Colorado cowboy and entertainer Gary McMahan is a walking page of American history. "Like horse manure, I've been all over the West, first with my Dad as he hauled cattle from Montana and the Dakotas to Texas and all points in between, then as a cowboy, and finally as an entertainer. For most of my life, I've somehow managed to make my living either with a horse or a guitar. I can remember when Ian Tyson, Chris LeDoux, and I were the only genuine cowboy types kicking around Nashville in the early seventies. All three of us were pretty much out of work, and it stayed that way for over a decade. But we all three hung and rattled and made it through that drought. I managed to extract myself from horse outfits and singing in windy little Naugahyde bars when the cowboy poetry gatherings came along. It was there that my audience and I found each other. Now I make my living performing at banquets and concerts. My guitar and I continue to travel the country 'spreading it around' and probably will 'til we both give out."

Gary is the real deal. A native of Greeley, Colorado, he has made his living doing everything from cowboying to guiding to performing. He can brand, calve, rope, ride broncs, fence, hay, shoe horses, pack, and drive teams, and has won many honors in the rodeo arena. His colorful background has set Gary in good stead to practice his heart's desire: to write, perform, and record the stories, poems, songs, and humor of his Western heritage, becoming one of the most dynamic and sought-after writers and performers in his field. Gary's songs have been recorded by stars like Ian Tyson, Chris LeDoux, and Riders in the Sky.

And, he has recorded six critically acclaimed albums himself. He has received the most prestigious award in Western music: a National Cowboy Hall of Fame Wrangler Award. Gary's poems have been published by the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Sharing the stage with performers the likes of Doc Watson, Baxter Black, Ian Tyson, Riders in the Sky, and Chris LeDoux, he has played hundreds of cowboy poetry gatherings, banquets, festivals, and concerts throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Ken Cook spends his days ranching and writing in South Dakota. He has gathered cattle out of tough country, saddled up on many a dark morning, and been run over by an embarrassing number of mama cows. The Cook crew—Ken and Nancy and their four ranch-raised cowhands—worked and played side by side through diapers to adulthood. Nancy is pretty sure Ken will never grow up!

Now, Ken's sharing his poetry on stages across the West. He's been privileged to entertain folks in several states, invited to perform at regional gatherings in Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona and North Dakota. He has appeared at the Badger Clark and Western Heritage Centers in South Dakota. Ken was a featured performer at the 2007 and 2012 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.

"The poetry of Ken Cook keeps an audience alternately in stitches or tears," says Heritage of the American West Performance series producer Francie Ganje. "He is a special performer."

Ken's poetry has been featured in various magazines and is played on radio stations across the West, including Joe Baker's Backforty Bunkhouse, Jim and Andy Nelson's Clear Out West radio show, and Totsie Slover's Real West from the Old West.

His is an authentic voice, bringing a deep respect for past generations to cowboy poetry. Award-winning cowboy poet and rancher Yvonne Hollenbeck calls him "a master poet, a great entertainer, and a real cowboy." Rick Huff, Western entertainment critic, has this to say: "You do tend to hang on Ken's words, both because of the way they come at you and the quality of their order."

Ken is the 2010 Academy of Western Artists Male Poet of the Year. In June 2009, Ken was named Lariat Laureate in a global competition at CowboyPoetry.com, a project of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. His work is featured on five Bar-D Roundup compilation albums produced by the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. His poetry has also been written about and featured online at the prestigious Poetry Foundation.
Ken has recorded three spoken-word CDs: Dad, We'll Rope Today, I'm Gonna Be a Cowboy, and his latest, Cowboys Are Like That. Cowboys Are Like That is receiving grand reviews and radio airplay around the world," says Joe Baker, AWA disc jockey of the year. "Ken is the real deal cowboy poet."

www.kencookcowboypoet.com
www.cowboypoetry.com/kencook.htm

Whether it be a Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering, Mountain Man Rendezvous or just a group of western compadres gathered around a campfire, you can be rest assured that the musical duet of Many Strings and Company will take you back to yesteryear with their ballads, Cowboy songs and Mountain Man originals. They like to call it "Old Time Western Music."