| Known fondly and simply “Ruidoso” by the
western music fraternity, each year during the second weekend
of October the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium takes place
in Ruidoso, New Mexico. This year over 12th-14th October the
Ruidoso Downs Racecourse played host to America’s finest cowboys,
musicians, chuckwagon cook-offs, western artists and craftsmen
of all kinds. In 1996, the symposium was selected as the Best
Cowboy Cultural Event by the National Cowboy Symposium Association.
My first visit to the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium was
in 2008 and this year (2012) I decided it was time for me
to take in the event again.
I flew into Albuquerque a week before the event and
stayed with friends Betty and Doug Carter in Albuquerque.
That weekend saw the start the city’s 41st International
Balloon Fiesta that ran over 6th-14th Oct. The largest ballooning
event in the world mostly caters for hot-air balloons, but
there are also gas balloons featured during the event. Hundreds
of thousands of enthusiasts and fans from all over the world
flock to Albuquerque for this event taking place on a 78-acre
launch field. Apart from the usual round shaped  highly
coloured hot-air balloons there are many fancy shaped balloons
also to be seen ascending in the early morning air. Some
to be seen were replications of Elvis while Wells Fargo
Bank have a stagecoach. An alarm clock could be seen in
the sky along with such shapes as a scarecrow, and a family
of cartoon like bees. This family of bees has grown over
the years as the last time I saw them there was just a male
and female that ascended and came together appearing to
hold hands in the air. Now mum and dad have a baby bee and
the three all line-up holding hands in mid-flight. If you’d
had a few too many drinks the night before, don’t worry,
the Pink Elephant that you were seeing floating above was
just another hot-air balloon!!!
Another festival to take in over this first weekend
was Albuquerque’s Grecian Festival at St George Greek Orthodox
Church. The welcome page of the programs states, “beautiful
panoramas of Greece are nearly 5,000 miles away, the sprit
of Greece is alive and well here in Albuquerque.” Well attended
on the Saturday evening we were treated to Greek music,
dancing, food and hospitality. During the daytime there
were lessons in Greek cooking and language lessons, though
I didn’t venture to take part in either!
Another great event to take in over the two weekends
of the Balloon Fiesta was the Rio Grande Arts and Crafts
 Festival.
For 24 years this annual Albuquerque favourite has earned
its place as a cornerstone of attractions during the Albuquerque
International Balloon Fiesta.
The New Mexico chapter of the WMA has been busy since
its conception a couple of years ago, promoting the Western
Music Association. Chairman Joe Brown and Vice-Chair Betty
Carter along with other members work tirelessly with western
artists arranging and publicising shows around the area.
A couple of concerts taking place were western singer songwriters
John Bergstrom and Dave Stamey. John’s concert took place
on the Sunday at a western gallery in Albuquerque Old Town
and though not a large attendance, John put on a fine solo
performance. John has also a new CD release ‘Butterfield
Stage’. Dave Stamey’s show was at the South Broadway Cultural
Center the following Wednesday. Another excellent show from
Dave who is considered one of the most popular Western entertainers
working today. Voted three times Entertainer of the year,
three times Male Performer of the Year and twice Songwriter
of the Year by the Western Music Association and having
received the will Rogers Award from the  Academy
of Western Artists. Shortly after I had returned to England
Juni Fisher performed at the South Broadway Cultural Center
and the chapter co-sponsored an event in Socorro (a small
town south of Albuquerque) called Cowboys at the Opera.
The Garcias Opera House is 125 years old. Doug Figgs (WMA
member) opened the evening and Syd Masters and Swing Riders
provided great dancing music. Albuquerque plays host to
the WMA Showcase and Awards Show at the Marriott Hotel 14-18
November.
Thursday afternoon it was time to leave for Ruidoso
and the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium that began on Friday.
Thursday evening had two different shows available in the
area. David Ball and the Pioneer Playboys appeared at the
nearby Spencer Theater and just out of town on State Hwy
48  the
Flying J Ranch presented a supper show featuring Floyd Domino
Review with Canadian musician Redd Volkaert, Tommy Allsup
and the Flying J Wranglers. Although I couldn’t make either
of these shows, several people commented on what a great
show and BBQ supper they had at the Flying J Ranch!
With three stages, the Friday shows at the 23rd Lincoln
County Cowboy Symposium kicked off on the main stage with
award winning fiddle player Coby Carter, The Flying J Wranglers
with MCs Larry Scott and his son Kelly. Floyd Domino with
Redd Volkaert, Devon Dawson and Dave Alexander on trumpet
gave us a great performance followed by some fantastic western
swing from Jake  Hooker
and the Outsiders, Billy Mata and the Texas Tradition, Jody
Nix and the Texas Cowboys and The Bob Wills Texas Playboys
with Tommy Allsup. Unfortunately Leon Rausch had been rushed
off to hospital feeling unwell while in Ruidoso. We heard
over the weekend that Leon had been released from hospital
and was doing well back home. Jody Nix stood in for Leon
during the Texas Playboys performance. One of the highlights
of Friday was the five-piece bluegrass band Little Roy and
Lizzy Long from Lincolnton, Georgia giving excellent performances
on several appearances over the weekend with sensational
bluegrass music and comedy routines. On the Tuffy Cooper
stage, I caught Chuck Cusimano sitting in with banjo plying
Wendell Sollis and the Sidekicks along with fiddle  players
Brady Bowen and Gregg Gibbs and Liz Talley on drums. Look
out for Brady Bowen’s new CD ‘Brady’s Tribute to Tom Morrell,
Bob Boatright and Leon Chambers’. Brady told me that it’s
finding great interest with the swing fans and selling well.
