Arizona Performers
43 Miles North
The name "43 Miles North" refers to the distance from Green Valley, AZ where we reside, to the Mexican Border. The band was formed in 2014 playing cowboy and western music and singing three and four part harmony songs. The backgrounds of our members is diverse. All members have played music for years resulting in a precise sound and wonderful harmony vocals. Our music reflects our love of the West.
Aspen Black
Aspen Black is a singer/songwriter, cowgirl poet, multi-instrumentalist, educator, author, artist, and nationally-awarded horse woman_ Her CD, Eastern Western Cowgirl, won the 2015 Rural Roots Music Commission Female Country-Western CD of the Year, and her "mesmerizing" and "captivating" voice won her first place in the 2016 singing contest at the National Traditional Country Music Association Festival, LeMars, IA.
Brashear & McLaughlin
When National Flatpicking Guitar Champion Peter McLaughlin and multi-instrumentalist Chris Brashear joined forces in 1992, heads turned. Drawing from the unique stories and landscapes of the Southwest, as well as from their own life experiences, these two kindred musicians carve a unique place for themselves in the grand tradition of duet singing and in the larger world of Western acoustic music. They are former writers-in-residence at the Museum of Northern Arizona.
Cimarron Sidekicks
Cimarron Sidekicks sing contemporary western songs and songs from the Silver Screen, TV and radio. With cowboy standards we all love, they bring back memories of the Old West. Their cowboy poetry and audience sing-alongs, coupled with great vocal harmonies and some foot-stompin' instrumentals, are just good old-fashioned fun! The group have written original music and cowboy poetry, which they recite during performances.
Janice Deardorf
Janice Deardorff is an Arizona native, a cowgirl at heart. She fell in love with the West at five years old and grew up immersed in its songs. She began performing Western music by singing at cowboy cookouts. In 2015 Janice was nominated for the coveted Western Music Association Crescendo Award. She believes music is a gift from God to be given again to the listener.
Mike Dunn - Poet
With an Arizona heritage dating to the 1800s, Mike enjoys sharing stories in rhythmic form - stories dealing with the joys and dreams, the serious, sad, and heartfelt realities of cowboy life: humorous, energetic, patriotic, simple, caring, etc. The list goes on and the cowboy's guilty of it all. Mike's hope is to share a bit of that spirit in his writings and recitations. He received the CPG Gail I. Gardner Award as an Arizona Cowboy and Poet, and his book was recipient of the Will Rogers Medallion Award.
Igor Glenn
Igor the “Jazz Cowboy” is a world-touring troubadour presenting Americana music from the Deep South to the Wild West He sings in four octaves in harmony and yodeling, and plays various stringed instruments. He's lived in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Nashville, New Orleans, Hollywood and Phoenix. Igor is a former New Christy Minstrel and has been a professional accompanist for headliners such as John Denver and Benny Goodman. He holds a BFA in music and is a Western Swing Hall of Fame member.
Gary Kirkman - Poet
Gary Kirkman was raised in historic Tombstone, AZ where he went to school. He's a working cowboy who has managed ranches throughout the State, and he currently resides at Taylor, AZ where he manages a northern Arizona ranch. When cowboys gather by the campfire in the evening, they share their experiences and stories. Gary's tales and poetry reflect many of these and his own experiences, depicting a cowboy way of life by one who has lived it. Gary has performed at gatherings throughout much of Arizona and southern Utah.
Dennis Knill
Dennis Knill grew up in Colorado showing horses and breaking colts. He says "I came of age in California, engineering nuts and bolts" with lines from one of his original songs. He writes and performs contemporary and classic western songs. Dennis joined the International Western Music Association (IWMA) in 2010, and is a past Vice President of the Arizona Chapter. He now resides in Apache Junction, AZ with his wife Carolyn, and he would be happy to share his music at your next western event!
Carol Markstrom
Carol Markstrom was raised in Minnesota but has lived in Ontario, Canada and elsewhere throughout the West, now dividing time between Arizona and West Virginia. Her music reflects her research in American Indian communities as a professor at West Va. University, and she loves to tell her stories in song. Performances: Sagebrush Roundup in WV, the Western Opry at Old Tucson, and many open stages. Memberships: International Western Music Association, the Western Writers of America, others.
Dan McCorrison
Dan McCorison grew up in Colorado and began playing western swing and country music soon after college. He has recorded for MCA, Maranatha and Columbia records and has appeared on shows with Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Flatt and Scruggs and Linda Ronstadt to name a few. In addition to shows around the Western U. S. and Canada, he has performed in Europe and Japan. Currently, Dan lives in Arizona and performs as a solo artist. He has also performed with award winning groups, The Red Hot Rhythm Rustlers, and Journey West.
Jon Messenger
Arizona singer/songwriter Jon Messenger offers a hearty stew concocted from the influences of an eclectic musical background. Jon's original tunes have been well received at festivals and gatherings throughout the West, reflecting Jon's love of the myth, beauty, spirit and truth of the American West. past. Jon's vocal and acoustic guitar stylings blend to bring his audiences a haunting and authentic portrait of cowboy life.
Lee Lee Robert
Lee Lee Robert is best known for her “Cowgirl Jazz” style where she combines the subtle colors and textures of jazz and blues with the storytelling strengths of traditional Western music. Her most recent CD, Wyoming: Jewel of the West was voted Album of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists, and was charted as the number one most played song as reported by Western DJ's in The Western Way magazine in Summer of 2015.
