Wylie croons a classic cowboy tune. Wylie Gustafson performs "Cowpoke" by Stan Jones during the "Upside Down in a Cow Town" show during the 41st Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Wylie Gustafson
Conrad, MT
Wylie Gustafson is an American original. He was born into a fourth-generation ran...

Terry intimately captures the quiet beauty and raw emotion of a wintry birthing scene, .Terry Nash performs "A Cowman's Lot" during the "Leppies + Other Mavericks" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Terry Nash
Loma, CO
Western Colorado beef producer and acclaime...

Phill shares an ode to his father that reminds us family connections come in many forms. Phill Laubacher recites "Joe" during the "Upside Down in a Cow Town" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Phill Laubacher
Montague, CA
Phill Laubacher has been called a “ranch...

R.W. croons a Mike Beck tune. R.W. Hampton performs "Don't Tell Me" during "The Western Rewind" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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R.W. Hampton
Amarillo, TX / Miami, NM
R.W. Hampton was born to be a cowboy. Growing up in Texas, he worked on ranches across the Am...

Sterling sings a song written in honor of the Irish immigrants who moved to western Montana. Sterling Drake performs "The Coyote" during the "For Story's Sake" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Sterling Drake
Philipsburg, MT
Songwriter Sterling Drake’s journey ...

Sam sings about a "dream girl." Sam Platts performs the traditional song "Ida Red" during the "Western Rewind" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Sam Platts
Seguin, TX
Sam Platts got his start in music on the windy plains of southern Wyoming, and today he and hi...

Pipp + Lloyd share a timeless traditional tune about the girl left behind. Pipp Gillette + Lloyd Wright perform "The Gal I Left Behind Me" during "The Western Rewind" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Pipp Gillette + Lloyd Wright
Lovelady + Crockett, TX
Disting...

FEATURING: Darrell Holden, Lara Manzanares, Matt Robertson, M.L. Smoker.

Healing comes in many forms…words, songs, the wind rustling through the aspens or oaks. The ranching community intimately knows the reality of social isolation, long hours, no vacation days, and variable income. Whether usi...

Darrell shares a poem of loss. Darrell Holden recites "From Dad" during the "Words Are Medicine" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Darrell Holden
Vernon, UT
Darrell Ekker Holden is a proud fifth-generation rancher and cowboy poet from the West Desert of Utah. H...

FEATURING: Wylie Gustafson, Phill Laubacher, R.P. Smith, Dave Stamey.

Sometimes all you can do is laugh when life launches you tail-over-tea-kettle and you can no longer tell whether it’s you or the world that’s on its head. Poets Phill Laubacher and R.P. Smith join musicians Wylie Gustafson and...

Dave compares life’s inevitable chaos and crumbling endeavors to a passing rodeo parade. Dave Stamey sings "The Rodeo Parade" during the "Upside Down in a Cow Town" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Dave Stamey
Orange Cove, CA

Dave Stamey has been a cowboy, a ...

FEATURING: R.W. Hampton, Ross Knox, Terry Nash.

They’re obstinate. They’re wily. They think they know better, and they don’t follow the rules. And no, we’re not talking about this show’s lineup. They are the strays of our lives—the characters who test our skills and patience, and occasionally ev...

FEATURING: Sterling Drake, Lone Piñon, Jake Riley.

Some say the world is shaped by reality. By inches of rain, by prices of hay, by the generosity of neighbors. But what shapes that reality? What builds our communities, records our histories, preserves generational knowledge, perpetuates age-old...

R.W. sings about resilience, pushing forward even when things aren’t going your way. R.W. Hampton performs "The One That I Never Could Ride" during the "Leppies + Other Mavericks" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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R.W. Hampton
Amarillo, TX / Miami, NM
R.W. Hamp...

FEATURING: Steve Boies, Kathryn Dyer, Agee Smith, Sherman Swanson.

How do creeks function for us? For the things we care about? By focusing on water, plants, soils, and landforms, we've learned that some plants grow tremendous root systems that withstand floods, slow water to build floodplains, ...

Ross tries to answer the question, "is a dog really man's best friend?" Ross Knox recites "Man's Best Friend" during the "Leppies + Other Mavericks" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Ross Knox
Skull Valley, AZ
Ross Knox first aspired to be a cowboy as a little ...

FEATURING: Pipp Gillette + Lloyd Wright, R.W. Hampton, Sam Platts, Sons of the Pioneers.

An all-consuming love for classic cowboy songs brings together these four musical acts, each classics themselves. Reverent tradition-shapers Pipp Gillette + Lloyd Wright, songbook standard-writer R.W. Hampto...

FEATURING: Brigid and Johnny, Kristyn Harris Trio, Jake Riley.

Poet Jake Riley tosses his saddle (and perhaps his water skis) in the back as he hitches a ride with Brigid & Johnny and the Kristyn Harris Trio, owners of two of the sweetest pickups in cowboy poetry land. The Reedy’s ’57 Chevy come...

FEATURING: Richard Elloyan, Darrell Holden, Dana Wirth.

When it comes to poetry, there are lines that confine, and there are lines that run free. Join us for a night of verse and song that resonates with the freedom of the wild range. Ride out onto a vast poetic expanse with unrestrained troubad...

Dakota shares the tale of the night he nearly covered an outlaw roan. Dakota Holdaway recites "Bad Dream" during the "Get in the Pickup, We're Going to Town" show during the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Dakota Holdaway
Nephi, UT
Storyteller and poet Dakota Holdaway be...

FEATURING: William Matthews

Western artist William Matthews has spent many years exploring the buckaroo community of Elko County. He has driven, ridden, and camped with many of the cowboys in this area, and his watercolors have documented their world. Join Willy, well known for his lucid and acc...

FEATURING: Brigid + Johnny, Jimmy Cantwell, Dakota Holdaway.

Slide across that bench seat because the 41st Gathering is cleaned up and headed to town. The solitude of the sticks can produce some beautiful poems and songs, but when the loneliness creeps in, it’s the company of other humans we cra...

Richard sings about the relationship between coyotes and cats. Richard Elloyand sings "Coyotes Love My Cats" during the "Beyond the Fenceline" show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Richard Elloyan
Virginia City, NV
Singer, songwriter, and poet Richard Elloyan grew ...

Susan and Kaycee share a horse song taught to them by their grandfather. Susan Avila-Dixey + Kaycee Dixey perform during the "Chief Philllip Whiteman Jr." show at the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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Kaycee Dixey &
Susan Avila-Dixey
Fort Hall, ID
Kaycee Dixey and Susan A...