Michael Martin Murphey
Concert in Colorado

A benefit concert featuring Michael Martin Murphey and friends will be held Sunday, March 18, at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo .   Proceeds from “Operation Blizzard Benefit” will aid in disaster relief for farmers and ranchers in Southeastern Colorado who were affected by the recent blizzard and will establish an agricultural disaster fund. 

As a guitarist and songwriter, Michael Martin Murphey has been named a “Western Music Hall of Fame Inductee.”   The span of his successful career dates back to the 1970’s with his first big hit, “Wildfire.”  Throughout the years, Michael Martin Murphey has secured his place in country music history with six gold records and fans around the world.

Visit Michael's web site: www.MichaelMartinMurphey.com

OTHER PERFORMER'S BIOS

Waddie Mitchell
Waddie 's Western Jubilee Recordings are: Waddie Mitchell Live featuring Don Edwards as well as world class instrumentalists Rich O'Brien and Norman Blake and recorded live at the Western Jubilee Warehouse in Colorado Springs.  A glowing review of  Waddie Mitchell Live appeared in People , which concludes with “Bottom Line:  Horse sense and humor from America's Best Known Cowboy Poet.”   This was followed by Prairie Portrait which features Waddie Mitchell , Don Edwards and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. 

Baxter Black
Everything about Baxter is cowboy; his cartoonish mustache, his personality and his poetry. He makes a living shining a spotlight on the flaws and foibles of everyday cowboy life. He demonstrates that it is the truth in his humor that makes it funny.

So, in a nut shell (where some believe he may have evolved) there is considerably more to Baxter than just an entertainer. He is the real thing. Because, as he says, "It's hard to be what you aren't."

Gary McMahan
Gary's songs have been recorded by stars like Ian Tyson, Chris LeDoux, and Riders In The Sky. Gary's poems have been published by the Cowboy Poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada. Sharing the stage with performers the likes of Doc Watson, Baxter Black, Ian Tyson, Riders In The Sky, and Chris LeDoux, he has played hundreds of cowboy poetry gatherings, banquets, festivals, and concerts throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Don Edwards
A historian, author and musicologist, someone well-versed in cowboy lore and musical traditions, Don brings a rare complement of knowledge of and love for his craft. Mostly though, there is the soul of a poet; a man who has never succumbed to any temptation to present a glamorized or romanticized version of the West.  Edwards deals with the bad weather and petty motivation, with sadness, nostalgia and longing as parts of the landscape like any other.

Fred Hargrove
Fred Hargrove, Cowboy Singer and Rancher, also opens for Michael Martin Murphey on their Lone Cowboy Campfire Acoustic Concerts held around the country. Fred Hargrove is like the original cowboy singers who lived in the Trail Drover era. He sings about what he truly knows, the life he loves, and he does it without the slick commercial approach that ruins the whole outfit. Out there on the road, in front of audiences who have access to all kinds of entertainment, Fred Hargrove always has them smiling and asking for more.

Carin Mari & Pony Express
2006 Youth Entertainers of the Year
Carin Mari & Pony Express feature Buena Vista, Colorado's 15-year old Yodeling Champion/song writer and her brothers Colin, playing mandolin, and Evan on bass. This award winning band plays their own brand of western music with warm harmonies and pure yodeling.

Sons & Brothers
The band has traveled and brought “WestGrass” to concerts and festivals in numerous states over the past 6 years and in 2004, they took “WestGrass” to Scotland, England and Wales with great success. According to Dave Higgs, columnist for Bluegrass Now Magazine, “It's not only Sons and Brothers powerful paint pealing vocals that make them one of the most strikingly original bands in bluegrass, but it's their sound-an arresting brand of bluegrass flavored by the wide open spaces, grandeur, and panoramic majesty of the West.”

Sarah Murphey
Sarah is a cowgirl poet and has performed at several cowboy poetry gatherings and also on Michael Martin Murphey's CDs.

Mei-Ling Felten
Mei-Ling Felton has won many competitions for violin and piano in her home state of Wisconsin. She's performed on a number of shows with Michael Martin Murphey. She combines country fiddling with classical violin, and pop/country/gospel piano with classical piano. Mei-Ling has attended Mark O'Connor's famed fiddle workshop in Tennesee. She's currently working on a CD, with Michael Martin Murphey as a consultant.

Participating
Performers

Waddie Mitchell
HIS WEB SITE

Baxter Black
HIS WEB SITE

Gary McMahan
HIS WEB SITE

Don Edwards
HIS WEB SITE

Fred Hargrove
Cowboy Singer/ Songwriter

Carin Mari
& Pony Express
HER WEB SITE

Sons & Brothers
THEIR WEBSITE

Sarah Murphey
Cowgirl Poet

Mei- Ling Felten
Fiddle