Well, we made it out of the gate! The yearlong series of 2022 Wild Ride programs has officially begun. With a bang.
This past week, for us, marked the time of year we would have “normally” been spending with friends, neighbors, and strangers that turn out to be friends during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. At the Gathering, we come together, hug, dance, eat and drink, and sit shoulder-to-shoulder breathing in the nuances of music, the spoken word,... and, well, we live tradition while we live creativity.
Arguably, this past week was both “normal” and a “new normal”... but, really, what is normal, anyway?! We changed the rhythm of the year a bit and started a Wild Ride series of programming with a special two-day extended event on what would “normally” have been the last two days of the Gathering.
Audience members taking photos in the G Bar Three Theater during The New Wave show on Saturday night. Photo by Charlie Ekburg.
The Wild Ride kickoff still had conviviality, good talks, and plenty of entertaining and thought-provoking moments celebrating the lived experience of the American West. And, underlying it was the same constancy of spirit, of generosity, of hospitality, of inspiration, of warmth in the middle of winter, and of perspective from the land shared with others who coexist on the land.
Some were able to join us in person. And, among those, the intimate experience and smaller size reminded the regulars of the connections they carried away from the first Gathering. It also invigorated people who were joining us for the first time.
And, we got to share this lovely, lively energy with so many of you who transported into the G Three Bar Theater with us through the livestream. Was it the best of both worlds? Constancy where it counts and change where it adds value? Connection on the ground, and connection with those of you living your lives in far-flung corners of the West and beyond? It felt like a pretty good balance to us! We’ll continue with Wild Ride surprises this year, while we plan for the return of the full Gathering in 2023!
Watching Juni Fisher perform as part of The Real Deal show livestreaming on Friday night. Photo courtesy of Andy and Jan Boyer.
And, we’ll be sharing the videos for members to watch online on-demand through the member portal soon, so you can connect later on your own time as well.
Sam Platts & the Plainsmen, Jan. 23, 2022
As we rolled into the week, Sam Platts & the Plainsmen warmed up the G Three Bar Theater with their old-school-meets-new-school brand of classic country, western swing, and traditional honky tonk music informed by their daily lives in agriculture. If you haven’t seen their show yet (or if you just want to watch it again), you can view it here ‘til your heart’s content.
Thanks to Maverick Casino & Hotel Elko for helping us make this event possible, and for adding extra smoke to the band’s vocals.
Then, on Friday, with the G Three nicely warmed up for us, and the film/media crew rolled in to town to enliven our very own “TV studio,” we went live again with Agee Smith’s Tales from Cottonwood Ranch talk. We don’t know if Wild Rides have keynote addresses, but if they do, this was certainly it. The ins and outs of stewardship in the West are beyond complicated. Characters, land, situations, they change so quickly, and everyone has their own perspective and their own ties to what’s at stake. Agee brought his deep well of experience from living that complicated reality to tell a story about working together and finding common ground (pardon the pun) to achieve remarkable results. The depth of Agee’s hard work and commitment, and his willingness to share, really resonated. And, the photos from his ranch were both heartbreakingly devastating and heartbreakingly beautiful. He returned on Saturday with (four generations of) his family to hold a panel discussion with Northeastern Nevada Stewardship Group. Watch both events here.
A shot from the special film presentation as we were Unveiling Jeremiah Watt’s Saddle. Jeremiah (left) chats with Waddie Mitchell.
The tugging at our heart strings didn’t stop with the stewardship discussions. If you haven’t watched the special film feature with Jeremiah Watt discussing the making of his custom saddle, the video is available to members in the member portal. You might want to plan a date, make some popcorn, and cozy up for the ending (with your hanky)… it won’t be hard, Jeremiah’s conversation with his pal, Waddie Mitchell, flies by as he delves into the artistic details, stylistic choices, and, of course, the rigging, tapaderos, conchos, gold leaf, carved flowers, and more, that he worked into this remarkable piece of art.
Trinity Seely performing on The New Wave show, as seen through the film crew’s monitors. Photo by Marla Mitchnick.
And, we rounded out the weekend with the always-wonderful refrains and rhythms from some talented guest performers. On Friday night, Waddie Mitchell hosted a show of classic cowboy creativity with his collaborators Juni Fisher, Pipp Gillette, and Yvonne Hollenbeck. And, on Saturday, the stage heated up with Brenn Hill, Brigid & Johnny Reedy, Matt Robertson, and Trinity Seely. We think Matt summed up our reaction best when he said, “... holy smokes.”
“... Holy smokes.”
The weekend was made up of more than the shows. It was made up of you, the viewers, the attendees, and the volunteers. Did you know we had at least one audience member drive seven hours from Las Vegas on Saturday morning just to catch the evening show? Or that we had a volunteer drive the 450 miles roundtrip to Salt Lake City to retrieve a piece of luggage from airport purgatory for one of the artists? (You may have caught the story of “Bertie the Bag” on our Instagram.) Our volunteers give new meaning to above and beyond. And, so do all of our supporters.
Thanks for starting the Wild Ride with us.
If you weren’t able to join, or if you’re still exploring what this is all about, (or if you’re just a little horse-shy and warming up to the idea of a Wild Ride), check us out on Facebook and Instagram. You can join anytime you want–we’d love to have you.
Matt Robertson posing obligingly in front of one of Elko’s many town murals. Photo by Jerod Linder.
The Wild Ride is far from over!
We promised you a year of performances and thought-provoking programs recognizing the unfolding stories of life in the American West.
We promised you surprises.
We all but promised you unpredictability.
We promised you a Wild Ride…
And we’re making good on it, the best way we know how. Here’s a peek at what we’ve got in the chute for the coming months:
On Sat, Feb. 26, we’ll be opening the G Three Bar stage, and the mic, to individuals driven by inspiration from around the West. We’re not limiting this open mic show to cowboy poetry and music (though, no doubt there’ll be a fair share of that!). It’s a variety show of poetry, music, prose, and creative expression put on by… well… maybe, you! Slots will be limited and first come, first served. We hope to do more of these, but for this month, signups will go live online on Feb. 11. Stay tuned for details on how to sign up—keep an eye on our website.
When Sat, Apr. 2 rolls around, we’ll celebrate the future of the rural West with a day of gear, conversation, poetry, and music from up-and-coming talent. We can’t release the lineup just yet, but let’s just say the future is in good hands.
Rolling into the summer months (…summer!), we’ve got visual arts, we’ve got different sounds of the rural West, we’ve got living traditions, and… this is a good one, we’ve got another special extended event in the vein of the kickoff. But, with a twist. Again, we don’t want to say too much yet, but there’s a lot growing in the rural West. It’s sure to be one heck of a ride.
Thank you to our Wild Ride sponsors
The Western Folklife Center is a member-based nonprofit organization.
The 2022 Wild Ride is supported by foundations, businesses, corporations, and individuals, including:
