Ernie Martinez

Ernie Martinez, a native of Denver, Colorado has been a part of the Colorado music scene for over 50 years. He is the current recipient of the 2023 International Western Music Association Curly Musgrave Award and the 2018 IWMA Instrumentalist of the year.

His outstanding and versatile pickin’ has been used on over 300 albums as well as stage performances with Jon Chandler; Carlos Washington’s Steel Horse Swing; Patty Clayton; Dustin Devine and the Real Deal; Americana band Dakota Blonde; and many more. Ernie is known for stepping in whenever needed. For 14 years, Ernie was part of the house band for Jon Chandler’s monthly show America Soul Live. As a teacher at Swallow Hill Music School in Denver for over 40 years he has taught guitar, mandolin, dobro, banjo, steel guitar, vocals, and vocal harmonies.

Ernie has recorded three solo albums: Bluerange combines his love of western and bluegrass music, his first album, Where I Make My Home, and a Christmas instrumental Sleigh Ridin’.  He co-produced San Miguel, songs written and performed by Junction 5-12, duo Ernie Martinez and Mary Gifford. Some of Ernie’s songs have been co-written with Baxter Black, Sandy Reay, Les Buffham, and Mary Gifford. His songs have been recorded by Bill Barwick and Yampa Valley Boys. He was inducted into the Colorado Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 2011. For more information on Ernie, go here.

Ernie will be part of our Friday night headline duo with Jon Chandler!

Kristyn Harris

Kristyn Harris, of Burleson, Texas, is the 5-time International Western Music Association Entertainer of the Year, and the youngest person to have received this honor. She is recognized for her powerful voice, swing rhythm guitar chops, songwriting, yodeling, and energetic stage presence, as well as the passion and authenticity that she puts into each performance.

Kristyn tours across the U.S. and internationally, both as a solo artist as well as with various band configurations. Outside of music, her time is spent with her herd of black angus cattle, working her newest colt, or trick riding.

Her latest album, “A Place to Land”, was recently named Outstanding Western Album by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. As one venue put it: “This bundle of energy and talent is ‘the rage’ on stage from the east coast to the west and if you can stay seated when she finishes her performance you’re prob’ly ‘bout ready for the grave!!”

Kristyn will be part of our Saturday headline duo with Hailey Sandoz!

Hailey Sandoz

Hailey Sandoz is a Texas-bred musician, following a less-trodden path among millennials. Her style is rooted in Western Swing, Jazz, Bluegrass and Celtic. This remarkable young artist captures the attention of audiences young and old through her dynamic performance and representation of Western Swing, “The Official Music of Texas.” Hailey is known for her exceptional fiddling, jazzy vocals, and creative arranging skills. While Western swing is her most fun wheelhouse, Hailey is at home playing Celtic, Country and anything in between. For the past 13 years, Hailey has traveled across the world performing at festivals and concert halls in the United States and abroad, including the Caribbean Islands and Equiblues Festival in France. At age 18, Hailey was hired full-time with Grammy-Award Winner, Bobby Flores and the Yellow Rose Band. Since then, Hailey has appeared with Bobby Flores on two seasons of the RFDTV series, TruCountry. Hailey has also been recognized for her achievements by being named the 2023, 2021, 2019 & 2017 International Western Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year, 2019 Cowtown Society of Western Music Rising Star of the Year, 2016 Academy of Western Artist Young Artist of the Year and 2015 International Western Music Association Crescendo Rising Star, as well as winning several fiddle competitions. This dynamite breaks the mold of tradition, offering America a new taste of its origins.

Hailey will be part of our Saturday night headline duo with Kristyn Harris!

Floyd and Valerie Beard

Floyd Beard and wife, Valerie, ranch in the canyons near Kim, Colorado where they run a cow/calf operation.   Floyd who has a gift to put words together that build a vivid picture in the reader/listeners’ minds has been writing and rhyming for over 40 years and is the 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2023, International Music Association’s Male Poet of the Year. His most recent CD, “Horse Tales and Cow Trails” won the IWMA’s 2021 Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year.  For more information go to: www.floydbeardcowboy.com or email him at febeard@yahoo.com or febeard22@gmail.com.

