woostify domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/latestwordpress/lonestar.a1professionals.net_public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131Interview with Lubbock’s Andy Hedges, cowboy poet and musician<\/p>\n
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Lone Star Lit kicks off National Poetry Month with our interview with Lubbock\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span>Andy Hedges<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, cowboy poet and songster.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lone Star Literary Life: Mr. Hedges, you are a songster, reciter, storyteller, guitarist, and collector of cowboy songs and poems. Please introduce yourself to our readers. Which of those hats did you don first, and do you have a favorite? Please define \u201csongster.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andy Hedges<\/span><\/span><\/strong>: I guess the first thing I did was pick up a guitar when I was fourteen years old. Soon after, I began collecting old cowboy songs and poems. It\u2019s all interrelated. A \u201csongster\u201d is someone who is known for their repertoire of songs from a variety of styles or traditions. The old-time cowboy singers did not just sing cowboy songs\u2014they sang novelty songs, hymns, folk songs from other traditions, and the popular songs of the day. So, I think the songster idea fits perfectly with the traditional cowboy music that I play. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You live in Lubbock now and grew up in Tokio, Texas. I have to admit that, even though I\u2019m Texas born and bred, I\u2019d never heard of Tokio. Please tell us about growing up in your hometown and how you came to a love of cowboy poetry and music. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tokio is about sixty miles southwest of Lubbock. My family lived out there in an old farmhouse where we paid rent by looking after a few head of cattle. My dad used to be a bull rider, and I got my love of all things cowboy from him. I grew up listening to records of Marty Robbins, Jimmie Rodgers, Gene Autry, and Tex Ritter. I\u2019ve always loved that music. When I was a teenager, I discovered the modern renaissance of cowboy poetry and music that was flowing out of the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your music has garnered glowing reviews from Texas Highways<\/em>, Western Horseman<\/em>, Cowboys & Indians <\/em>Magazine; you\u2019ve been written up in the Atlantic<\/em>; your work has appeared in the New York Times<\/em>\u2014this is a partial list. Please tell us about your first performance, your first big break, and how you came to record your first album.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I got my start performing as a reciter of cowboy poetry. I listened to one of Waddie Mitchell\u2019s albums so many times that I had some poems memorized without even trying, and I began reciting for friends and family. My first memorable performance was at a place called Bevers\u2019 Crossing in Ropesville, Texas. It was a barbecue restaurant, and the owner asked me to recite a poem for a group of senior citizens. I think I was fifteen at the time, and I recited a Waddie Mitchell poem called \u201cStory With A Moral,\u201d about a dead cow in a stream. My parents were mortified, but it turned out okay because I was invited to come back and perform again. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019ve ever had a big break, but early in my career I was very fortunate to meet people like Waddie Mitchell, Don Edwards, Buck Ramsey, and Andy Wilkinson who encouraged me and took me under their wing. I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today without those influences and mentors. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The very first album I recorded was a cowboy poetry album. It was only released on cassette and it was a collection of poems by the great New Mexico poet S. Omar Barker. There were very few copies and it\u2019s long been out of print. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So many legends speak of you in superlatives, Don Edwards, Michael Martin Murphy, and Waddie Mitchell among them. The great cowboy poet and artist Randy Rieman said, \u201cAndy is at the epicenter of the collective beating heart of cowboy poetry and music. As an artist, and as a man, he is among the finest this renaissance has to offer.\u201d What does that feel like, and how do you attempt to live up to it?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s a great honor to have the praise, encouragement, and friendship from my heroes and mentors. I guess I don\u2019t think too much about trying to live up to that, but I strive to do good work that those men would be proud of.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Please tell us about that renaissance in cowboy poetry and music. How did it start, and where do you think its future lies? Why is it so important to keep this tradition alive?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The modern renaissance of cowboy poetry and music began in 1985 when a group of folklorists, led by Hal Cannon and cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell, held the first cowboy-poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada. The idea was to have a gathering of working cowboys and ranchers who wrote or recited poetry. It was supposed to be a one-time event, but the response was so positive that it became an annual event. Soon cowboy poets were appearing on the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson<\/em>. It\u2019s going strong thirty-six years later, and now that event is known as the <\/span><\/span>National Cowboy Poetry Gathering<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>. I think that traditional cowboy poetry and music represents one of the greatest parts of American culture. It\u2019s the folk music and the folk poetry of the West. I think the future of this tradition is in good hands with younger artists coming along like Brigid Reedy and Colter Wall. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rolling Stone <\/em>called your set with Ramblin\u2019 Jack Elliott at the sixtieth annual Newport Folk Festival one of the top ten things they saw at the fest. At press time, your calendar reflects shows across the country, with a teller-in-residence gig at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee. How do you develop a live show, and how does that show change with a particular venue or audience? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n