Benefit for Old West Museum features Neal McCoy

Neal McCoy

The Old West Museum continues its partnership with the Outlaw Saloon in Cheyenne for a benefit concert on Saturday June 25, by Neal McCoy.  Tickets are $20.00 in advance and $25.00 the day of the show.  To buy tickets or for more information, visit www.oldwestmuseum.org or call (307)635-7552 or (307)778-7290.

Neal McCoy has 3 platinum albums and 1 gold album with such chart toppers as Wink, No Doubt About It, The Shake and Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On.  McCoy has just released a new inspirational book entitled New Mountain to Climb.  For more information on Neal McCoy visit his web-site at www.nealmccoy.com.

Proceeds benefit the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum’s rotating exhibits, year-round children’s and educational programs, art shows and our collection of over 75,000 artifacts.

Music legend Leon Russell performs in Sheridan Aug. 14

On Sunday, Aug. 14, 8 p.m., music legend Leon Russell performs at the WYO Theater in Sheridan. Tickets are $32 for adults, $30 seniors and military and $20 students.

Now's your chance to see the music legend, Leon Russell LIVE at the WYO Theater! You definitely don't want to miss this opportunity experience by perhaps the most accomplished and versatile musician in the history of rock 'n roll. In his distinguished and unique 50 year career, Russell has played on, arranged, written and/or produced pop, rock, blues, country, bluegrass, standards, gospel, and surf records. As a session musician, arranger, producer, singer, songwriter, pianist, guitarist, record company owner, bandleader, and touring musician, he has collaborated with hundreds of artists, including Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Bruce Hornsby, B.B. King, Barbra Streisand, Ike & Tina Turner, Herb Alpert, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Ann-Margret, Dean Martin, Marvin Gaye, Dave Mason, Steve Winwood, and groups such as The Monkees, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Rolling Stones, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Everly Brothers, The Righteous Brothers, and more...He most recently toured and appeared on Saturday Night Live with Elton John. The guy's just plain cool.

FMI: www.leonrussellrecords.com 

WY Musician spotlight: Jessica Camilla O'Neal

Believe it or not -- Wyomingarts does not know every single artist, performer and writer in the state.

At least once weekly, Wyomingarts is contacted by someone returning to Wyoming or moving here from some other exotic locale such as Colorado or Idaho.

So we share the wealth:

Jessica Camilla O'Neal a musician, singer, teacher and song writer born and raised on a dude ranch in Moran. She spent her youth helping out at the ranch and performing in plays at the Jackson Hole Playhouse. . 

She recently finished her first original solo album, and has had several recording contracts out of Nashville. Her original music is western “with a fresh mountain flare,” she says. “I like to think of it as Rocky Mountain music.”

She has opened for acts such as Reba McEntire, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Terrri Clark and Marie Osmond. Last summer, she was the featured artist of “Women Of Jackson Hole,” also the featured artist of The Western Design Conference.

She has traveled Asia as an ambassador for the United States teaching mountain communities in Kyrgystan about western heritage through music and horsemanship. I have taught the spring drama program at Jackson Hole High School for the last seven years. She also teaches voice and piano lessons.

She concludes: “My vision, passion, and dream for my life is to create, write and perform music in this amazing state we call home.”

She is available for performing gigs this summer.

What are you waiting for? Send her an e-mail or look her up at her web site at www.camillaoneal.com

Jared Rogerson holds CD release party March 11 at the Rock Rabbit in Pinedale

From musician Jared Rogerson:

After much preparation, the new album "Peace, Love and Horses" was released on Tuesday March 8. On Friday, March 11, we will host a CD Release Party at Rock Rabbit in Pinedale, Wyoming. Admission is free and everyone is invited. I will be perfroming live with a 5-piece band followed by special opening guests, Gelene Cox, and Michelle Humber and Nate Curry. CDs will be on sale for $15 the night of the show. We will also will be giving away free CDs, as well. I hope to see you there.

