If you remember the music of The Sons of the Pioneers, Roy Rodgers, Gene Autry and other singing cowboys of the silver screen, then you are going to love the music of Rena Randall and The Due West Trio!

Together since the early 90's and based in Tucson, Arizona, Rena Randall and the Due West Trio performs Western music in rich harmonies. Some of their music is vintage western, some modern western and some fine original tunes all celebrating the American cowboy and his life.

Rena Randall is a fifth generation native Tucsonan with a rich pioneer heritage. On stage, Rena plays tenor guitar and three-string and mountain dulcimers. In addition to being a fine songwriter, her vocal abilities and soaring range captivate western music lovers. That “pretty voice” has caused Rusty Richards, former member of the legendary Sons of the Pioneers to declare, “I have definitely become a fan”.

David Gibson, raised in Tucson, can also claim a long heritage in Arizona. Dave is a songwriter and a fine instrumentalist, playing stand-up bass, guitar and banjo. These talents, along with a pleasing vocal style in both lead and harmony, make him a valuable asset to the group.

Dave Bertoglio, born and raised in Southern California but with 1800’s Arizona Territory family history, offers guitar, harmonica, lead and harmony vocals. He also written some of the group's songs.

The newest member of the group is Emily Holmes. Growing up in northern Utah, she started learning the fiddle at age 10. She toured with the bluegrass band "String Fever" for 12 years playing stand-up bass. Now living in Tucson, she has taken up the fiddle once again and enjoys playing with the Due West Trio.

Cowboy poet Mike Dunn learned the life of a cowboy as a boy on his grandfather’s ranch along the east side of the Whetstone Mountains southwest of Benson. It was there he experienced the values of home, land, love of family, and hard work that he writes about in his award winning poetry. While still maintaining his portion of his family’s ranch, he lives in Mesa where he works at Boeing as an engineer. And even though there are fewer working ranches these days, Mike believes the values exemplified by the cowboys have continued meaning and relevance for modern Arizonans.

Bill Ganz has performed on the Tucson music scene for more than 28 years. He is a member of the Western Music Association.
TEACHER: Bill has taught private guitar instruction for 25 years at Guitars Etc. and continues to maintain a full student base at the newly redecorated location, now known as the Chicago Store, 5646 E Speedway in Tucson. Varied time slots are available; call to arrange a time that works best for you.
PERFORMER: Bill performs as a soloist as well as the band leader for Bill Ganz Western Band. In the past he performed as a member of the Reinsmen, The Desert Sons, and the Sons of the Western Plains. Western, Country, Jazz, Soft Rock, Retro & more.

A multiple award winning entertainer, Mary Kaye tours extensively throughout the United States and Canada with her unique brand of western roots music. She is a native born Texan and as a young woman ventured off to Utah where she "married her a cowboy.” Their family has deep western roots that go back six generations and reside in the small western town of Escalante, a 140 year old ranching community in southern Utah. The authenticity of her music emerges from her life of mothering cowboys, wranglers, and rodeo sweethearts; caring for livestock, and living in one of the most remote places in the Western United States. Mary Kaye combines traditional trail songs with fresh, contemporary material, and award winning originals. She has been married to her husband Brad for 31 years, they have ten children.

Mary Kaye recently released her forth solo studio western album, Ride A Wide Circle, to glowing reviews. Paul Riley of the respected Country Music People Magazine out of the UK declared, "Mary Kaye’s CD is one of those perfect albums. Everything comes together: the songs, the superb vocals, backing musicians on top form, very good production and best of all Mary Kaye’s unique feel for her music." The magazine gave it a glowing 5 stars, their highest honor! The CD debuted at #1 on the Western Music Charts, the title track earned a prestigious Wrangler Award from The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and her song "Grit, Grace, and Balin' Twine" received a Will Rodgers Award from the Academy of Western Artists for Western Song of the Year.

Awards for Mary Kaye's singing and songwriting have been plentiful. In 2013 she was recognized as Songwriter of the Year as well as Best Female Performer by the Western Music Association, also by True West Magazine as Best Solo Musician and received a prestigious Spur Award from the Western Writer's of America for her Butch Cassidy tune, "Any Name Will Do." In 2012 she won the Song of the Year award from the Western Music Association, with cowboy poet Les Buffham, for their song, "No Wilder Place." The Academy of Western Artists bestowed on her a Will Rogers Award in 2011 for Best Western Female Performer and in 2010 she was honored as the Female Vocalist of the Year by the Western Music Association.

The year 2013 was a good year for Mary Kaye. Her album, The Dawn and The Dusk, hit #1 on the Western Music Charts and received excellent reviews in American Cowboy, County Music People, Maverick, The Western Way, and Western Horseman magazines. In addition, her song "Jealous of the Moon," was chosen by American Cowboy as the Top Cowboy Song of 2013 and the album was nominated as the 2013 Western Album of the Year by the Western Music Association. Her No Wilder Place album also received excellent reviews in American Cowboy, The Western Way, and Western Horseman and debuted at #1 on the western charts. Mary Kaye's first western album, Clean Outta Luck, rose to #2 on the charts and garnered a Western Music Association Song of the Year nomination for "Cowboy Waltzin' Across Her Mind."

