Michael Grande

                                    
   Michael Grande is a phenomenal guitarist, known for his five-finger picking technique, guitar flourishes, a soft gentle voice which can become deep and rough, depending on the song, and  great rapport with his audiences. His repertoire includes: Western ballads, Flamenco, instrumentals, folk, pop, and devotional songs. Much of what he plays are his own compositions.
                                                                                                              
   Michael Grande grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from high school, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1969, at the Woodstock Festival, Michael and a few other musicians were sitting in the shade of a large tree, playing their guitars and singing. When Michael began to play, Richie Havens heard him, and stopped to talk with him. That chance meeting led to Grande signing with Havens' management company, then touring the world with Havens for the next 3-1/2 years. On Michael's CD, Hey Friend, Richie Havens wrote, "Michael is one of the finest and most inspiring artists I have shared the stage with." In addition to Richie Havens, Grande has opened for, and shared the stage with other well-known artists including: Canned Heat, John Lee Hooker, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Jose Feliciano, Van Morrison, Argent, and many others.  

    Michael Grande has performed at major venues all over the world. In the United States, these include: Carnegie Hall, Central Park, Troubadours, the Twilight Series at Tanglewood, MA, The Forum Theater in Thousand Oaks, CA, The John Coltrane Jazz Festival, Wilshire Ebell Theatre, LA, CA, Country Thunder, Apache Junction, AZ.  In 2010, Grande's song, Horses For Heroes was featured at the International Horse Show, held at the Verizon Center (Now the Capital One Arena.) in Washington, D.C., before a crowd of over twenty thousand people, as superbly well-trained horses, with disabled soldiers mounted on them, circled the arena. The performance received a standing ovation from the spectators.        

   If you happen to be searching for gentle, soft, easy-listening songs, be there when Grande performs a song called Joy. Beautiful and elegant, it's one of his most requested songs. From Beacon records comes the most perfect description of Michael Grande: "He combines the intensity of Richie Havens with the rich mellow voice of Harry Chapin; Throw in a touch of Flamenco guitar, and that describes this modern day troubadour." But whatever he plays and sings, his concerts are a masterful mixture of music, and his stories about growing up in Brooklyn, New York can make you cry, then laugh so hard your stomach hurts! Don't miss this one!




Click here to go to the artists website

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

The theme for Dolan's show's this weekend is "Awesome America"

Arizona is a land of amazing landscapes, fascinating history, interesting and unusual people, and mysterious legends. No one knows this awesome state better than Dolan Ellis, "Arizona's Official State Balladeer." With a lifetime of exploring Arizona, Dolan brings those experiences to his audiences this weekend at the Arizona Folklore Preserve through his original ballads and photography.  Come, listen, look and learn, as Dolan Ellis takes you on his magical journey around "Awesome Arizona."

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses.  The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy.
​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

Simple Gifts - The Sawyer Family


Four Sawyers, fabulous fiddles, tight harmony, great guitar, sizzling mandolin, and hot trumpet all combine to give life to this exciting group - Simple Gifts - The Sawyer Family Band. Fresh, new talent is intertwined with music that has crossed generations.  

Lead by David Sawyer with a finger picking guitar style that has been noted by guitar greats.  He has toured Japan and Europe playing bass and guitar and provides the solid foundation for his family.  You might also know him as Guy With the Guitar combining his unique artwork and acoustic guitar playing.  

Leah, current National Twin Fiddle Champion and 2017 Texas State Fiddle Champion in the freshman division, adds her fiddle playing and vocals to the group.  

Young David is the reigning Crescendo Award Winner (Rising Star) with the International Western Music Association.  His addition of mandolin and trumpet inspire this band to swing.  

Kathy’s experience with the international, musical group Up With People in combination with her years of public speaking provides the heartbeat of the band connecting the audience to these gifted musicians.  

The special chemistry this family brings to the stage will draw you into their Western Swing, Cowboy Tunes, Gospel Songs and original music.  Simple Gifts will provide a thrilling show while encouraging you to think about the special gift you might have to share.
 




Click here to go to the artists website

Cadillac Mountain

Formed in 2002, Cadillac Mountain is a Tucson based bluegrass band. Featuring Katy Carr holding down the upright bass and keeping us all on time for 12 years; Heather Hardy, a highly respected blues musician on violin and vocals, bringing her amazing style and love for the music for over 12 years. Rudy Cortese, championship winning banjoman and superb singer has been here for all 15 years, co-founding the band with Joel Leland. Joel has been playing guitar and singing in the Tucson area for over 20 years. Having long-standing weekly gigs at several Tucson watering holes, Cadillac Mountain has built a loyal following throughout southern Arizona. Known for driving, high-energy musicianship and outstanding vocals over a wide range of material, Cadillac Mountain’s deep respect for the roots of bluegrass music shine through in every tune.




