Margo sings a familiar tune to the delight of the audience. Margo Cilker performs "Road to Las Cruces" by Ian Tyson during the "Free Life and Fresh Air" show at the 39th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Margo Cilker
Goldendale, WA
Originally from California, singer-songwriter Margo Cilker has spent the last few years on the road–from South Carolina to Montana, then the Basque Country and back to the American West. She says she pines for “Basque wine, music, and cowboys.” Forging a path that is at once deeply rooted and ever-changing, Margo recently alighted in southern Washington. Influenced by the poetry of Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and Townes van Zandt, her music reflects a restlessness and continued yearning for the road. Margo’s second album, Valley of Heart’s Delight, refers to a place she can’t return, a place that saw five generations of Cilkers born there–California’s Santa Clara Valley, as it was known before the orchards were paved over and became more famous for Silicon than apricots.

"Road to Las Cruces" song by Ian Tyson.

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Filmed in front of a live audience with help from the E. L. Wiegand Foundation at the Western Folklife Center’s G Three Bar Theater in Elko, NV, on Feb. 2, 2024.

Made possible by the Nevada Arts Council and the multitude of staff, artists, volunteers, and community members working behind the scenes to make this show happen.

Brought to you by the Western Folklife Center, using story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
www.westernfolklife.org

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