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 comes loaded with the blood harmonies of Montana siblings raised on ...

Without buckaroos, who would do the day work? Riddle us that. Unpredictable livestock, temperamental weather, and cantankerous crews create moments of humor, danger, and everything in between. Who wades into that work day by day? Buckaroos do! But…buckaroos who? This elite buckaroo few—poets Ross...

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 wisdom, and makes sense of the worlds we find ourse...

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 using idioms that evoke western grit or leaning into difficult emotions throu...

There’ll be yellin’ and jumpin’ and wavin’ of lids. At least if Bruce Kiskaddon’s “An Old Western Town” enters the room. It’s just one of the touchstones these fine reciters might put their loops around as we celebrate the canon’s marvelous mayhem. Texas songster Andy Hedges joins North Dakota ra...

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 troubadour Richard Elloyan, openhearted writer Darrell Holden, a...

Tough woman…kind heart…animals…hard work…sacrifices…triumphs…you'll find the sentiment in any self-respecting western movie, often with the oh-so predictable happy ending to boot. Here to dispel some myths, these artist ranch women share how they really do it, persevering, persisting, and perspir...

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 crave. Cowboy singer Jimmy Cantwell, storyteller and poet Dakota ...