Click here to go to the artists website

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

This weekend Dolan Ellis will have a unique selection of songs to share in keeping with the holiday season. Among them are sure to be some of Dolan’s original songs reflecting the Christmas season presented with that special Arizona flavor, such as “Cowboy’s (Christmas) Vision” and “Arizona Christmas” (“Cactus and Christmas Trees”). And, of course, you’ll hear about “Scrubby,” a cedar tree growing in the median of I-17, north of Phoenix and just south of exit #256. Christmas elves have been decorating this humble tree for the holidays for more than 30 years. “Scrubby” has gained world-wide fame as a symbol of the Christmas spirit flourishing in a most unexpected place.

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses.  The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy.
​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

Titan Valley Warheads

(From ssbluegrass.com) Titan Valley is a five piece bluegrass band from Tucson, Arizona. Formed in 1981, the band has performed throughout Arizona and the southwest playing a blend of bluegrass, western, western swing and old time country music. Known for their tight harmonies and instrumental skills Titan Valley has been voted Best Bluegrass Band by the Tucson Area Music Awards, won the prestigious “Best Band” title at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and performed for appreciative crowds at festivals, concerts and both private and corporate events.The band currently consists of Gary Kuitert (mandolin), Earl Edmonson (guitar), Ed Davenport (bass), Andy McCune (banjo) and Tom Rhodes (fiddle).

Click here to go to their page on ssbluegrass.com. Click the link at the bottom of the page for a sample of their music.


Click here to go to the artists website

Ronstadt Brothers

Ronstadt Brothers continue a musical tradition passed from generation to generation in the Ronstadt family. Michael Gilbert and Peter Dalton, Ronstadt Brothers, represent five generations of the family’s musical traditions in North America. Along with multi-fascited drummer Aaron Emery, they present a new and fresh take on the traditional Southwestern and Mexican songs of their family’s heritage while offering innovative original material to all ages discovering the treasure of roots music. An aural illustration of inception to creation, this musical journey will take you from the past to the present steeped in the Americana vein.  Carrying forward a sound closely tied in its infancy to their aunt Linda and their father Michael, join the Ronstadt Brothers on their journey through the Post-Modern American West.

Click here for a YouTube video of them performing Prelude to a Highlife at the Hotel Congress on 5.13.17
Click here for a YouTube video of them performing Valley of Our Kin at the Hotel Congress on 5.13.17

Click here to go to the artists website

The Cowboy Way

The Cowboy Way is a trio of award winning musicians from New Mexico. Their family friendly shows feature tight harmonies, high energy and smoking instrumentals. These prolific songwriters take you on the ride of a lifetime as they honor the traditional cowboy songs and bowl you over with a dynamic cover of a southern rock tune. The Cowboy Way presents professional , crowd pleasing entertainment sure to fit right in with your festival, concert, educational or corporate event.

The Cowboy Way is:
JIM JONES: Academy of Western Artists 2016 Western Song of the Year; Western Music Association 2014 Male Performer of the Year; Western Writers of America Spur Award 2013 Western Song of the Year; NM Music Awards 2009 Western Song of the Year.

DOUG FIGGS: Academy of Western Artists 2016 Male Vocalist of the Year; Western Music Association 2015 Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year; Academy of Western Artists Western Song of the Year 2014; Western Writers of America Spur Award 2015 Song of the Year.

MARIAM: Western Music Association 2015 Finalist Instrumentalist of the Year; Multiinstrumentalist, diverse session player, awardwinning arranger and producer.

Their debut CD, The Cowboy Way, was awarded the 2017 Western Heritage Wrangler Award for Best Traditional Western Album. Additionally, a song from the CD, Halfway Down the Devil's Road, co-written by Jim Jones and Allan Chapman, received the Western Writers of America 2017 Spur Award for Best Western Song.

Click here for a video of them performing Halfway Down the Devil's Road.
Click here to go to their websites music page to listen to samples of their songs.

Click here to go to the artists website

Wall-Eyed Moles

The Wall-Eyed Moles are Victor (Jeanne Cahill), Vance (Jerome Campbell), and Vivian (Jon Messenger). The band presents an eclectic blend of Americana with roots in Western, Western Swing, Country, Bluegrass, Folk and Jazz. If they can play it they will.