Valerie is a rancher’s wife, teacher, writer, crew cook, quilter, reader and Nana. She and her husband, Cowboy Poet Floyd Beard, live in Southeast Colorado and run cattle. She has been writing poetry for about eight years but thinking about it for her lifetime. Her first cowboy poetry CD, “No Better Life” was released in 2022 and won the International Western Music Association’s Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year in 2023. She was also named Female Poet of the Year in 2022 and 2023. www.valeriebeard.com

Nona Kelley Carver

Nona Kelley Carver is a native Coloradan, now retired from ranching at Mesa. Her experience shows in her work that she refers to as “fiction with a few facts thrown in.” Believing that reciting makes an author’s work come alive for the audience, Nona gives her best whether it is to a small group or at The National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration where she is a repeat performer. Her work has been published in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies. Her CDs and books of poetry are currently sold out.

Bill Clark

Bill Clark has a passion for true Country/Western Music. The kind that tells a story about life in the mountains, working hard, loving with all you have, and thanking God for it. A true Cowboy’s Life in Colorado.

He won Country/Western Album of the Year in 2016 from the NTCMA. In 2019, he won male vocalist at the CCMA, leading him to also win the song writer award at the NACMAI competition in Pigeon Forge, TN. Bill lives in the beautiful Plateau Valley in Colorado.

Mike Dunn

Mike’s extremely proud of his Arizona heritage going back to the 1800s. His personal experiences center along the eastside of the Whetstone Mountains, southwest of Benson where much of his Granddad’s ranch, the Rail “A” brand, is still in the family today. It was there he learned first hand what cowboy life was all about and cherishes those memories. He’s worked the ranch much of his life and, now part owner, spends as much time there as life allows.

Much of his original poetry, shared in the book entitled “Somewhere Between Earth and Heaven,” reflects his own experiences, along with the experiences and stories passed down – widely accepted as a tribute to the ranch family. The Academy of Western Artist named it as a recipient of the Will Rogers Medallion Award shortly after its publication; there are also two CDs (Volumes 1 & 2) by the same name.

Mike enjoys sharing stories in rhythmic form. Stories dealing with the joys and dreams, as well as the more serious, sad, and heart felt realities of cowboy life. Humorous, energetic, patriotic, solemn, simple, caring, wild, sad, daring, trusting, the list goes on, and the cowboy’s guilty of it all. His hope is to share a bit of that spirit in his writings and recitations.

Mike currently is living in San Tan Valley, Arizona with his wife Linda of 50 plus years. While there they spend much of their time helping to raise grandkids and training horses.

Allen and Jill Kirkham

Allen and Jill Kirkham are Academy of Western Artists (AWA) 2019 Western Group of the Year Award Winners, and 2019 Legends of Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees!

We are husband and wife Traditional Western Music performing artists from Custer, South Dakota. Allen and Jill are South Dakota Arts Council Touring Artist Grant Awardees, and South Dakota Humanities Scholars. We are 2019 Legends Of Dakota Country Music Hall Of Fame Inductees, 2019 Academy of Western Artists DUO-Group of the Year, 2015 Cowboy Idol Winners, and Four-time International Western Music Association (IWMA) Award Nominee Finalists. We feature singer-song writer Allen Kirkham on vocals, Cowboy yodels, guitar and mandolin, and Jill Kirkham on vocals, story teller, bass, and harmonica. Allen and Jill are celebrating their 45th Year of live concert performance in FY2025!

Allen and Jill are featured Western Music Artists at High Plains Western Heritage Center Cowboy Supper Shows in Spearfish SD, and were the feature Diamond Tours Dinner Shows for 5 seasons in Rapid City, South Dakota. We present Traditional Western-Cowboy Music supper shows, and a musical performance of “A History Of Traditional Western Music” at Western Heritage Centers, Museums, Historical Societies, National Parks, and State Parks throughout South Dakota, keeping our American Western Music Heritage alive for visitors to our state. Allen and Jill acted as extras in a Western Movie filmed in Custer and the Black Hills and released in summer 2022! We have also performed with chuckwagon dinner shows and stage shows throughout the Black Hills. We are weekly Radio Hosts-DJs on “Circuit Rider Roundup with Allen&Jill” on www.AmericanCowboyRadio.com and The Big 81, KBHB, 810AM Radio, Sturgis, South Dakota and were awarded IWMA 2023 Radio DJs and Radio Program of the Year!

