Today is the day!

My new single "Cowboy" is out right now and available on all your favorite platforms. The music video is also premiering today on YouTube. And if that is not enough, western radio stations worldwide will be spinning it too. What a day!

This song is close to my heart. It is about a boy's imagination and his love for all things cowboy. I think a lot of us who grew up out West know exactly that feeling. Tom Swearingen, an extraordinarily talented western poet, co-wrote this one with me. Tom has a gift for capturing the soul of the West in words and it was a joy to work with him again.

Merel Bregante produced "Cowboy" at Cribworks Digital Audio and brought it to life in a way that makes me smile every single time I hear it. Thank you Merel. Check the credits below for the full list of the wonderful people who helped make this song what it is.

I have one simple ask. Take a listen. If it moves you, like it, share it, add it to a playlist, download it and pass it along to someone who would enjoy it. That is how independent music finds its people. Every share matters more than you know.

A pre-release listen is in the comments below if you want to get a head start.

Here is to the cowboys. Big and small.

See the video on YouTube here: 

I am a grateful man.

In 2025, a song that Sarah Pierce, Merel Bregante and I wrote together called "Blessed by the West" was recognized by two of the most respected organizations in western music. I am still taking it in.

Western Writers of America, Inc. presented us with the 2025 Spur Award for Best Western Song. The WWA has been honoring the best in western writing since 1952. To have our song recognized alongside that tradition means the world to me. Thank you to Sarah and Merel for bringing your hearts and your talent to this song. What a team.

Then the International Western Music Association named "Blessed by the West" the 2025 Song of the Year. That crystal obelisk is sitting right here where I can see it. I catch myself just looking at it sometimes. It is a beautiful thing.

I also have to mention Tom Swearingen. He and I co-wrote "It's A Crazy Thing" and together we took 1st Place in the IWMA Team Penning Songwriting Contest in 2024. They gave us a belt buckle from Molly's Custom Silver. A belt buckle! Now that is western. Tom is a wonderful writer and a good guy. It was a joy to create with him.

I have been writing songs since I was a kid growing up on the High Plains of West Texas. The West is in my bones. To be recognized for a song that celebrates exactly that is more than I could have asked for.

There is more music on the way. I hope you will stick around for it.

Thank you all for listening.

Randy

Joe has been a friend for over 40 years. True brothers that love life and each other. 
We rolled into Buena Vista to perform a House Concert at Joe and Cindy’s home. We met a wonderful group of their friends, ate like kings, and enjoyed music together. It was a great time. Also, my dear friend and I had time to catch up and encourage each other to live life to it’s fullest and always choose love and grace.

If you want to see me grin. Just let me play at Society Hall in Alamosa,Colorado with the extremely talented Don Richmond. 
That is what happened last Friday night. I had the pleasure of marking off a bucket list item that I’ve had for the last several years. 
The room is an acoustic paradise and Don is a gentle giant of a player of all things stringed. Don and his wife Teri were our hosts and we had an excellent time.

IWMA 
What a wonderful and warm welcome we experienced at the IWMA . That is the International Western Music Association 2022 conference in Albuquerque,New Mexico. Absolutely the salt of the earth type of people all the way from the fans,media and world class musicians. 
We had a convergence of old and new friends. 
It was great to share and hear new songs as we cheered each other on so that each of us did our very best. 
Thank you to Merel Bregante, Jim Jones, and Alan Chapman who invited and encouraged me to take part in this event.

8/8/22 

Here’s to the kindhearted people in the land of Lincoln. Midwesterners are inviting and warm, at least that was our experience in Stillman Valley,Illinois. 

We have some dear friends who just moved to the valley. He was one of our former pastors at our home church in Amarillo. Together with his amazing wife and daughter they have relocated to Illinois, where they will lead the community church. 

We were treated like royalty. We were embraced by our friends and the entire church community during our two day visit. It began with a cookout, water balloon volleyball and a pop up concert on the parking lot of the church. Folks circled up soccer mom chairs, told stories and laughed hard well past sundown and into a stunning summer evening. Stillman Valley is a beautiful place. The corn  and soy bean fields along with the stately trees and rolling hills made for a perfect night. 

I had the pleasure to sing a set of songs to these new friends and the honor to bring a song to their Sunday morning worship. 

The afternoon and evening were spent exploring the countryside. We talked and talked and we ate and ate. Very satisfying! 

It is a blessing to have these kind of friends to share our lives with. 

Northward!

8/6/22
 When we planned this trip we had goals in mind. One of the main goals was to enjoy each other. Missouri’s Ozark Outdoors Resort  offered a real change of scenery from interstates and fast food. After arriving at dark, pitching our tent, inflating our double high air mattress, and scrambling for the bug spray when our lantern invited the little pests to join us, we were dripping with sweat and our stomachs were growling. We made a meal of black seedless grapes and called it a night being sure to leave our lanterns outside. We fell asleep to the chorus of the night time critters and the Meramec River flowing by our camp site. 

We woke refreshed and excited to float for a day on the Huzzah and Meramac Rivers. We’ve done the float before and could not pass up this rare treat which the high and dry plains does not offer. When we returned to our campsite we had neighbors! They were an extended family of 14 people speaking Italian, playing opera music,competing at multiple yard games and finally having an outdoor viewing of Spider-Man. Beautiful people! Wish we’d  had another night to be included in their circle. What a great time of being in the moment … Together! 

Onward. 

 Next stop Stillman Valley, IL

Blog 8/4/22. Thursday 

I met a class act today. Dr Adrian Sturdevant is passionate about radio,music and his fair city of Fayetteville,Arkansas. 

We went live after the noon news,talked about the new album, Deeper Water, and swapped a few stories and sang a couple of songs. Thank you Dr A for an encouraging morning on KPSQ-IP, 97.3 on the dial in beautiful north west Arkansas.

Blog 8/4/22 

It just tickles me pink to have a concert go as well as our evening in Little Rock,Arkansas. 

We were pleased to have a wonderful crowd that came to have a good time. It was splendid! snacks,drinks,scenery, sound and especially the tapping out the rhythm instruments during a group sing along. Such a sweet night ! Thank you to our dear friends,Al and Bev for hosting us. Also ,thank you for their church providing a perfect space that made a great listening room. 

I heard stories and met a few hero’s and characters…I feel a song coming on.

Ann and I packed the car yesterday morning to hit the road for a 15 day adventure. The goals are simple - to promote the new record, enjoy each other, and invest in friendships old and new. 

We will be revisiting some places we know and love and exploring new territory mining our experiences for stories. Hopefully, these people and places will find their way into new songs. We are in Little Rock for a House Concert… 

to be continued, 

Randy