Their music is heartfelt and delivered with gusto that never fails to please their audiences. Their love of music and the enthusiasm they bring to their performances is infectious and their skills and experience brought together manifest with a gift for storytelling with a broad musical pallet.

Jeanne was named as the 2016 Instrumentalist Of The Year by the Western Music Association, an honor which she also won in 2008 and 2015. She holds a Master's Degree in music theory, and studied guitar with the immortal Eldon Shamblin, and worked with Leon McAuliffe, both pioneers of Western Swing as members of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. Jeanne is the real deal with the goods to prove it and she is a
direct link to the very roots of Western Swing. She writes, she sings lead and harmony with beauty feeling, and precision.

Jerome Campbell holds the 2006 first place trophy for the prestigious Merle Travis Finger-Picking Contest, held annually in Mountain View, Arkansas. A highly accomplished guitar player, Jerome blends the stylings of Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and countless other influences into a style all his own. He is an accomplished harmony singer and is wonderful entertainer whose generous spirit and good humor touch all the folks he meets.

Jeanne and Jerome played together as Call of the West, based in Oklahoma for a little more than the past twenty-six years. They have been consistent competitors for the Duo of the Year award from the Western Music Association, and Jerome has regularly been in competition with Jeanne as nominee for WMA Instrumentalist of the Year.

This dynamic duo met their good friend and fellow Wall-Eyed Mole Jon Messenger in 1999 and the three have made music together at every opportunity since, eventually morphing into the current configuration as the Wall-Eyed Moles.

Jon is a singer-songwriter of some accomplishment. Many feel that he has written some of the most beautiful and moving songs of the American West. His background and musical influences are broad and eclectic, and his collaboration with Jeanne and Jerome have contributed greatly to his evolution as a gifted entertainer.

Exquisite harmony. Innovative musicianship. Joyful entertainment. These three musicians have been digging through the roots of American music like little musical moles all of their lives and the pursuit of tunes and the rigors of the road have left them wall-eyed from the effort. They revel in the opportunity to engage willing audiences and look forward to the best years of a wonder-filled life in music.

Click here to see a YouTube video of them playing 'Me and The Eagle' at the AFP.
Click here to listen to them performing 'The Bandit Joaquin.

Notable Exceptions

Jennifer Epps and Judy Coder are Notable Exceptions, the Western Music Association's 2015 Harmony Duo of the Year.  These two originally met at annual gatherings of the Western Music Association in Albuquerque, NM.  Judy was there with a cowgirl band from KS, and Jennifer was there with a cowgirl band from WA.  They'd stay up until the wee hours, jamming and harmonizing with some of the best in Western music.  In 2014 Judy was invited to tour Canada with Horse Crazy Cowgirl Band, performing alongside Jennifer and the band's founding member, Lauralee Northcott; she relocated from KS to WA a few months later to become the band's permanent rhythm guitar player.  The duo formed shortly afterward.  Nowadays, the duo spends most of the year on tour.

Their debut CD, "New Day", was released in October of 2015; a second release is planned for the fall of 2017.  Their current road schedule includes a summer of shows throughout the Northwest, and a five-month winter tour in the Southwest. 

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses.  The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy.
​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

Lex Browning

Lex Browning - Mamma Coal
and special guest Alvin Blaine

Mamma Coal

Carra “Mamma Coal” Stasney was born and raised near Detroit MI and recently transplanted to Tucson after living in Portland OR for twelve years. Carra is a singer-songwriter steeped in the traditional sounds of country and roots music. She has been playing and writing for over twenty years. Whether leading a six piece band, or playing a solo set, she brings her full soul and spirit to each song.

Carra cut her country music teeth by playing in several classic country cover bands, singing songs by her heroes like Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Loretta Lynn. She also had the opportunity to regularly sing June Carter’s parts with a Johnny Cash tribute band. A committed songwriter, she’s released four albums of original music, two as band leader with American Cosmos and Copper & Coal, and two solo efforts. Her last album Raven Haired Vixen was inspired by Willie Nelson’s album Red Headed Stranger. Saving Country Music writer Kyle Coroneos wrote of the album, "Mamma Coal has made an answer to Red Headed Stranger from a strong female point of view, and in a way that both rises to the challenge, honors the original effort, and perhaps most importantly, highlights her gifts to music as a singer and songwriter." You can hear it on Spotify, Amazon and Youtube.

Carra’s musical accomplishments of note include seeing her lyrics printed in American Songwriter magazine and having Copper & Coal’s album, which featured 7 of her original songs, make it to #1 on the Freeform American Roots chart in 2014. She has two children, ages five and two, and earned the nickname “Mamma Coal” from Copper & Coal’s drummer after her first born arrived. She has been enjoying a very warm welcome from the musicians and music fans around Tucson and hopes to record another album soon.