Renowned western artist Maynard Dixon declared, "The spirit of the West sings in every soul." Mary Kaye believes this and shares this spirit in every performance. Her music is rooted deeply in the Western landscape her life is immersed in. The critics have been prolific with praise for Mary Kaye's singing and songwriting. Western Horseman said of her, "Some Western singers and musicians are all about preserving traditional cowboy songs. Others strive to write and sing songs about contemporary cowboy life...Mary Kaye does both well, and with an authenticity that appeals to not only purists, but also those seeking something fresh."

Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School was founded in the fall of 1992 by Mr. Richard Carranza, as a curricular component within the Pueblo High Magnet School Performing Arts department. Comprised entirely of Pueblo High Magnet School students ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old, the mariachi program has grown from eleven students in its first year to well over one hundred and twenty students currently. Students are offered three levels of mariachi music: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced/ Performing group – “Mariachi Aztlan”. The sixteen-piece Mariachi Aztlan is motivated by pride and dedication to their cultural heritage of Mexico.

The group plays authentic mariachi music, arranged and conducted by director, John Contreras, himself a mariachi musician with over twenty-five years of experience. Dressed in their elaborate traje de charro outfits, the group boasts a repertoire of traditional mariachi music.

As Tucson’s most popular youth mariachi, they have gained a reputation for excellence, sharing the stage with many of the world’s finest Mariachi ensembles as well as Symphony Orchestras. Through their music, they are continuously promoting a manifest pride in their cultural background and are an excellent example of the best our youth has to offer.

Barry grew up on the western plains of Kansas, near the small town of Copeland, about 40 miles west of the famous cowtown, Dodge City. His great-grandparents settled the place in the late 1880s, shortly after the buffalo had been replaced by cattle. Barry, or “Bear” as he has come to be known by his friends, worked alongside his father and grandfather, working cattle and also doing farm work. To keep food on the table, many ranchers had to diversify and start raising crops. These rugged men of the land became equally at home in a saddle or on the seat of a tractor. Some cowboys would shy away from letting people know they were also farmers. Perhaps the life of a farmer doesn’t seem as romantic as that of a cowboy. Bear doesn’t have a problem with it. In fact, he embraces it. He writes most of his own songs and those songs deal, not only with his experiences as a cowboy, but with his experiences as a farmer, such as driving a combine during the wheat harvest. Add to that a strong faith and a love for his country and you’ve got a guy who’s overflowing with credibility.

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.
WINNER 2017 Western Heritage Wrangler Award Western Album of the Year.

Brenn Hill is a singer/songwriter who doesn’t just sing about the West, he reveals its heart to anyone who will take the time to listen. He is not just an observer or narrator of western lore, but one of its strongest interpreters. The cowboy’s trials and tribulations are his raw material. Brenn’s career spans twelve recordings of mostly self-penned music and over two decades on the road.

Andy Nelson is an energetic and high-spirited cowboy poet and humorist offering history, heritage and hilarity of the cowboy culture through traditional poetry and storytelling. Western Horseman Magazine writes, “One of the most dynamic cowboy entertainers today, Nelson’s vivid descriptions, voice inflections and fluid recitation bring his stories to life in listeners’ imaginations.”

Together they bring the Western way of life to the stage with authenticity and enthusiasm. As one producer put it, “Their unique performance which combines great original western music by Brenn along with moving story telling by Andy in concert with each other is a huge hit. Together they have created a synergistic performance which keeps the audience totally engaged for the duration of the time they are on stage. The combination of deep emotional and moving lyrics along with the humorous and light hearted side of life experiences they share in song and poetry will always be remembered.

Syd Masters of Edgewood, NM had a cowboy-hero named Roy. Roy was a working cowboy in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado who, like many cowboys, drifted around. Syd grew up near the small town of Wabeno, Wisconsin. “He’d come back to Wisconsin and tell me stories of the West. He was here for a lot of that history,” Masters said. “I think he’d be 116 if he were alive.” Roy was Syd Masters’ paternal grandfather and his music-making also fascinated his grandson. “He played the guitar and sang cowboy songs. He was terrible in both, but he was authentic. He made me fall in love with the music,” Masters recalled. Fall in love Masters did: He’s the leader of the local Western band Syd Masters and the Swing Riders. That’s Western, not country-western, please.

