Monday, February 12, 2024
Howdy everyone!
We are excited to introduce (or re-introduce) you to four thoughtful, talented cowboys who will headline our first-ever Thursday night show this week. Hailing from Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, this group will make it an evening to remember.
Jay was born and raised in southwest Oklahoma. His dad was a top roper and rodeo cowboy and his granddad was a brand inspector for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. He rodeoed throughout most of his early years and now stays busy raising ranch horses and cattle, and team roping. Jay continues to judge a few amateur rodeos around home and hosts annually the Invitational Rafter S Ranch Cowboy Reunion. Jay's cowboy poetry CD Of Horses and Men was named "Cowboy Poetry Recording of the Year" by the Academy of Western Artists for 2006. He was honored to receive the male "Cowboy Poet of the Year" by the Academy of Western Artists in 2008.
Cowboy Crossroads, episode 96 - Andy Hedges interviews Jay Snider in Dec., 2023
Rod Taylor, originally from Lubbock, Texas, has been playing music for more than 30 years, both as a solo artist and with regional bands, including The Rounders and currently The Rifters. He has performed at many cowboy music and poetry gatherings around the country. His combination of being well-versed in cowboy lore and in traditional western music, as well as being a working cowboy, allows him to bring an authenticity to the musical craft. As a young man, Rod intended to go to forestry school, but bought a saddle instead. He has worked at the Vermejo Park/WS, TO, UU Bar, and Little Horn Ranches. He also cowboyed on the Philmont Ranch where he was in charge of the cow herd. His artistic work also includes acting and he has been in film projects that include The Missing (directed by Ron Howard), the Stephen Frears film Hi - Lo Country, the "Angel Maker" episode of Lazarus Man, and other projects, from Tish Hinojosa' s CMT music video, to television commercials, to PBS documentaries. He is a Sage Award and Rounder Award recipient in addition to being a past AWA Nominee.
Cowboy Crossroads, episode 24 - Andy Hedges interviews Rod Taylor in 2017
Joel calls Alpine his home and point-of-reference. After growing up in Seymour, Texas, he has made his living, either directly or indirectly, with horses and cattle on outfits such as the King Ranch, o6 Ranch and Parker Ranch since college graduation. He began writing while serving with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam and has been a serious writer and reciter of traditional and free-verse poetry for twenty-five years. In 1999, the Mid-Northumberland Arts Group sponsored his poet-in-residency in England and in 2000 his CD The Breaker in the Pen earned a Grammy nomination in the Spoken Word category alongside notables such as Leonard Cohen, Jewel, and Tom Brokaw. He was the AWA male poet of the year in 2002 and he describes his poetry as being "the distilled product of the life he has led." Joel and his wife Sylvia work side by side managing the Anchor Ranch near Alpine where they raise Corriente cattle.
Cowboy Crossroads, episode 37 - Andy Hedges interviews Joel Nelson (part 1)
Cowboy Crossroads, episode 38 - Andy Hedges interviews Joel Nelson (part 2)
Cowboy Crossroads, episode 61 - Andy Hedges talks with Joel Nelson about his time in Vietnam
Chris Ryden has lived and performed across Texas and the West. He spent his childhood in San Antonio, cowboyed and packed in Wyoming, and calls Midland, Texas home with his wife and four children. After an 18-year hiatus from creative writing, Chris returned to the studio with a dozen originals to record in 2021. The album, titled In the Distant, is a vision of life, loss, love, and legacy across these lonely spaces west of the 100th meridian. He's happy to still be horseback with friends who share a passion for the rural west, its people, and our place among them. Chris continues to honor both traditional cowboy songs and western folk music from West Texas and Wyoming to California.
All the best,
Kay and Gene Nowell
Co-Chairs
Lone Star Cowboy Poetry Gathering
P.S. Get your tickets for this weekend (Feb. 15-17). See you this week in Alpine!
Lone Star Cowboy Poetry Gathering
February 2024
Board of Directors
Elizabeth Baize, Fort Davis
Robbie Burns, Alpine
Marian Freeland, Alpine
Bill Jones, East Tennessee
Karen Lloyd, Alexandria, VA
Karen McGuire, Alpine
Kay Nowell, Alpine
Gene Nowell, Alpine
Vess Quinlan, Alamosa, CO
David Richmond, Lindrith, NM
Chris Ryden, Midland, TX
Jim Street, Alpine
Parick Sullivan, Fairfax Station, VA
Event Producer
Bob Saul, Fort Worth
Film Production and Advisors to the Board
John and Erika Moore, Durango, CO
Advisors to the Board
Rachel Barrett, Alpine
Jim Goodnight, Dallas
Andy Hedges, Lubbock
Mailing address:
Lone Star Cowboy Poetry Gathering
P.O. Box 1076
Alpine, TX 79831
Website:
https://lonestarcowboypoetry.com