Keep an eye out for her children’s music project “Kids’ Country,” which features fiddle, banjo, electric guitar and harmony vocals. Country music for kids and families including original songs about fun stuff like javelinas, monsoon season, and potty training!

Gathering Friday

Amy Hale Auker 10:00 - 11:00	Juni Fisher 11:15 - 12:15	The Cowboy Way 12:45 - 1:45	Hanson Family 2:00 - 3:00

Closed for the Cochise Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering

To Be Announced

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses.  The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy.
​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

Almeda Bradshaw

Almeda grew up listening to her dad’s lp collection of big bands, the Boston Pops and classical orchestra music until an eye-popping epiphany happened while watching the Beatles’ American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Though classically trained through college on piano and cello, her musical alter-ego was fed through the guitar which she taught herself to play at age thirteen. It was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s "Circle" album that turned her on to the flat picking style of Mother Maybelle Carter. Though covers of Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Joni Mitchell,  Fleetwood Mac and others from the 60s and 70s took over her teenage years, Almeda later returned to the heart of her musical soul in Western Americana/Roots Music, an eclectic mix of cowboy, bluegrass, old-time, folk and spirituals. There she remains.

Click here for a video of Almeda performing 'A Cowboy Memory'
Click here for a video of Almeda performing clips from several songs.

Click here to go to the artists website

Dave Stamey

Special Dinner Show with Dave Stamey

• Dinner will be at 6:00 PM

• Show starts after dinner
  
  More info coming soon.

Cowboys and Indians Magazine has called him the Charley Russell of Western Music. Dave Stamey has been a cowboy, a mule packer, a dude wrangler, and is now one of the most popular Western entertainers working today. He has been twice voted Entertainer of the Year, three times Male Performer of the Year and twice Songwriter of the Year by the Western Music Association, and received the Will Rogers Award from the Academy of Western Artists. He’s delighted audiences in fourteen states, and finds that he prefers this to being stomped by angry horses.

Belinda Gail

Belinda Gail is one of the most awarded female performers in Western Music. 7 time Western Music Association Female Performer of the Year ... 2 time Academy of Western Artists Female Vocalist ... 3 time Group/Duo of the Year with Curly Musgrave and Album of the Year for "Red Rock Moon" Belinda is honored and humbled to be counted among the top female Western Music performers of this era. She has committed her full-time effort to this music for over 17 years and criss-crosses this country taking her special brand of Western Music to the masses. Her numerous awards are evidence of the level to which she has risen not only with Western Music fans, but with her peers as well.

Click here to her website where you can listen to samples of her music. Just select a CD.
Click here for a YouTube video of Belinda performing I've Just Got To Be A Cowgirl.

Click here to go to the artists website

Juni Fisher

Born in the San Joaquin Valley of California, Juni Fisher spent her early years training horses, as well as working on cow-calf operations. She now tours the country full time, delighting audiences with her original songs, storytelling, and guitar playing. "Juni Fisher's luminous intensity ignites her writing and her performances ." says one journalist "At the heart of her unique and complex artistry is her ability to bring alive what become unforgettable characters and images, stunning stories that often carry a deep and compassionate reflection of the human spirit."Well known cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell says "Juni Fisher is the best thing to happen to western music in a long time."

Fisher's awards for excellence in music include the 2005 AWA Female Vocalist of the Year, 2005 WMA Crescendo award winner, 2006, 2009, and 2011 WMA Female Performer of the Year, 2007 and 2011 WMA Song of the Year, 2008 WMA songwriter of the Year, 2008 Western Heritage Wrangler Award Winner for Most Outstanding Western Album, 2009 WMA Album of the Year, 2011 WMA Female Performer of the Year, 2012 and 2017 True West Magazine Best Solo Musician,
and 2011 WMA Entertainer of the Year She competed in the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s Celebrity Cow Horse Challenge in 2012, winning the Championship, and these days finds time between concerts to ride and show her
cow horse futurity prospect.

Click here for a video of Juni performing Chinaman Jack
Click here for a video of Juni performing Little Red Horse

Click here to go to the artists website

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses.  The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy.
​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

Hans Olson

Hans Olson is a veteran performing musician with over 40 years in the music business. He began his career as a lead singer in a Rock & Roll band in Southern California in 1967. By 1970, Hans had developed a very unique and powerful solo act.