Jimmy Burson trio also gave a sensational performance
on the Tuffy Cooper stage while on the Larry McWhorter stage
Devon Dawson and the Outlaws had the young Kristyn Harris
joining them. This young  singer/songwriter
is fast making her mark on the western scene with nominations
for the WMA Awards. Singer/songwriter Chuck Cusimano followed
with a fine impromptu solo performance. I’ve received several
CDs over the years from Chuck, but never had the chance
to meet him, so I took the opportunity to introduce myself
to him as I did with several other artists who have sent
me their products over the years such as Liz Talley.
 Ruidoso
was a great opportunity to meet-up with the many friends
that I’ve made over the years and members of the Western
Swing Guild that I hadn’t met before. There were so many
people to catch up with including singer Rebecca Linda Smith
and her husband Frank who writes a column for the WSG Newsletter.
Once again I met-up with long-time friends Bob and Sue Gallup
(WSG East Coast Representative) and the lovely lady Gloria
Miers who organises the Legends of Western Swing Festival
in Wichita Falls, Texas, which celebrated it’s 25th year
in 2012. I had several opportunities to have a chat with
my friend Rope Burns editor Bobby  Newton
who I first met in 2005 at the Academy of Western Artists
awards show. Bobby is very involved with the Chuckwagon
Association and promised me a chuckwagon dinner. On Saturday
Bobby was true to his word and brought me lunch from the
Rocking T Chuckwagon cooked by Lonnie Tegeler and his team.
I must say that it was excellent and I greatly appreciate
and I thank Bobby, Lonnie and his team for my mouth-watering
lunch.
The Stars of the Friday evening concert were The Gatlin
Brothers, who thrilled a full house with their string of
hits from the 70’s & 80’s. The group went down very
well with the fans, but personally I found Larry Gatlin
did a little too much talking and I would have liked to
have a few more songs. Following on we had a short break
while the stage was re-set and performances  from
Jody Nix, Jake Hooker and Billy Mata keeping the dancers
on the floor. As the show had to close at 11pm, the three
bands all on stage together gave us a thrilling close to
Friday night.
Saturday daytime also had a similer line-up of great
bands playing of all three  stages
and I took the occasion to check out the merchandising stands
and visited for a while with western singer/songwriter Jim
Jones selling his books. Jim was 2009 New Mexico Book Awards
Finalist, Best Historical Novel, Best First Book for ‘Rustler’s
Moon’ and has a second book ‘Colorado Moon’. Plenty of jewellery
stalls western arts and crafts of all sorts on sale. Western
Swing monthly editor Barbara Martin was on hand to further
promote western swing and selling CDs for the many western
swing bands around Texas. The Symposium also features demonstrations
of many different types of horse related activities including:
horsemanship with Craig Cameron out on the racecourse. The
Lincoln County Saddle Makers Exhibit drew interest. The
Symposium also has plenty of things for kids to do including
a poetry competition and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Posse
Kid’s Rodeo. Gary Beaver, President and Brady Bowen Advisory
Board Member of CSWM presented Living Legend of Western
Swing Award to Tommy  Allsup
on stage. This is where all things “cowboy” are celebrated.
Saturday night had a full house again and a change in
format. As the three bands: Jody Nix, Jake Hooker and Billy
Mata being on stage together to close Friday night had gone
down so well, the organisers along with the bands decided
to put all three bands on stage together to keep the show
flowing better! 17 musicians all playing in  unison
with each vocalists taking their turn and even backing up
the other singers on their numbers. You just couldn’t get
a better performance and to top it off, as Jody Nix light-heartedly
pointed out, Asleep At The Wheel closed for them…sensational!!!
Two days of unbelievable music all day and plenty in
the infield to keep the whole family busy from nine in the
morning until eleven at night. During the great Lincoln
County Cowboy Symposium the dancers network (WSDN) gave
emcee Larry Scott an award for his years of dedication to
our music by keeping it alive. Cowboy Church and Gospel
music was on offer on the main stage Sunday morning while
the stall holders picked up a few extra customers.
A big thank you to Ruidoso Downs owner Mr and Mrs R.D.
Hubbard, Larry Scott and his wife Norma Jean for their
hospitality. I’m sure that I’ll be returning again to
Ruidoso in the not too distant future to enjoy the delights
of another weekend at the Lincoln County Symposium!!!
Graham Lees Oct 2012
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