Allen and Jill are members of the South Dakota Mounted US Marshals Posse providing mounted traffic control at major events in the Black Hills. Allen is retired Air Force and Army, with 34 years of military service, and a retired Worship Pastor. Jill is a National Award winning professional musician, artist and photographer, and retired High School teacher and golf coach. www.allenandjill.com

Peggy Malone

“Pickin’ Peggy” Malone, a local favorite, is the 2016 Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame Female Vocalist of the year and Entertainer of the year 2013. Her song, Singin’ A Cowboy Song won an Emmy for Performer/Songwriter 2001 in the PBS Special, A Night At The Rodeo. Her song, Appaloosa, is the official APHC Club Song. She was inducted into the Colorado Country Music Association Hall of Fame on August 20, 2006 and was named the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame Legend of Legends Female Vocalist in 2015. Recently, Peggy was awarded Western Female Vocalist of the year by the AWA (Academy of Western Artists)! In addition to various cowboy gatherings, Peggy performs at local senior homes and it brings her much joy. No doubt the joy is felt by the seniors as well.

Terry Nash

Terry Nash is one of the most sought-out poets around, due to his creative ability to put words together and deliver them in a captivating way.

A beef producer from Loma, Colorado, Terry knows what he’s talking about and he knows how to draw you into his stories. His tales are of the West not seen from an interstate or from the bleachers at a rodeo. He lives the life he writes about, and he’s a master at showing it to you. And he’ll grill you a darn good mountain-raised steak!

In 2018, he won the International Western Music Association award for Male Poet of the Year, plus CD of the year for his latest, “A Good Ride.” In 2021 Terry was awarded an IWMA “Special Achievement award for the book “Four Aces and A Queen.”

Terry performs in gatherings from Alpine to Elko, Abilene to Prescott, and all points between. He does private performances and banquet speaking and loves to emcee any event.

Find out more here.

Dale Page

Dale Page was born and raised in Oklahoma City, OK. While attending Oklahoma State University, he worked as a horseshoer, bull rider, stable manager, and on the movie set of The Cheyenne Social Club. Page majored in English, but after graduation in 1970, worked as the farm and ranch reporter for the Amarillo Globe News. His feature articles have appeared in the Quarter Horse Journal, The Western Horseman, The Western Livestock Journal, and Persimmon Hill.

Combining his learned appreciation of poetry with his experiences riding and packing in the Rocky Mountains, he began writing cowboy poetry in the mid 1970s. He writes mostly narrative poems and inserts both real and fictional characters into plots taken from actual experiences or created story lines.

• 2008: Best Overall Performer, Oklahoma Cowboy Poetry and Songs in Stillwater.
• 2010: First Place in Serious Poetry, Rising Star Division, at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo in Montrose, CO.
• 2015 Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year by the Western Music Association for his collection of original poems, Once We Were Kings.
• 2021 Special Achievement Award by the International Western Music Association for Four Aces and a Queen, the collected works of five poets.

Miska Paget

Miska has been a large animal veterinarian for 25 years. Her career and passion for livestock and the western way of life inspires her poetry. Her kind, thoughtful bedside manner is reflected with whimsy and heart in her writings about her patients, their owners and how they touch her soul. Her debut poetry album, “The Best Horses In Heaven, They Have No Tail,” was awarded 2022 Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year by the International Western Music Association.

The Russellers

Dennis and Bev

Dennis Russell, poet and songwriter, and Beverly Gray Russell, instrumentalist and best known for her musical saw. They share their original music and poetry that depict their ranching lifestyle on the beautiful Huerfano River in Southern Colorado as well as covering traditional stories and songs at campfires, gatherings and house concerts in family friendly entertainment. Dennis is Founder of the Cimarron Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering and happy to be the emcee of any western event. You can often find Beverly showing kids, parents, and grand parents alike how her magical musical saw works.

Find out more here.

Rocky Sullivan 

​Rocky Sullivan was born and raised in Kansas in a ranching and farming family, he has cowboyed in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. He’s been a dude wrangler, a chuckwagon cook, camp cook and hunting guide. Rocky is an award winning cowboy poet and storyteller, having won both serious and humorous categories in the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo 4 out of 5 years in a row with both original and classic poems. Rocky has proudly shared stages with some of the countries best cowboy poets and has shared his poetry across the west from Kansas to California. His mother named him Brian, but he was given the name Rocky at birth and it stuck. He likes to say, “I’m an Irish cowboy with the initials BS, if that tells you anything.” As a western history buff, Rocky loves reading about and traveling the west and meeting all the colorful western people which is where he gets a lot of his inspiration. As a man of God, Rocky has written a number spirituals and had the honor of having a couple put to music by gospel groups, he gives all credit to his Creator. His biggest fan and partner, Karen, have enjoyed doing living history/reenactment with an award winning troupe and entertaining folks with their dutch oven cooking. After much ado and haranguing from friends and fellow poets, he finally put out his first CD, “Old West Memories” this year. We look forward to entertaining at the Western Slope Cowboy Poetry Gathering.