I am so happy about the new recordings, but the key is getting those songs out there for everyone to hear. So, I would also like to announce that I now share a booking agent with western singer/songwriter Brenn Hill. His name is Charlie Parker and he is a great guy. He has been busy trying to fill up my calendar with performances throughout the West in 2011. I am now available to perform as a solo, duo, trio, or band. If you know of dates I ought play at, PLEASE let me or Charlie know. I'm determined to put a lot of miles on and make 2011 the biggest year ever. I really need your help spreading the word.

We recently launched an all new website at www.jaredrogerson.com. Song snipets can be sampled on the home page. I hope you spend some time there and I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the new site. If you like what you see, please send the website link to everyone you can think of. And- don't forget to show your support by clicking "like" on my facebook musician page if you haven't already.

Here's Jared's partial traveling schedule:

MARCH 3/11: Record release show at Rock Rabbit
Pinedale, WY

APRIL 4/29 & 4/30: Montana Storytelling Roundup
Cut Bank, MT

JUNE 6/18: Summerfest Arts Fair
Logan, UT

AUGUST 8/6: Concert
Layton, UT
AUGUST 8/10 - 8/13: Madison County Fair & Rodeo
Twin Bridges, MT
OCTOBER 10/7 & 10/8: Nebraska Cowboy Poetry GatheringValentine, NE

NOVEMBER 11/26: Columbia Gorge Cowboy Gathering
Dalles, OR

Cam-Plex features Willie Nelson & Family April 20

http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=21612&schedule=list

"Wild West Month" at Children's Museum of Denver

In conjunction with the National Western Stock Show, January is “Wild West Month” at the Children's Museum of Denver

Here’s some info:

Saddle up and ride on down to the Museum to join in on Wild West activities and events all month long. The Children's Museum of Denver is stepping back in time to the ol' Wild West where they'll explore what life was like way back when! Yeehaw!

Pinedale's Andy Nelson performs Jan. 21-22 at 22nd annual Colorado Cowboy Gathering

At least one Wyoming cowboy poet and musician, Andy Nelson, is in the line-up for the 22nd annual Colorado Cowboy Gathering Jan. 21-22 at the Ranum Auditorium Theater, at 2401 W. 80th Ave., in the Denver area. It's held in conjunction with the National Western Stock Show:

The gathering kicks off with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 with Riders in the Sky, with Carol Heuchan, Liz Masterson and Andy Nelson.

The Jan. 22 poetry sessions are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featured poets and musicians include Jon Chandler, Deb Carpenter-Nolting, Doris Daley, Mark Gardner & Rex Rideout, Carol Heuchan, Susie Knight, Liz Masterson, Al "Doc" Mehl, Andy Nelson, Tim Nolting, John Schaffner, Milton Taylor, Pop Wagner, Barry Ward and the Yampa Valley Boys.

The Saturday night show features Waddie Mitchell with Jon Chandler and Doris Daley.

Concert tickets range from $25 to $49, and admission for daytime poetry is $15.

Tickets are available at ColoradoCowboyGathering.com.

Hank Cramer performs at BBHC July 5-9

From the BBHC in Cody:

Versatile entertainer Hank Cramer brings his talents to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center July 5-9 with three daily performances of cowboy music, 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. in the Coe Auditorium. The shows are included with the price of regular admission to the Historical Center.

Cramer is known for his booming bass voice, a wry sense of humor, and his smooth picking on a vintage flat-top guitar. A folksinger whose broad repertoire includes original, traditional, and contemporary music, Cramer performs everything from cowboy songs and folk ballads to Celtic airs, fishing tunes, and sea shanties. Among other occupations, he’s worked as an underground miner, a radio deejay, a professional soldier, a wrangler for a high-country outfitter, a “shanty-man” on a sailing ship, and a world traveler, and his varied experiences lend authenticity to his music.

Now based in Washington state, Cramer was born in North Carolina and started singing and performing while still in high school. He pursued music as a hobby through college as well as during his active military career as an army officer, paratrooper, and Green Beret. He left active military service in 1990 but returned to serve as a Senior Military Advisor to the Afghan army in 2004. He retired from the army as a lieutenant colonel after 28 years of service, and now enjoys a full-time music career.

Cramer has won awards for his music: Heartland Public Radio named his rendition of My Sweet Wyoming Home the fifth best cowboy song of 2007, and Northwest Public Radio chose his Songs from Maurie’s Porch CD as one of the top ten folk albums for 2006. Cramer’s most recent album, titled Loosely Celtic, was released in December 2009 and joins his nearly 20 other offerings.

