|
|
| Cowboy Poetry, Storytelling, & Music |
|
John Campbell
John Campbell is a fifth-generation Texan. His ancestors came
from Ireland and settled on the Nueces River, near present-day George West, in 1834. After graduating from George West High School, John earned a degree from Texas A&I University. He has
worked as a ranch foreman, day-working cowboy, and school teacher. John has performed at cowboy poetry gatherings across Texas, from the National Cowboy Symposium & Celebration in Lubbock, to
the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Alpine, to the South Texas Ranching Heritage Festival in Kingsville, and more. Storyfest audiences have enjoyed his performances every year since
1989. Storyfest warmly welcomed the return of George West’s own cowboy poet. |
 |
Dennis Gaines calls himself “a cowboy poet, humorist and
storyteller, a vocation that rates with bawdy house piano player in terms of prestige and respectability.” Nevertheless, having survived an epic childhood which found his parents playing hide-and-seek
all over the world, and Dennis always finding them, he was allowed to matriculate to the seventh grade, after which he found himself seeking ungainful employment in the oilfields of the world and ranches
of the West. He frequents assorted gatherings and may be spotted at conventions, private parties, banquets, gunfights, etc. He has never been seen in the company of lawyers, politicians or other such
outlaws. (This past sentence alone may be why he’s a two-time winner of the Texas State Liars Contest.) |
He has shared recent performance venues with Mike Beck, Cowboy Celtic, Riders In The Sky, The TexasTrailhands, Red Steagall and various others.
Allan lives in rural Wise County Texas with his extraordinary fiddle playing wife, Rodeo Kate.
Visit Allan Chapman's website at
www.allanchapman.net |
Allan Chapman, a sixth generation Texan, grew up on the working BlueGoose Ranch in Knox County, Texas – the same ranch that his great-grandfather started in 1882. He later became a college English literature teacher but gave that up “to run away and join the music circus,” writing songs in Nashville, New York City, and Los Angeles.
A three time Grammy nominee, winner of the American Song Festival, nominated repeatedly for Song Of The Year by the Academy of Western Artists and The Western Music Association – with song writing credits going back thirty plus years for performers like The Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, George Jones, Sandy Posey, and numerous international recording artists, Allan Chapman has been writing and producing music most of his adult life. Allan's songs today are most strongly identified with the cowboy music of the American West but also incorporate elements of folk and Gaelic music influences.
His solo CD release, Sixth Generation (tales of the west), is nominated for Western Album of the Year -2010 by the Western Music Association. His song “These Cowboy Boots” was nominated as 2008 Western Song of the Yea rby the Academy of Western Artists; his song, “Boxcars Of Juarez” is a top-20 play winner on the Americana Radio Network. Allan has released 3 music videos, These Cowboy Boots, Blood On The Sand, and The Stars Over Benjamin. You can view them on www.youtube.com.
|
 |
Cade Schalla, Cowboy Poet, entertainer, writer, and columnist, currently hails from Sealy, Texas, but grew up in Montana and New Mexico. His father trained racehorses, so Cade was loping colts on the rack from the age of 12. He started riding bulls and bucking horses in high school and earned a scholarship to Odessa College in Odessa, Texas. Later, he got his pro card and rodeoed in the PRCA and the PBR. Cade worked for several cattle ranches throughout New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado and also shoed a few horses to finance his rodeo ambitions. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and is married with 3 children, two girls and a boy. He published his book “What’s a Steer” in 2001, which contains 40 original cowboy poems and illustrations by A-10 Ectheverry. His book was a finalist for the 2003 Buck Ramsey best cowboy poetry book. He has recorded a CD, which is played on various radio Western stations across the west. He writes a weekly column for his local newspaper on a variety subjects, all told from a cowboy’s point of view. Cade’s poem “Looking For America” has achieved some national acclaim and has been published in several magazines and major newspapers. Cade has been writing and performing cowboy poetry now for over 10 years. |
 |
Pure Original’ describes Gil Prather. Known by his musician peers as ‘The Man from the Rio Grande’, Gil offers a unique style of self-penned Cowboy/Western music with a Tex-Mex border flavor. His music reflects his younger years of growing up on the Mexican border as a working cowboy in the Big Bend Country of West Texas. Early in his career, Gil’s versatility was recognized by major producers. He has written and produced several award-winning radio and TV commercials and, in 1996, he wrote the award winning song, I’ll Be Back in Texas by the Fall, which was voted Song of the Year by the prestigious Academy of Western Artists.
From 1990 -1997, Gil was ‘the other brother’ in the nationally acclaimed ‘Jose Brothers’ comedy act which toured the southern United States and in the mid 1990’s, he teamed with Robert James Waller (The Bridges of Madison County) to co-write several selections from Waller’s Border Music album. Gil’s writing talent and unique style has made him well-known from Mexico to Canada, with performances throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico. Experience true Americana music from a unique grass roots artist who has written first-hand, a lifetime worth of songs reflecting the cowboy way of life.
Look for Gil Prather on the Storyfest schedule where he will play his Cowboy/Western music, as well as traditional Gospel music. |
 |
|
|
Please contact George West Storyfest with questions or comments.
Email:info@georgeweststoryfest.org
Phone: 361-449-2481
or toll-free 888-600-3121
© Copyright 2008-10 George West Storyfest. All rights reserved.
Website maintained by Control Z Productions. |
|
