Story by Brenn Hill; Photos by Jessica Brandi Lifland
Andy Hedges takes the stage at Carnegie Hall.
The American violinist Isaac Stern, six-time Grammy award winner, for whom the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall is named, once said, “Everywhere in the world, music enhances a hall, with one exception: Carnegie Hall enhances the music.”
Such was the case on Friday, March 22, 2024, when Lubbock, Texas, songster Andy Hedges took his rough-and-ready, and legendary in their own rite, cast of cowpoke crooners and poets with him to mid-town Manhattan, New York, to present his Roll On, Cowboys recording live at Carnegie Hall. It was the first cowboy crew to play at Carnegie in many years. The concert was graciously presented by the National Ranching Heritage Center of Lubbock, Texas, and the eclectic sold-out crowd rode the range in song for a night with the lights of Hedges, Tom Russell, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Brigid Reedy, Waddie Mitchell, Rod Taylor, Andy Wilkinson, Corb Lund, Dom Flemons, Maggie Rose Hedges, and Pipp Gillette. The show was appropriately emceed by the great cowboy artist Willy Matthews who also painted the cover art for Andy’s incredible 2023 self-produced recording, Roll On, Cowboys. Jim Bret Campbell, Director fo the National Ranching Heritage Center, warmly welcomed the crowd and introduced Matthews to start the event.
Andy Hedges has toured the Western states extensively for 30 years reciting classic cowboy poetry, playing nearly flawless finger-style guitar, and singing traditional cowboy songs to anyone who will listen – and sometimes those who don’t. His dedication to the genre and to the preservation of Western lore is cemented by his art, and a widely known podcast called Cowboy Crossroads that gives deep insights into the real American West as it once was and as it is now. Andy Hedges has become a bold new leader in cowboy arts. He is a man of vision, and he rides a wide circle. And his place at the table of cowboy poetry and music is indisputable. Hedges is well on his way to legendary status alongside the likes of Don Edwards, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Buck Ramsey.
But legendary status alone does not garner an invite to the sacred stages of Carnegie. In fact, it has also been said that adding such a venue to one’s bucket list is a sure guarantee for disappointment. For in the music world, where many are called, only few are chosen for such a rare honor.
But as the concert and evening unfolded it was the great Hall of Carnegie that became something more as Andy’s crew of cowboys and cowgirls took their turns at Hedges’ flanks to present a genre that is both unique and universal. For there is a little cowboy in us all. Even in Manhattan.
Andy Hedges, left, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott perform in Roll on Cowboys at Carnegie Hall.
The title track, “Roll On, Cowboys”, penned by the under-heralded singer/songwriter Bob Campbell of Kilgore, Texas, is the first song up, and one the author is honored to share with Hedges. It is a song that many consider to be a new and timeless classic. It sets a theme for a record that the cowboy genre can and will dally to for years to come. The song, like the recording, sets a precedent for a new generation of cowboy and cowgirl songsters and poets that are telling and living the Western story in verse and rhyme.
With the vibrant and lovely overtones of Brigid Reedy’s fiddle solo, our version of “Roll On, Cowboys” filled the hall and filled the hearts of all in earshot that magical evening. And set the stage for the succession of brilliance forthcoming.
American songster Dom Flemons joined Hedges on “Dodgin’ Joe” and the love for Flemons at Carnegie was palpable. The classic “Little Joe the Wrangler” featured rodeo rocker and Albertan Corb Lund. The great Americana singer/songwriter Tom Russell joined Andy for the gritty anthem, “Root Hog, or Die”, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott sang the classic “Railroad Bill,” “Philadelphia Lawyer,” and the poem he composed from his own days of cowboyin’ called “Makin’ Merry with John Perry on the Ol’ Bar Cross.”
Texas folk singer Pipp Gillette joined Andy for “Punchin’ the Dough” and “Long Summer Day,” and legendary and fellow Lubbock singer/songwriter Andy Wilkinson partnered on the song he penned for and about his great uncle Charlie Goodnight called “Palo Duro Farewell.” Wilkinson’s poem from the same work “Saddlin’ Up Time” was a highlight, recited by Andy Hedges, just before the intermission. The audience in the hall, which included the likes of legendary songwriter Steve Earle and delegates from the United Nations, became as reverent as a congregation as they envisioned the life and last days of Texas Panhandle rancher Charlie Goodnight and the hard lines the man lived by.
New Mexico crooner Rod Taylor joined Andy for the Joel Nelson/Don Edwards classic, “Here’s Lookin’ at You.” Rod is beloved within the cowboy tribe and its circles. His dedication to the genre comes second only to this dedication as a working cowboy on the Philmont Ranch in Northeast New Mexico for the better part of his career.
Montana singer/songwriter and poet, Brigid Reedy.
Montana cowgirl and instrumentalist Brigid Reedy joined Andy for a haunting version of “Desert Sands.” Reedy’s participation in the recording and the live performances breathe precious lfie into the works. Her contributions temper and compliment the sometimes all too cowboy and all too little cowgirl nature of Western lore. Her stage presence is remarkable and her performances always flawless.
But it was through tears that many watched as perhaps our greatest mentor and champion Waddie Mitchell took his rightful place alongside Andy for “Ridin’/Commutin’,” the duet he once complimented our late hero Don Edwards on so many times. The night at Carnegie Hall was possible only by way of a series of efforts and events founded by the Elko County buckaroo poet. And he has graciously shared his vision and influence for more than forty years. It was Waddie who planted the seeds for The Cowboy Poetry Gatherings in Elko four decades ago and nurtured it with all his heart and soul while championing the likes of Andy Hedges and so many others along the way. His contributions to Roll On, Cowboys is far more than the single duet he performs with Andy. For were it not for Waddie Mitchell, there would likely be very little organized audiences for the poetry and music that Hedges has dedicated his life to.
The concert was book-ended by a new version of “Goodbye Old Paint,” which Hedges always presents as a tribute to the late Buck Ramsey and his desire to see “every good cowboy poetry gathering end with such an anthem.” It was only fitting that Hedges be joined by his lovely daughter Maggie Rose Hedges in the piece. And flanked by the entire cast of Roll On, Cowboys.
The body of work and its all-star cast was indeed magnified by the great Carnegie Hall on the night of March 22, 2024. But those walls echoed with standing ovation applause for legendary Ramblin’ Jack Elliott both times he took to the microphone. The audience within the great hall drew nearer to the lore and legend of the Great American West as they shared the vision of Andy Hedges. The stage of Carnegie Hall was graced by the authentic voices of the real American West. The voices that still speak for ranching and agriculture. Voices that go unheralded in pop-culture but ring with brilliance and truth wherever they are presented.
Perhaps even Isaac Stern would agree that Andy Hedges’ live performance of Roll On, Cowboys made Carnegie Hall a place it. has seldom if ever been before on the night of March 22, 2024. For Andy’s grand vision of the West is bigger than Manhattan. It’s bigger than the Big Apple. It’s the endless skies of the Texas plains, the tallest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the long trails to the railheads of the Midwest, and the stories of a hundred thousand campfires still burning in the hearts of all who have ever loved and longed for the real American West.
Roll On, Cowboys; roll on Andy Hedges.
Andy Hedges, center stage, is flanked by the Roll On, Cowboys performers at Carnegie Hall.