"Olson manages a delicate blend of the grim boogie blues of John Lee Hooker, the wistful introspection of Bob Seger and the raw urgency of early Bob Dylan" says Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Click here for a link to CD Baby where you can listen to samples of Hans' music


Click here to go to the artists website

Joni Harms

Information coming soon

Click here a YouTube video of Joni performing
Click here a YouTube video of Joni performing

Click here to go to the artists website

Wall-Eyed Moles

The Wall-Eyed Moles are Victor (Jeanne Cahill), Vance (Jerome Campbell), and Vivian (Jon Messenger). The band presents an eclectic blend of Americana with roots in Western, Western Swing, Country, Bluegrass, Folk and Jazz. If they can play it they will.

Their music is heartfelt and delivered with gusto that never fails to please their audiences. Their love of music and the enthusiasm they bring to their performances is infectious and their skills and experience brought together manifest with a gift for storytelling with a broad musical pallet.

Jeanne was named as the 2016 Instrumentalist Of The Year by the Western Music Association, an honor which she also won in 2008 and 2015. She holds a Master's Degree in music theory, and studied guitar with the immortal Eldon Shamblin, and worked with Leon McAuliffe, both pioneers of Western Swing as members of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. Jeanne is the real deal with the goods to prove it and she is a
direct link to the very roots of Western Swing. She writes, she sings lead and harmony with beauty feeling, and precision.

Jerome Campbell holds the 2006 first place trophy for the prestigious Merle Travis Finger-Picking Contest, held annually in Mountain View, Arkansas. A highly accomplished guitar player, Jerome blends the stylings of Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and countless other influences into a style all his own. He is an accomplished harmony singer and is wonderful entertainer whose generous spirit and good humor touch all the folks he meets.

Jeanne and Jerome played together as Call of the West, based in Oklahoma for a little more than the past twenty-six years. They have been consistent competitors for the Duo of the Year award from the Western Music Association, and Jerome has regularly been in competition with Jeanne as nominee for WMA Instrumentalist of the Year.

This dynamic duo met their good friend and fellow Wall-Eyed Mole Jon Messenger in 1999 and the three have made music together at every opportunity since, eventually morphing into the current configuration as the Wall-Eyed Moles.

Jon is a singer-songwriter of some accomplishment. Many feel that he has written some of the most beautiful and moving songs of the American West. His background and musical influences are broad and eclectic, and his collaboration with Jeanne and Jerome have contributed greatly to his evolution as a gifted entertainer.

Exquisite harmony. Innovative musicianship. Joyful entertainment. These three musicians have been digging through the roots of American music like little musical moles all of their lives and the pursuit of tunes and the rigors of the road have left them wall-eyed from the effort. They revel in the opportunity to engage willing audiences and look forward to the best years of a wonder-filled life in music.

Click here to see a YouTube video of them playing 'Me and The Eagle' at the AFP.
Click here to listen to them performing 'The Bandit Joaquin.

The Carnivaleros

Carnivaleros bandleader Gary Mackender started writing songs in his late 40s. Six albums later, he is in his prime. His music has always been difficult to define, combining moody Eastern European motifs and strains of western movie themes. And then there are the quirky stories of the American experience laced with rhythms of Zydeco, Tex-Mex, waltzes and swing, all of it compelling you to the dance floor.

Mackender was raised in America's heartland and was exposed to many elements of popular American music; jazz, rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll, country, showtunes, zydeco and bluegrass. After locating to Tucson, Arizona in 1989, he joined a group of folks calling themselves The Mollys in 1993. This band allowed him to hone his skills as a versatile and musical drummer, absorbing and mixing styles, bringing all of his background to bear. Up until his departure in 2000 The Mollys provided him the opportunity to perform in some of the best venues across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It was during this time that he dragged along his accordion on tour and learned how to play it, slipping away late at night after the gigs when everyone else fell asleep, and he hasn't stopped. "It's even more organic than the drums. It responds to every move, it breathes, it wheezes, it can be loud and demanding yet it can whisper and seduce. I've also discovered material on it that would never have presented itself on the piano."

Mackender has re-united with long-time friend and formidable bassist Karl Hoffmann after 25 years of playing music on the coast of Spain, now living in Tucson, Arizona. Along with Joe Fanning on electric and acoustic guitars, baritone, and mandolin, Les Merrihew on drums, and Björgvin Benediktsson on guitars and vocals, they form the core of the band now playing and recording as The Carnivaleros.

Click here for a Youtube video of the Carnivaleros performing "Liquor, Vice and Sin" at Monterey Court, Tucson, AZ.


Click here to go to the artists website

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses. The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy. ​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.
 
