Check out other Western performers

Ok, you've got Wayne's comments about Western Music and Cowboy Poetry to help you understand what's going on out here. I'm now going to add mine.

Many of us have lost interest in todays "Country" music. I know that I almost never listen to a Country station anymore. I can't tell who is singing as they all sound alike to me. The songs all sound poorly written with ludicrous lyrics, disjointed music and what I would call a "soft rock" style. anyone remember Fleetwood Mac? Abba? America? Those are all soft rock groups from the 70s and that's what todays country music sounds like to me...only not as entertaining.

"Western" music now...songs about the cowboy and the west, its history and current events. Folk music with a Cowboy flavor in the tradition of Marty Robbins and Eddy Arnold or the Sons of the Pioneers.

And there are many great performers who are doing very well with this style. Michael Martin Murphy and Ian Tyson are probably the most well known with a big bunch rapidly catching up with them. Three organizations are of note here. The Western Music Association, the Academy of Western Artists and the Cowboy Poets of Idaho. Each of these has been growing steadily over the years with members throughout the US and Canada. A look at the members of any of these organizations shows you the best of the best in Western Music and Cowboy Poetry. Many performers who should be household names.

The music I hear from these folks is far more entertaining than anything in the Nashville accepted lists. If more people heard what we are doing out here, then our style would rapidly overtake and surpass the Nashville music poularity. That's exactly why it's so hard to get our music heard on the radio. Unless it's on Nashville's top-40 list, music desn't get played. Drop in your local radio station and ask them about playing music from local artists. You'll get smiles and handshakes; they'll accept your CDs and then use them for Christmas tree decorations or something.

A few, mostly independent, stations are playing our stuff and they are getting a great response from it. The best example I know of is KRLC radio in Lewiston, Idaho which has had a great increase in listeners since they instituted a weekly program of western music.

At www.cowboyentertainer.com you can find more information about this subject; music from some of our performers and contact info for the major performers organizations noted here. Check us out. Go to a Wetern Music or Cowboy Poetry gathering or show if one turns up in your area. You'll have a lot of fun and you'll find yourself whistling a whole bunch of "new" tunes!