FEATURING: Chris Isaacs, Jake Riley, Kent Rollins, Sourdough Slim + Robert Armstrong.

No matter who you are, or what you do, chances are your favorite shows have one thing in common–laughter. Bring your insatiable hunger for a good joke and a slick story. The perfectly-seared comedy of Arizona's Chris Isaacs, the grass-fed verse of Nebraska's Jake Riley, the juicy jests of Oklahoma's Kent Rollins, and the indescribable umami of California's Sourdough Slim + Robert Armstrong will hit the spot. Their flavors play off of each other just right. It's real humor for real people.

From the 38th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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PLAYLIST [xxxx]
"The Epitaph" - Chris Isaacs
"Poison Mushrooms" - Kent Rollins
"The Thin Man" - Jake Riley
"I Can't Tame Wild Women" - Sourdough Slim + Robert Armstrong (words + music by Bill Boyd)
" " - Chris Isaacs
"The Chicken and the Egg" - Kent Rollins
"Sheep Camp" - Jake Riley
"In Old Winnemucca" - Sourdough Slim + Robert Armstrong
" " - Chris Isaacs
"Ben Hur" - Kent Rollins
"A Hunting Accident" - Jake Riley
"In the Jailhouse Now" - Sourdough Slim + Robert Armstrong (words + music by Jimmie Rodgers)
"What a Nickel's Worth" - Chris Isaacs
"Jackpot the Donkey" - Kent Rollins
"Why Levi's?" - Jake Riley
"Barnacle Bill the Sailor" - Sourdough Slim + Robert Armstrong (words and music by Carson Robison + Frank Luther)
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Chris Isaacs
Eagar, AZ
Chris Isaacs has lived the life that he writes and talks about, from being a working cowboy to packing mules, from rodeoing to horseshoeing. Chris has performed from border to border, coast to coast, and into Canada. His easy stage presence and quick wit have endeared him to audiences all over. Not just a cowboy poet and storyteller, he's also a humorist cut from the same cloth as Will Rogers–in fact, he’s a three-time winner of the Academy of Western Artists’ Will Rogers Award. Chris says, "Real life is too funny anyway. You don't need to make stuff up."

Jake Riley
Riverdale, NE
Jake Riley grew up, for the most part, in the upper Arkansas Valley of the Colorado mountains and graduated from high school in Buena Vista. He began roping and rodeoing as a kid. Jake has always loved rhyming, publishing some of his first cowboy poetry for a high school project. Ever since, poetry has been one of his passions, but only recently has he resumed finishing poems and sharing them with others. Much of Jake’s work involves firsthand ranch and rodeo experiences, often chronicling the contemporary "cowboy" who may not cowboy for a living but has ties to cowboy culture. His original poetry album, Western Errors, runs the gamut from cowboy wrecks to humor to philosophical observations and reflections on life.

Kent Rollins
Hollis, OK
Kent Rollins was born and raised along the banks of the Red River near Hollis, Oklahoma. Growing up, and throughout his adulthood, Kent helped his father manage cow-calf operations in the area while also taking care of their own herd. At the beginning of Kent's cooking career, he spent time with his uncle, guiding and feeding hunters deep in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. He bought a chuck wagon in 1993 and began cooking for ranches and soon expanded into catering. Along with slinging hash, Kent has become pretty good at slinging bull. His ability not only to cook but to transport folks to another time through vivid stories of cow camps and the cowboy life is one of the many ways that he is a truly unique character.

Sourdough Slim
Paradise, CA
Sourdough Slim, aka Rick Crowder, is a hoot to say the least. Sourdough hails from California’s gold country and is the recipient of the Academy of Western Artists’ Yodeler of the Year Award. Since 1988, he has gained national recognition performing at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. This savvy performer has the rare gift for transporting audiences to a whimsical world where vaudevillian camp incorporates cowboy lore. His fast-paced show combines song, yodeling, humor, accordion, guitar, ukulele, and harmonica, with a keen knowledge of traditional western repertoire. Sourdough is joined by Robert Armstrong, who matches him hoot for hoot.

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Filmed in front of a live audience at the Western Folklife Center’s G Three Bar Theater in Elko, NV, on Feb. 2, 2023.

Made possible by 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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