PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.—See how the West was fun during Saddle Up! in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Feb. 24-26. The fifth annual event will feature concerts by some of America’s finest western musicians and cowboy poets.
Featured entertainers include R. W. Hampton, a cowboy singer, songwriter and musician from Cimarron, N.M, and the Western Music Association’s (WMA) Male Performer of the Year for 2004. Hampton will appear in concert and will perform his one-man musical play “The Last Cowboy.” This will be Mr. Hampton’s second visit to the Pigeon Forge event.
Waddie Mitchell, one of America’s most noted cowboy poets, also makes a return appearance at Saddle Up! Mr. Mitchell has performed internationally for audiences from Los Angeles to New York, Zurich to Melbourne and points in between. He recently was named one of the Top 20 Nevada Artists, Authors & Entertainers of the 20th Century.
Brenn Hill, the Academy of Western Artists (AWA) 2004 Western Male Vocalist, returns for his second consecutive Saddle Up! appearance. In addition to solo performances, Mr. Hill will appear with Mr. Mitchell under the billing “The Cowboy and the Kid.”
Noted cowgirl performer Joni Harms, whose album “Let’s Put Western Back In Country” was named AWA 2004 Best Western Album/CD, will make her Saddle Up! debut.
Sons of the San Joaquin, named 2004 Entertainer of the Year by both AWA and WMA, will bring their timeless and traditional sounds to Saddle Up. The trio has performed together for more than 15 years and appeared in venues across the country from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry to L.A.’s House of Blues.
Bil Lepp, a teller of tall tales and five-time winner of the West Virginia Liars Contest, will put a western spin on his stories during his first Saddle Up! appearance.
Saddle Up! activities include a Cowboy Action Shooting competition hosted by the Smoky Mountain Shootist Society, a western songwriters workshop, and a Cowboy Clothing Mart.
Music Road Hotel Convention Center will serve as event headquarters. Concerts will take place at the Smith Family Theater and the Louise Mandrell Theater. Concert tickets are available at 1-866-399-8100. Day passes are available at $30 plus tax per day. Children ages 12 and younger are admitted free. A weekend pass that includes all concerts except “The Last Cowboy” presentation is available for $50.
Performance of “The Last Cowboy” will take place Feb. 25 at Black Bear Jamboree and is ticketed separately. Cost for the 8 p.m. dinner/show is $19.95 plus tax, available at 1-800-985-5494.
Cowboy Church, a free, non-denominational worship service featuring R.W. Hampton, is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. at Stages West.
More information about Saddle Up!, part of the award-winning Pigeon Forge Winterfest, is available from the Pigeon Forge Office of Special Events at 865-429-7350.