About the Musicians & Poets
Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Saturday, Sept. 23
4-6 PM
McKenzie County Ag Expo | Watford City, ND
Sam Platts and the Plainsmen
“You have to throw a little Western swing into any mix, and one of the sound’s greatest modern purveyors is Sam Platts. His Montana band offers up expertly crafted takes on traditional sounds, with plenty of humor and wit baked into the lyrics.” ~ Hunter Hauk, Cowboys & Indians Magazine
The Plainsmen is a western-swing and country group composed of Sam, Lilly Platts, J Kane, and Bill Dwyer. The group is inspired by traditional country music and western swing, playing originals and their favorite standards. While the group is dedicated to the tradition of country and western swing music, we aren’t a throwback group. We’re modern people who have chosen this genre of music because we love it, and because people love to listen to it. This is music you can dance to, sit and listen to, and enjoy.
Denise Lajimodiere
North Dakota Poet Laureate
Denise Lajimodiere is a founder of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, a nonprofit focused on supporting boarding school survivors. She is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (Ojibwe).
Lajimodiere’s book Stringing Rosaries: the History, the Unforgivable, and the Healing of North American Indian Boarding School Survivors (2019) features interviews from boarding school survivors. The book includes her experiences being raised by her parents, who are boarding school survivors. Now retired, she spent more than 44 years in education as a teacher at Edwin Loe Elementary School, an instructor at Turtle Mountain Middle School, a principal for Turtle Mountain Elementary School and an assistant professor in educational leadership at North Dakota State University.
Lajimodiere is author of the poetry collections Dragonfly Dances, Thunderbird, Bitter Tears and His Feathers Were Chains, and of the children’s book Josie Dances. She is a traditional Jingle Dress dancer and Ojibwe birchbark biting artist. -NPR, July 7, 2022
Join Denise for a birchbark biting demo on Saturday at noon in the McKenzie County Ag Expo
Jonathan Odermann
Cowboy Poet
Jonathan Odermann is a third-generation rancher who raises cattle in the badlands of western North Dakota. His cow calf operation is located along the Little Missouri River about half way between the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, and Theodore Roosevelt’s original Elk Horn ranch site. He was inspired to start sharing his verse after attending the Dakota Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Medora. Jonathan’s original work runs the gamut from short, funny pieces to longer, epic sagas, and he likes to amuse and delight his audience with a blend of humorous and thought provoking poems inspired by his real life experiences. Jonathan really enjoys cowboy poetry and encouraging others to share their stories through written and visual art. Jonathan is a regular poet at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
DW Groethe
Cowboy Poet
DW Groethe is the son of a son of pioneers. He was born and raised in the west of Dakota and has lived the past 25-plus years across the border in Montana. It is the same land…same folks…same weather…same heartbeat. The lyrics may change but the rhythm stays true. He is a ranch hand, he is a poet, he is a songster. His songs and his poems sing of who he is and where he comes from. DW has been a regular performer at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV.
Jessie Veeder
Writer/Musician
Jessie Veeder writes and sings about the badlands of Western North Dakota where she grew up as the fourth generation on her family’s cattle ranch. She released her first original album at sixteen and has gone on to tour nationally, releasing three more original albums and two books about rural living. Her latest project is “Prairie Princess,” a children’s book that celebrates a child’s connection to the land. Blending western, rock, blues and heartfelt, honest lyrics, Jessie sings, writes and talks about raising cattle, kids and community along the gravel and tours the country on this story’s behalf. Jessie and her husband work alongside her father on the ranch, raising their two young daughters and Angus cattle. She chronicles life on the land on her popular blog, in a weekly regional column and a podcast, all titled “Meanwhile, back at the ranch…”Jessie was voted North Dakota’s favorite folk musician and is a recipient of the North Dakota Governor’s Award for Individual Achievement in the Arts.
Western Art Show
Friday, Sept. 22
5-8 PM
Saturday, Sept. 23
10 AM – 9 PM
McKenzie County Ag Expo | Watford City, ND
* some artists may stay open after the final rodeos of the evening*
Maria Borkowski
We Three Bs Photography
Watford City, ND
Western Photography, cards, prints, canvases and more
www.wethreebs.com
Ellen Jean Diederich
Fargo, ND
Original watercolor and acrylic paintings, notecards, reproductions & books
www.givinity.com
Barb Kalenze
Kalenze Craft Fine Art
Berthold, ND
Giclee prints, original art (oil and pencil). Note cards
www.kalenzekraft.com
Kathy Monti
Prairie Light Art Glass
Berthold, ND
Fused Glass Art
Prairie Light Glass Studio on Facebook
Reiann Olson
Afton Ray-Rossol
Bold West Art
Sidney, MT
“Wildlife & The West” fine art paintings, prints, and art merch
www.boldwestart.com
Tracy Reis
Divine Treasures
Belfield, MT
Handpoured dough bowl candles, sublimation candles in jars, signs, rope art and more
Cheri Roshau
Art by Cheri Roshau
Dickinson, ND
Giclee and framed prints on canvas of rodeo art, bison, horses and ND Badlands
www.cherieroshau.art
Morgan Wisness
River Ranch Woodworks
Keene, ND
One of a kind western furniture and home decor. All items are restored, hand painted or handmade with each piece inspired by a love for all things cowboy and southwestern.
Trish StevensonKen Roshau
Woodwork Crafted by Ken
Dickinson, ND
Charcuterie boards, cutting boards, coffee coasters and more
Kara Glenn
Chingona Art
Watford City, ND
Paintings
Western Vendors
KO Leather and Hats
Rhianna’s Boutique
Saddle Up Western Store
The Buckled Bunny
Gold Buckle Tack
Thank you to the following supporters
