry and music to life. Mountain Saddle Band's new CD, "The Ballad of Kitty Jo" is built around an 11 poem anthology by Steve.
Sherry Walker
Sherry’s fondest childhood memory is of her dad singing Little Joe the Wrangler, the Strawberry Roan, The Baggage Coach Ahead and other cowboy songs. It’s no surprise those wonderful old tunes would later beckon her to preserve “the cowboy way” through song. Green Valley, Arizona is her home but she has performed throughout the Pacific Northwest, central Arizona, and music festivals far and wide. Sherry loves to re-acquaint people with Western Music or introduce them if they've never met! Whether performing or jamming, she always offers “Music and A Smile”
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