 

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

Nick McBlaine and Log Train

Peter McLaughlin is on stage once again, this time with friends and Tucson musicians Alvin Blaine and Nick Coventry. Alvin plays everything including banjo, slide guitar, harmonica, dobro, accordion, lap steel, mandolin, and pedal steel. He's also a great singer, a professional sound man for Old Blue Sound Company, and even builds his own guitars. Nick is a classically trained violinist. Based in California, he has also played throughout Europe. His specialty is the swinging style of Gypsy jazz violin. These three play lonesome old songs, new originals, fiddle tunes, traditional Folk and Country music, Bluegrass, Swing, and Americana, and they have fun with all of it.

P.D. Ronstadt & Co.

Peter Dalton Ronstadt, a fifth generation Ronstadt in Tucson, Son of late Michael J Ronstadt, nephew of Linda Ronstadt, and great grandson of Federico Jose Maria Ronstadt, aims to explore the musical heritage of his family while presenting new and original material. Along with his band of Tucsonans, ‘The Company’, Petie paints a musical picture of the American Southwest by presenting music from the region, music from Mexico, collected favorites, songs of his father, and new songs that draw inspiration from all the elements of his upbringing. With a lush tapestry of instruments along with unique arrangements, enjoy a moment in time while P.D. Ronstadt & The Company take you on a musical journey that will lift spirits and stir memories.




Click here to go to the artists website

Don Armstrong and the Whiskeypalians

DON ARMSTRONG & THE WHISKEYPALIANS consists of:

DON ARMSTRONG on guitar & 5 string banjo,
Don Armstrong has been hailed as a “Tucson legend” and “folk treasure.” The Arizona Daily Star referred to him as a “consummate songwriter,” while his songs have been recorded by artists nationwide and sung and enjoyed worldwide. Playing guitar and five string banjo, Don was part of the duo Don & Victoria Armstrong for 42 years before Victoria’s passing in 2014. Together, they recorded ten albums. Don now records for The Ronstadt Record Company and his first solo album is due out in the fall of 2018. Don met Earl when he & Victoria were on the bill with Earl in a tribute concert to Earl’s uncle, Travis Edmonson (remember Bud & Travis?) in 2008, which was one of the last concerts that Travis attended. Recently, Don & Earl decided to bring his Uncle Travis’s legacy to life, by performing several of his songs, along with those that both Don & Earl have been known for over the years. Their recent performances together have packed concert venues and brought exuberant praise from the likes of The Kingston Trio, Limelighters & New Christy Minstrels, not to mention long time fans of both Don & Earl.

NICK COVENTRY (Black market Trust, Hot Club of Tucson, Nick McBlaine & Log Train and The Tucsonics) on gypsy violin & fiddle
Nick Coventry started playing violin at an early age and after hearing a Stephane Grappelli tape at the age of 12 he began in earnest to learn the swinging style of Gypsy jazz violin.  At 18 he studied classically at the University of California Santa Barbara, at 20 he started his first gypsy swing band, “Les Gendarmes du Swing” and began writing and performing around his hometown of Goleta, California.  In 2005 he travelled to the famous Djangofest at Samois-sur-Seine, France to meet and play with the best European musicians of Gypsy jazz.  This resulted in a series of tours around Spain, England, Scotland and Denmark with the Hot Club of Galicia.  At home, Nick has performed at the Djangofest in San Francisco with Gonzalo Bergara, as a guest with the John Jorgenson Quintet,  Stephane Wrembel trio in New York, and with Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan at Chicago’s Green Mill.  He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.

GARY MACKENDER (The Carnivaleros, Kevin Pakulis Band & The Mollys) on accordian
Gary Mackender was raised in America's heartland and was exposed to many elements of popular American music; jazz, rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll, country, showtunes, zydeco and bluegrass. After locating to Tucson, Arizona in 1989, he joined a group of folks calling themselves The Mollys in 1993. This band allowed him to hone his skills as a versatile and musical drummer, absorbing and mixing styles, bringing all of his background to bear. Up until his departure in 2000 The Mollys provided him the opportunity to perform in some of the best venues across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It was during this time that he dragged along his accordion on tour and learned how to play it, slipping away late at night after the gigs when everyone else fell asleep, and he hasn't stopped. "It's even more organic than the drums. It responds to every move, it breathes, it wheezes, it can be loud and demanding yet it can whisper and seduce. I've also discovered material on it that would never have presented itself on the piano."

SLIM ROST (Way Out West, Ice Nine) on bass.
 

