Performers in Kansas

The Blackbury Band got its start at the 2005 Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Featuring tight vocal harmonies, backed by innovative acoustic arrangements, the band creates a nostalgic atmosphere with their interpretation of western, vintage country, folk, gospel and swing tunes. Their first album, “Thirty Years Too Late,” was released in February 2007 and is a tribute to their love of acoustic music.

Dave has been performing classic and original cowboy songs for awhile.  Since the "New Horizons" CD came out, Sharon has joined Dave on stage reciting poetry and performing speaking parts in several songs.  Fulltime jobs limited their touring schedules in the past but June 12th, 2008 Dave retired from a 30+ year career.  Check out our website for a detailed bio, information on our number 1 song and touring schedule.

Max Bunyan plays guitar and piano and writes western and gospel songs. He¹s a native of Dodge City, Kansas and his songs draw from experiences as varied as growing up in Dodge City, traveling in Europe as a member of the United States Seventh Army Soldiers Chorus (1964 to 1967), working in prisons, and his 37-year marriage to Claudia Bunyan. Bunyan returned to performing music in 2004, inspired by his experience at the Kansas Cowboy Symposium in Dodge City.

Classically trained and world-renowned, Judy Coder hits the stage with style and grace, and an enthusiasm for western music which energizes her performances.  Early in her career she was named the Patsy Montana National Yodeling Champion and the WMA International Yodeling Champion. She expanded her performances by leading that fabulous cowboy band, "Pride of the Prairie" for five successful years.  Her vocal arrangements for the band twice helped them to earn the title of WMA Harmony Singing Champions.  Once again Judy is striking out solo, this time adding a new dimension to her performances as an up-and-coming songwriter.  Look for her co-write with Les Buffham, "The Mourning Dove" on her newest recording, released in August 2008.

Jeff Davidson entertains with western songs and poems reflective of rural Kansas. Almost everything regarding frontier history has a Kansas connection. The role of Kansas in creating the cowboy is legendary. Historic cow towns are unique to Kansas and without them and their markets, the cowboy as a folk type would never have entered the public consciousness. Cowboys documented their lives in poetry and song and Jeff traces their history, and that of Kansas, through classic western tunes.

Geff’s cowboy poetry and western music tell stories of his ranch life and work experiences.  His western music, cowboy poetry and tales of cowboy life will keep you hooked and in the moment of the event.  You will quickly find that he’s entertaining and sincere and he portrays the cowboy life in a fashion all can enjoy.  He’s like none other and has an extraordinary ability to entertain the crowd. Geff  performs at western festivals, livestock events, youth and school events and other venues throughout the country.  He is also a featured cowboy entertainer at the Salute to the Great American Cowboy in Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri. 

Guitarist, “Tennessee” Jim Farrell loves the complex chord changes and close harmonies of Western Music. Lead singer/lead guitarist/fiddler, Stu Stuart comes from an entertainment background. Bass player, Orin Friesen fell in love with Western music as a child after watching his heroes, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, on TV. The newest member of the Diamond W Wranglers is drummer/percussionist Steve Crawford, known as “Stevie C, the Rhythmic Cowboy.” They have a keen desire to see Western music grow, internationally.

Roger is a lifetime Kansan with an agriculture background. He's a cowboy, a farmer, an auctioneer, award winning poet, singer, freelance writer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, safety consultant, agri- businessman, and currently an innkeeper of a bed and breakfast. Roger is a performing member of the Western Music Association, a charter member of the Academy of Western Artists, and the Cowboy Storytellers of the Western Plains.

Mark and Jacob Henkel are a father and son musical duo that enjoys singing songs of the old west. Mark was raised in Willcox, Arizona, where the influence of Rex Allen and local ranchers gave Mark a lifelong love for the open land, western music, and real cowboys. He has passed this passion for all things western on to his son, Jacob, 16-years-old. Together, these two sing about and live out the values that were taught by their western heroes.

WMA Award:
2001 Hall of Fame