The International Western Music Association’s annual celebration of cowboy music and cowboy poetry – dubbed “All Roads Lead to Albuquerque” – is scheduled for November 8-12 at Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town. Featuring concerts, showcases, contests, and workshops, as well as Western merchandise and art from across the U.S. and Canada, the convention has been held annually in Albuquerque since 2004, and is open to all.
“The IWMA’s purpose is to keep traditional Western music and cowboy poetry alive while planning the future to ensure new music and poetry is being written,” said IWMA executive director Marsha Short.
Rick Huff, music reviewer and columnist with the Western Music Association and a commissioner with the New Mexico Music Commission, said, “More people are performing and recording Western music today than at any other time in its two-plus century history. This annual IWMA show brings together much of the best of it at one time. Each year, new people who favor the genres of Americana, folk and traditional country make the discovery of America’s ‘hidden’ endemic genre – Western.”
The November IWMA gathering also hosts an annual awards show at which winners of honors such as Artist of The Year, Top Male and Female Artists, Best Group/Duo, Cowboy Poet, Song of the Year, and Album of The Year are announced and presented.
Attendees can also expect daily performances and nighttime concerts; Western harmony, yodeling and poetry contests; songwriting contests; and a comprehensive Western mercantile that allows people to hear and meet new artists and expand their collections of their favorite music.
Ticket information, a full schedule, and other details can be found at the IWMA website, iwesternmusic.org or by calling Short at (505) 563-0673.
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