{"id":3789,"date":"2023-12-27T23:18:48","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T06:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonafolklore.com\/reservation\/?post_type=tribe_events&p=3789"},"modified":"2023-12-27T23:18:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T06:18:48","slug":"almeda-bradshaw-2","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/arizonafolklore.com\/reservation\/event\/almeda-bradshaw-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Almeda Bradshaw"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I had to move EAST to find the WEST. Though raised a town girl on the Oregon coast, all I wanted was to be a cowgirl. I spent hours riding the ranges of my imaginations in a swing set saddle, and when I was tall enough, I threw a leg up on my family\u2019s trusty propane tank and rode off into many a sunset.”<\/em><\/p>\n

BEGINNINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n

When her parents moved the family from town to the country, Almeda began living her dream of horses, cows and rural ranch life. She raised her family in north central Montana, while breeding and showing performance horses, running 150 mother cows and operating a seed plant\/feed business. She and her husband, former Marlboro Man, Merritt Bradshaw, now live on the Yellowstone River in Huntley, Montana, where they collect western memorabilia, he trains rope horses and she manages everything else, including a busy music and performance life! A multi-instrumentalist, Almeda studied cello and piano through college, has a BA in ELEMENTARY EDUCATION and is self-taught on the guitar, mandolin, and various other stringed instruments. She taught students of all ages to play strings from her former private studio and retail store, A Room for Music, in Big Sandy, MT.<\/p>\n

INFLUENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almeda grew up listening to her dad\u2019s LP collection of big bands, the Boston Pops, classical orchestra music and until an eye-popping epiphany happened while watching the Beatles\u2019 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\u2019s “Circle” album that turned her on to the flatpicking 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.<\/p>\n

EXPERIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almeda has written poetry, journals and songs since her teen years and has been performing at cowboy gatherings throughout the west for over two decades. She has produced the following original works:<\/p>\n