The band’s repertoire is divided into three parts. One third is vintage music. “By that I mean it starts with cowboy trail songs. For example, “Red River Valley,’ ‘Cattle Call,’ those kind of old songs from the late 19th century,” Masters said. Another third of the band’s material is Western swing from the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. The trio covers songs made famous by singing stars like Bob Wills (“San Antonio Rose”) and Hank Williams, Sr. (“Hey, Good Lookin’”) and by singing actors Roy Rogers (“When I camped Under he Stars”), Gene Autry (“Back in the Saddle”) and Tex Ritter (“Jingle, Jangle, Jingle”). The final third of its repertoire is comprised of songs that Masters has written. “But it still sounds like it’s from one of those two time periods,” Masters said. “I write the music and the lyrics.”

Like the famous Western band Riders in the Sky, Syd Masters and the Swing Riders fills its concerts with a heap of humor. “We once were on stage for an hour and 15 minutes and we only played eight songs,” Masters said. “The rest of the time we told jokes, and got people on stage. Sometimes we get carried away.” Masters didn’t always play Western music. In high school and later he played in Top 40 cover bands. Many years ago, Masters moved to New Mexico. By day, he was an independent distributor for Creamland Dairies. By night, he began singing Western music in Albuquerque area clubs. A stranger Masters met in one Albuquerque bar changed his tune. “He said, ‘If I could sing like you I sure wouldn’t be doing anything else,’” Masters remembered.

“I decided that night to quit my day job. I needed something simple to push me over the edge and I saw myself as 80 years old saying, ‘I wish I had taken a band on the road.’” With the Swing Riders, Masters sings lead and plays a nylon-stringed guitar without a pick. He carries the on-stage nickname of Music Man of the West. The band plays regularly all over New Mexico.

"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 range of my imagination in a swing set saddle and when tall enough, I threw a leg up on my family’s trusty propane tank and rode off into many a sunset."

Her family’s move to the country brought horses into Almeda's childhood and they remained a staple of her adult life. Almeda raised her family in north central Montana, while breeding and showing performance horses, running 150 cows and operating a seed plant and feed business. She now helps train AQHA performance horses with her husband, former Marlboro Man, Merritt Bradshaw, on the Yellowstone River in Huntley, Montana.

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. Almeda has written poetry, journals and songs since her teen years and has been performing at cowboy gatherings throughout the west for nearly two decades.

In 2010, Almeda produced two albums of original songs and poetry, Voices From the Range and A Way of Heart. Both albums were recorded by Chris Cunningham of the acoustic duo, Storyhill, at Basecamp Recording Studio in Bozeman with Montana musicians Britt Smith and Ric Steinke of Open Range adding instrumentation. Almeda did the guitar work.

A third album of original songs Lovers, Wives and Mothers: A Western Woman's Voice was produced by Grammy and Emmy award-winning producer, Lance Bendickson, recorded in Nashville at Sony Tree Studios and released in December 2015. It has since been nominated by three different western organizations for song and album recognition. Almeda's fourth recording project TRIBUTE was released in 2016 and also received song recognition.

Cowboys and Indians Magazine has called him “the Charlie Russell of Western Music.” Western Horseman Magazine has declared his “Vaquero Song” to be one of the greatest Western songs of all time. True West Magazine named him Best Living Western Solo Musician four years in a row.

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 voted seven times Entertainer of the Year, seven times Male Performer of the Year and Five times 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 twenty three states, and finds that he prefers this to being stomped by angry horses. In November of 2016 Dave was inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame.

Formed in 2011, The Sonoran Dogs have exploded upon the bluegrass scene! They have performed and headlined many festivals and concert venues in the Southwestern US, touring as far as Australia, from Melbourne to Brisbane and beyond.

The "Dogs" are made up of seasoned veterans who have come together to enjoy bluegrass music and friendship, often times adding one or more “strays” on fiddle, dobro and even accordion! You can even see them with the BIG band, which includes drums and pedal steel – quite the experience!

With every show, The Sonoran Dogs play with expertise, often improvising and showcasing original songs, traditional and contemporary music as well as an eclectic mix of Bluegrass, Folk, Americana, Celtic, and Newgrass.

"The genius of Charlie Russell" will be the subject of a presentation by Randy Rieman

Steve Jones, is now solo! After many years as lead singer-songwriter with the Yampa Valley Boys, it is time to take a separate trail. Dubbed by some as the “Cowboy Irish Tenor”, he still has the fire in the belly to write, sing songs, and entertain audiences with cowboy/western, classic country, original, folk, and Irish songs. His new website is IrishCoyoteMusic.com.

A few years back, one of Steve’s songs charted in the “Top Ten” on the Academy of Western Artists ratings chart for western songs. He has two solo CDs, That Irish Kid and his newest, Picasso, which was released in Nov. 2017.

Steve has been active in the Western Music Association (WMA) since 2005. He has performed at many of the cowboy music/poetry gatherings—Durango CO, Arvada/Golden CO (Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering), Sierra Vista (Cochise Gathering), Encampment WY, Valentine NE. He has also performed at many County and State Fairs, rodeos, museums, and private functions.