Photos courtesy of Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering
submitted by Helken & Horn Advertising Agency
The Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering will again take the stage at the Jim and Linda Lee Yavapai College Performing Arts Center Aug. 8-10. This year’s Gathering features more than 40 cowboy singers, poets and storytellers sharing the heritage and culture of the American cowboy.
Headline performers include Dave Stamey, Mike Dunnand and Kristyn Harris and Hailey Sandoz. This year’s collectible poster — “A Good Way to Get Shot Down” — was created by local artist Steve Atkinson and will be available at the Gathering, as will raffle tickets to win an original framed giclee of the poster.
The Gathering offers free day sessions throughout the campus on Friday and Saturday where attendees can meet and hear the cowboy singers, poets and storytellers.
Dave Stamey has been a cowboy, a mule packer, a dude wrangler. He has been named seven times as Entertainer of the Year, seven times as Male Performer of the Year and five times as Songwriter of the Year by the International Western Music Association. In November 2016, Stamey was inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame. He will be on stage Thursday, Aug. 8.
Mike Dunn’s Arizona heritage dates to the 1800s, with memories centered along the east side of the Whetstone Mountains where much of his grandad’s ranch, the Rail “A” brand, remains in the family. His book Somewhere Between Earth and Heaven contains much of his original poetry. The Academy of Western Artist named the book a recipient of the Will Rogers Medallion.
Dunn will appear on stage Friday, Aug. 9.
Kristyn Harris and Hailey Sandoz take center stage Saturday, Aug. 10. Kristyn is the five-time, currently reigning International Western Music Association (IWMA) Entertainer of the Year, the youngest musician to receive this honor. She is recognized for her powerful voice, swing rhythm guitar chops, songwriting and yodeling. Her recent album, “A Place to Land”, was awarded Outstanding Western Album by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum for 2020.
Hailey is the three-time IWMA Instrumentalist of the Year; she’s known for fiddling, jazzy vocals and arranging skills. A recent graduate of Texas A&M University, Hailey is a sought-after touring musician. At 18, she was hired full-time by Grammy-Award Winner Bobby Flores and the Yellow Rose Band.
