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Cowboy Poets of Idaho

COAST FORK COWBOY FESTIVAL By; Van Criddle Once again the quiet little town of Creswell, Oregon was over taken by a band of wild hombres on August 3, 4 and 5, 2007. The gang of Cowboy Poets and Western Musicians, led by silver tongued Smoke Wade, were seen wanderin' the High School and accosting the good citizens with song or verse. Dallas and PJ McCord planned this little event and with the help of Van and Kathy Criddle this gang of entertainers was brought together to delight the hearts of old and young admirers of all things cowboy and to raise funds for the Creswell Schools art, drama and music programs. Guitar virtuoso, Billy Rose , also masterfully handled sound duty for the weekend. Ably assisted by young Tony Cooper they helped everyone sound their very best. Friday night at 6:30 pm sharp the melodic strains of "Northfork" filled the air with traditional and contemporary western music as the pre-show warm-up began.. Silver Glen accompanied by sidekick George Thompson got the feet a tappin' and put smiles on unsuspecting faces. The incomparable Wayne Nelson followed with songs inspired by his life on the Snake River plains in south western Idaho. The crowd trickled in and by show time there was a good audience. The award winning Smoke Wade handled the emcee duties Friday night as only Smoke can do. He had the locals eating out of his hand. He loosened 'em up and got 'em cheering and committed them to show their appreciation through their applause. One by one he then brought these desperados on to the stage to attempt to steal the hearts of the crowd. By all accounts they were very successful. Local poetry contest winner, 14 year old Julie Jones, was honored for and performed her original poem "The Cowboy." She is a real cowgirl and it shows in her poetry. She received a championship belt buckle to go with the one she won last year. Champion cowgirl poet, Sam Deleeuw, a top 5 contender 2 years in a row for WMA Female Poet of the year, had 'em rockin' and realin' in their seats with her antics. Sam Mattise and his mellow jazzy western sound accompanied by the versatile Billy Rose grabbed heart strings and prepared hearts and minds for the wonderful music and verse yet to come. Stampede!!! The high energy cowboy trio from Harrisville, Utah who are the 2006 Western Music Association Crescendo Award winners featuring yodeling champ Teri Taylor, her husband Steve Taylor and David Anderson rocked the hall with a crowd pleasing performance. This versatile trio is fast becoming one of the most sought after groups in the west. They filled the room with exuberance and electricity with their foot stomping cowboy repertoire. Dallas and P J McCord and Van and Kathy Criddle presented a medley of western music and cowboy poetry. The crowd enjoyed duets by Dallas and PJ, PJ and Kathy, Dallas and Kathy and Van and Kathy. As always the house rocked in side splitting laughter to Dallas and PJ's I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore. Local crooner, Jim Webb, was invited to make his Gathering debut and received much applause at the end of his performance of self written music. He received encouragement from the cowboys and cowgirls to share his wonderful talent with the world of Western Music. The Cove Oregon, Reddington Family, known better as the High Strung Band, brought the house down with the fantastic flat pickin' of 14 year old son Landon and magical twin fiddles of 11 year old son, Hunter and 9 year old daughter Morgan. Mom, Jennifer and Dad, Shawn, are the book ends playing standup base and rhythm guitar and mandolin. Their fast paced exciting Blue Grass style has made them one of the most requested family groups in the NW. The crowd was finally released to go home, rest and return Saturday night for another great show. One person was remarking, "Boy, you sure get your money's worth at one of these cowboy shows." Saturday night Sam Matisse and Billy Rose warmed up the crowd during pre-show. Their music was so inviting that those partaking of the BBQ dinner provided by the Chamber of Commerce wanted to come inside. They didn't want to miss a thing. A great crowd was present and 3 additional rows of chairs had to be brought out to accommodate the raucous crowd. Sam Mattise and Van Criddle shared emcee duties bringing all of the Friday performers back to the stage for the Saturday night show. North Fork once again shared their talents as they sung western music and shared poetry to a very accepting crowd. The High Strung Band was once again a real crowd pleaser and Hunter's rendition of Orange Blossom Special had feet stomping, hands clapping and people yelling and cheering at the same time. They do light up a crowd. The crowd showed their appreciation by giving them 2 standing ovations. Saturday night the poets were at their very best. The Legend In His Own Mind, Smoke Wade, shared his great poetry in that clear and distinct manner he has perfected and the crowd showed him their appreciation, of course Smoke had a huge family contingency there that may have contributed somewhat to the mayhem. Sam Deleeuw again worked the crowd into a cacophony while she was "Spreadin' Sunshine" and Wayne Nelson silenced the crowd for 8 minutes with a masterful recitation of Banjo Patterson's The Man From Snowy River. Once again Jim Webb displayed his "John Denver" like vocal talent and received a hearty applause from the appreciative crowd. He's destined to become a crowd favorite for sure. Van and Kathy Criddle presented Dallas and PJ McCord with a bronze statuette as a token of thanks for all they have done to promote Western Music and Cowboy Poetry by founding and hosting the Coast Fork Cowboy Festival. Then Dallas and PJ pleased the crowd with their new hit, Dead Horse Trampoline. Headliners, Stampede!!!, adorned with red, yellow and green straw cowboy hats, brought the show to a reluctant end. Their high spirited music and great vocal mix wowed the crowd who would have listened to them for hours. Teri's yodeling brought cheers and applause as it always does. All of the musicians were invited back onto the stage to play while those who just couldn't bring themselves to leave listened and danced late into the night. Despite the late night, Cowboy Church was well attended and a great spirit of harmony prevailed. After the crowd dispersed the gang of cowboys and cowgirls were seen giving hugs, shaking hands and promising to meet again soon to foist their talents on another unsuspecting town located somewhere in the wild, wild west.