Cramer’s appearance at the Historical Center is funded in part through a private donation. For more information on him, his music, and his performance schedule, visit to Cramer’s Web site at http://www.hankcramer.com/. Information on the Historical Center and its programs can be found at http://www.bbhc.org/.

Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center weaves the varied threads of the western experience—history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms technology and the nature of Yellowstone—into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is now operating its summer schedule, open daily 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. For general information, call 307.587.4771 or visit http://www.bbhc.org/.

Sound Check Music Festival in Pinedale 6/26

From the Pinedale Fine Arts Council:

The Pinedale Fine Arts Council presents the third annual Sound Check Music Festival on Saturday, June 26 beginning at 5 p.m. in the American Legion Park in Pinedale. The concert is free (donations greatly appreciated) and will feature The Lonesome Heroes from Austin, TX as headliners. Rounding out the bill this year will be Leo Rondeau also from Austin, TX and local alt-country band The Tie Hacks will open things up. Don’t forget to bring a chair, cooler, sunscreen and shades and enjoy a great summer evening listening to three great bands!

Proclaimed as "rewriting the rules of alt country" by the Austin Chronicle, The Lonesome Heroes have emerged as a singular talent out of Austin's music scene. Songwriters Rich Russell and Landry McMeans founded the Heroes in 2005, and the pair has cultivated their New York and Texan roots into a unique sound that unites Indie Rock, Folk, and Country. The Heroes' songs evoke a Western Americana landscape littered with broken hearts, abandoned shopping malls, and crooked highways. Their lyrics have been hailed as rivaling "the best in the country world" (Smother Magazine.) Yet their sound reaches beyond the Country moniker. The Lonesome Heroes will be performing as a 5-piece band for the June 26 performance.

Originally from North Dakota, Leo Rondeau now calls Austin home and pulls his languid drawl across country ballads braced by banjo and steel, the caustic crack of his voice cut with an ornery attitude. Rondeau’s impressive songwriting drifts through easy honky-tonk anthems and supple, aching, country waltzes all the while mixing traditional country and bluegrass with storytelling inspired by Rondeau’s upbringing in the Turtle Mountains. Rondeau will be joined by his traveling band for the June 26 performance.

Pinedale’s The Tie Hacks, featuring members of the Science Rockets, play a refreshing blend of alt-country and Americana music complete with harmonies and vocal trade-offs. Fronted by local singer songwriters John Fogerty, Jason Burton, Terry Hill and Michelle Humber The Tie Hacks recently took first place in initial voting for the Targhee Music Fest Battle of the Bands Contests earlier this spring.

The now annual Sound Check was first conceived two years ago by the Pinedale Fine Arts Council as a means of testing the new sound system they purchased with grant money from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. The Town of Pinedale, Sublette County Recreation Board and the Sublette County Joint Tourism Promotion Board also helped support this event.

FMI: www.pinedalefinearts.com or call 307.367.7322.

Chris LeDoux Memorial Park dedication set for June 18-19 in Kaycee

From the Wyoming Travel & Tourism web site:

Celebrate one of Wyoming's cowboy legends at the dedication of the Chris LeDoux Memorial Park in Kaycee. Weekend includes bronc riding and music, just as Chris would have wanted it.

Schedule of events:

June 18
7 p.m. Match Bronco Riding at Harold Jarrard Park with John Forbes and Beau LeDoux

June 19
8:00 a.m. Street Closure and Bronze sale table opens
10:00 a.m. Horse drawn wagon rides from parking areas
1:00 -3:00 p.m. Free food, beer and videos downtown
3:00 p.m. Dedication Begins
Bob Price K2 Radio - Emcee
Mike Thomas
Western Underground
Mark Sissell
Other Speakers
Wine Toasting
Closing with Peggy Ledoux
4:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Music by Western Underground
6:30 p.m.
Cash Bar opens
7:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Music by Chancy Williams and the Younger Brothers

FMI: http://www.kayceewyoming.org/LeDoux-dedication-detail.html

Miss "V" hits road for California gigs

Miss "V" the Gypsy Cowbelle, a WAC roster artist from Cora, sends word about an upcoming road trip:

I'll be playing at two libraries in Eureka and Arcada, CA, June 9 and 10 at at 6:30 p.m. doing kids' programs, and one at Hoedown in Eureka (Six Rivers Brewery) for adults on June 12 at noon. Then I'll be at the International House and Faculty Club at University of California at Berkeley on June 16-17. I'll be performing originals and western history for foreign students, then cowboy tunes for the Facullty Club Southwest BBQ.

