“Cowboy Culture Conversations” Traditional Cowboy Poetry – Winnsboro, TX

The History and Tradition of Cowboy Poetry with Joel Nelson and Andy Hedges

Joel Nelson and Andy Hedges will talk about the history and tradition of cowboy poetry and the sitting around an evening campfire telling stories, singing songs and reciting poetry. This casual gathering will educate as well as entertain. Cowboy poetry dates back to the period of long distance cattle drives following the Civil War when many nights were spent on the trail.

Joel Nelson is highly respected in the world of cowboy poetry and recitation. He has appeared in many major cowboy poetry festivals, including the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which he co-founded. Joel is a Vietnam veteran, former custom saddle maker, and an excellent horse trainer. He lives and works with his wife on their 24,000-acre ranch outside Alpine, Texas, where they raise Angus cattle. Joel was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2009. The NEA National Heritage Fellowship is the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. Each year since 1982, the program recognizes recipients’ artistic excellence, lifetime achievement, and contributions to our nation’s traditional arts heritage. In 2020 Joel received the Working Cowboy Award from The Ranching Heritage Association, a nationwide nonprofit organization, sponsors the awards on an annual basis to honor working cowboys skilled in all aspects of ranch work and respected by the ranch crew and ranching community.

Andy Hedges is a songster, reciter, storyteller, guitarist, and collector of cowboy songs and poems. The son of an Italian schoolteacher and a rodeo cowboy turned preacher, Andy was born in Lubbock, Texas, in the spring of 1980. He grew up in the small community of Tokio, Texas, where his family paid rent on an old farmhouse by looking after a few head of cattle. It was there that Andy fell in love with traditional music by listening to his father’s cassettes of cowboy songs.

Andy’s vast and varied repertoire includes classic cowboy poetry recitations, obscure cowboy songs, dust bowl ballads, and blues. He also hosts a podcast, Cowboy Crossroads which features in-depth interviews with fellow musicians and poets. Andy has performed many times with folk legend Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and the duo’s performance at the 60th Newport Folk Festival was named one of the “10 Best Things We Saw” by Rolling Stone. This is Andy’s third appearance at the annual Winnsboro Cowboy Music & Poetry Gathering.