Sue Harris

Sue has spent her life gathering songs and stories from and about the West - - from classic country to more recently written western songs; authentic folksongs, cowboy songs, poems and folktales describing what life was like here not that long ago; and even the occasional Mexican folksong.

Her unique and personable vocal style can take the simplest of songs and breathe into them life and vitality.

 

Click here to go to her MySpace page to listen to some samples of her music.

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses.  The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy.
​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

Jeneve Rose Mitchell

Most people wouldn’t call a 17-year-old a seasoned performer.  But Jeneve Rose Mitchell has been performing professionally since the age of four.  You might know her as the ‘Rocky Mountain Hillbilly Girl’ who in 2015 (at the age of 15) auditioned for the final season of American Idol, and proceeded to steal the hearts of not only the judges (Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick, Jr.), but America as well. She wound up finishing in the top 14 on Idol, which was no easy task considering there were over 200,000 contestants who auditioned from just about everywhere.  And now Jeneve Rose will be performing at the AFP!

Click here to see Jeneve Rose Mitchell's Top 10 performance of 2016 American Idol


Click here to go to the artists website

IWMA Youth Chapter Showcase

For the past two years, the Arizona Folklore Preserve has collected donations to support the International Western Music Association (IWMA) Youth Chapter. During that period we have given the group over $7,000 as well as a number of donated musical instruments. This year we hope to raise our total donations to over $12,000.

The IWMA Youth Chapter provides a valuable service to the Western music community by helping aspiring young Western music performers learn all the things they will need to know to become successful performers. The chapter assists these budding young performers by providing them with opportunities to get voice lessons, instrument lessons, song-writing lessons, and other instruction to provide them with the tools they need to pursue an entertainment career. It even supplies instruments to deserving young people who cannot afford to buy them.

Members of the IWMA Youth Chapter will be our performers this weekend. If you like Western music and want to keep the genre alive please support our donation drive.

Peter McLaughlin

Peter McLaughlin is an acclaimed acoustic guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, performer, recording artist and music instructor located in Tucson, AZ.  He plays many genres and styles, and specializes in acoustic flatpicking and fingerpicking techniques.  He was born in Washington DC, and his family's roots are in Scotland and England by way of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.  Early on, his parents, Bill and Nancy McLaughlin, brought music into the lives of Peter and his brother David.  They were introduced to all types of music, had a family band, and were surrounded with love and encouragement.

Peter started playing the guitar at the age of eight and was very soon jamming at bluegrass festivals and fiddle conventions.  He lived in Denmark in the early 70s, and attended a Danish high school.  In 1974, Peter moved again, this time to attend Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where he played with Tom Rozum (mandolin, fiddle, and vocals), Roger Smith (bass and vocals), John Zarske (rhythm guitar and vocals), and Frank Dedera (banjo) in the group Flying South, an acoustic string band specializing in bluegrass and early swing era jazz.  A later incarnation of Flying South included Kirby Mittelmeier (mandolin and vocals) and John Willis (bass and vocals).
 
In 1983, Peter moved to Tucson, where he played music with banjo player Ross Nickerson in various bands, including the 1988 Telluride Band Contest winners, The Titan Valley Warheads, who Peter still plays with on occasion.  

In 1991, Peter had the opportunity to reunite with his long-time pal, Tom Rozum, and joined Laurie Lewis, touring nationally and internationally for six years as guitarist and harmony vocalist with her band.  

In 1992 Chris Brashear moved to Tucson.  He and Peter struck up an immediate and lasting friendship and a strong musical bond and began performing and recording together.

In 1996, Peter released his first solo album, a CD entitled Cliffs of Vermilion, produced by Laurie.  She, along with Tom, Chris, brother David, father Bill, and others appear on Peter's stellar debut CD, which is on Dog Boy Records.

In 1999 when Chris recorded his first solo CD, Wanderlust, an excellent new bluegrass band formed out of that project when producer, Jody Stecher, along with Bluegrass Boy banjo picker, Bob Black, bassist, Forrest Rose, Chris and Peter started Perfect Strangers.  Their self-titled CD, released on Rebel Records in 2003, was also produced by Jody.

Since the late 1980's Peter has performed off and on with Bob Meighan, Earl Edmonson, Kirby Mittlelmeier and Brian Davies in a band affectionately known as The Dreadnutts.  In 1991 they won the Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest.

In 2011 Peter's current band, The Sonoran Dogs, was formed out of a tour with the late Japanese guitarist, Maro Kawabata.  The "Dogs" continue to perform regularly at various festivals and concert venues.  Their first CD was released in 2014 on Dog Boy Records.