I'll be working on recording my next CD (which you'll hear about when grant season rolls around!!) at a mountain biker bar for Father's Day, June 16. I hope to be up to Spokane, WA, for a couple shows before closing the tour in Peoa, UT on July 2 (6:30 p.m. at Woodenshoe Park) as part of the Mountaintown Music Summer Concert Series. The "Dandelion Wine" documentary with the Western Folklife Center will immediately follow.

The digstation web site has decribed V's music as “Cowbilly music, integrating the tones of free-spirited-troubadour folk, Old- Nashville-classic country, dusty-trail-round-the-campfire cowboy and old-timey-Appalachian stomp, sure to make you laugh, cry, ponder and dance.”

Smile when you recite that, pardner

FMI: http://www.cowboypoetry.com/artspurcpw10.htm

Sound Check 3 June 26 in Pinedale

From the Pinedale Fine Arts Council:

PINEDALE FINE ARTS COUNCIL'S SOUND CHECK 3 with LONESOME HEROES, LEO RONDEAU & THE SCIENCE ROCKETS

Saturday, June 26, 5 p.m. Free. At American Legion Park in Pinedale

It's that time of the year again. The Pinedale Fine Arts Council will be presenting the third annual Sound Check outdoor music fest on June 26 in the American Legion Park (5 p.m., free) in Pinedale. Sound Check was first conceived three years ago following PFAC's purchase of a new sound system via grant monies from the Wyoming Cultural Trust. The inagural event was a hit as Jackson's Aaron Davis headlined a great show with great weather. Last year's event was headlined by the Jalan Crossland Band.

This year, PFAC has booked Austin's The Lonesome Heroes as our headliners, Austin's Leo Rondeau playing middle and local alt-country rockers The Science Rockets will open things up. This is sure to be the music event of the summer so mark the date on the calendar, dust off your cooler and camp chairs and come listen to some great music!

Watch latest vid from Lonesome Heroes at http://vimeo.com/7974902

Pair of Wyoming Arts Council roster artists on stage in Elko Jan. 23-30

Two Wyoming Arts Council roster artists will be performing at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering Jan. 23-30 at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. They are Miss V the Gypsy Cowbelle from Cora and Andy Nelson from Pinedale. Coincidentally, they are both Sublette County residents.

Here's some bio info on them:


Andy Nelson is a second-generation farrier who was raised in Oakley, Idaho, and traveled with his father on farrier jobs throughout the Great Basin until he went off to college. He's released one book and three CDs of his poetry and humor. With his brother Jim, Andy co-hosts the award-winning, weekly syndicated radio show "Clear Out West (C.O.W.) Radio." In 2004 Andy was named the Western Music Association's Male Poet of the Year, and for 2009, Andy was awarded the Skinny Rowland Humor Award by the Academy of Western Artists. Andy now lives in Pinedale, Wyoming, where among other things, he and his wife Jaclyn raise horses and children. Visit http://www.cowpokepoet.com/


Miss "V" the Gypsy Cowbelle has lived on a remote ranch in Wyoming for the past 13 years, honing her homesteader skills such as haying and logging with horses, sewing clothes and tack on treadle machines, building saddles and her signature "plank" banjos with hand tools, hunting and canning elk, grocery shopping once a year, concocting herbal remedies and dandelion wine, running pack strings and helping her neighbors trail cattle through the Rocky Mountains. Miss “V” has self-produced four CDs and is currently listed on the Wyoming Arts Council Artist Roster.

You can bring either of these performers to your community through a WAC Arts Across Wyoming grant. For more info, go to the WAC web site at http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/ and click on "grants" on the left sidebar.