In 2013 Peter was inducted into the Tucson Musicians Museum.

Click here for a link to Peter's music page to listen to samples of his Cliffs of Vermilion cd.
Click here for a YouTube video of Peter along with Chris Brashear and Todd Phillips
Click here for a YouTube video of Peter and friends playing So Long Arizona at Studio 55 Marin.
Click here to go to the artists website

Earl Edmonson

Earl Edmonson has been playing music since his early teenage years when he took up harmonica and guitar. Originally influenced and inspired by the diverse music scene of the 1960’s, Earl plays folk, blues, bluegrass, country and Americana music that features heartfelt and soaring vocal interpretations, harmonica, and fingerpicked, flatpicked, and slide guitar, with influences such as Doc Watson, Robert Johnson, Leo Kottke, Ry Cooder, Tim O’Brien, Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, and Roy Bookbinder, among others. In addition to being an experienced solo performer, Earl has blended his talents with those of others in a variety of duos, trios, and bands. These include the trio Woodrose, an Arizona favorite during the 80’s, the Meighan-Edmonson-McLaughlin Band (Best Band at the 1991 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the same year that Earl won first place for Fingerpicked Guitar at Telluride), and for the last twenty-five years, the Titan Valley Warheads, winners of numerous awards including Best Band at Telluride (1988) and multiple Tammie awards for Best Bluegrass Band. As a member of these last two groups Earl has opened shows for groups such as Alison Krauss and Union Station, Ralph Stanley, Laurie Lewis and Grant Street, and the Subdudes. He has also backed up Tom Paxton on two Arizona tours on vocals, guitar, harmonica and mandolin. He has played numerous venues throughout Arizona and New Mexico, and performed solo at the 2002 Tucson Blues Festival to an enthusiastic audience. In addition to live performances Earl has recorded with a number of Tucson’s most notable artists, including Travis Edmonson, Stefan George, Lisa Otey, Gerry Glombecki, Way Out West, and The Titan Valley Warheads, as well as producing his own solo project, “Nightsounds”.
 

Dolan Ellis

Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official State Balladeer

Dolan Ellis has been Arizona’s Official State Balladeer since 1966. He has traveled more than a million miles throughout the length and breadth of our state, getting to know the unique people and out-of-the-way places most of us never see, then writing songs about these people and places. Along the way he has taken thousands of professional-quality photographs to illustrate his music. Come and hear just a few of the hundreds of ballads Dolan has written in his career as Arizona’s Balladeer "Arizona is more than a state...it's a state of mind".

Please consider donating to help save the Salt River wild horses.  The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3, dedicated to monitor, study and protect the Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. We use all of our resources and connections to prevent harm from coming to the Salt River wild horses and ensure that they will be here for future generations to enjoy.
​There are links to donate on Dolan's website front page.

Click here for a YouTube video of Orphan of the Hills
Click here for a YouTube video of Dolan performing Magic Mountain

Click here to go to the artists website

The Cowboy Way

The Cowboy Way is a trio of award winning musicians from New Mexico. Their family friendly shows feature tight harmonies, high energy and smoking instrumentals. These prolific songwriters take you on the ride of a lifetime as they honor the traditional cowboy songs and bowl you over with a dynamic cover of a southern rock tune. The Cowboy Way presents professional , crowd pleasing entertainment sure to fit right in with your festival, concert, educational or corporate event.

The Cowboy Way is:
JIM JONES: Academy of Western Artists 2016 Western Song of the Year; Western Music Association 2014 Male Performer of the Year; Western Writers of America Spur Award 2013 Western Song of the Year; NM Music Awards 2009 Western Song of the Year.

DOUG FIGGS: Academy of Western Artists 2016 Male Vocalist of the Year; Western Music Association 2015 Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year; Academy of Western Artists Western Song of the Year 2014; Western Writers of America Spur Award 2015 Song of the Year.

MARIAM: Western Music Association 2015 Finalist Instrumentalist of the Year; Multiinstrumentalist, diverse session player, awardwinning arranger and producer.

Their debut CD, The Cowboy Way, was awarded the 2017 Western Heritage Wrangler Award for Best Traditional Western Album. Additionally, a song from the CD, Halfway Down the Devil's Road, co-written by Jim Jones and Allan Chapman, received the Western Writers of America 2017 Spur Award for Best Western Song.

Click here for a video of them performing Halfway Down the Devil's Road.
Click here to go to their websites music page to listen to samples of their songs.

Click here to go to the artists website

Jean Prescott, Jon Messenger, and Michael Grande

Jean Prescott	Jon Messenger	Michael Grande