On the Town: A night of music, whiskey, and Western spirit

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The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum welcomed guests to its 63^rd annual Western Heritage Awards by transforming its main ballroom into an upscale country-western bar.

When the doors opened to the kick-off last Friday night, they walked in to music of The Kyle Dillingham Swing Project playing with honoree Reba McEntire and weekend emcee Rex Linn two-stepping through the room.

With leather couches and chairs set up in lounge areas throughout and three Western-themed bars in different spots of the room, the atmosphere was a perfect way to open a big weekend celebrating exceptional creative works in Western literature, music, television and film.

In addition to the kick-off party, visitors got the first look at a new and immersive experience – “Find Your West,” which uses displays and floor-to-ceiling videos to set a Western tone for guests walking through to the main art galleries. The rest of the weekend also included panel discussions to spotlight some of the award winners, including between Don Reeves, the 2024 Chester A. Reynolds Award winner, and Michael Grauer, the current McCasland Chair of Cowboy Cultures and Curator of Western Collections and Western Art, and between Keith Carradine, a 2024 Hall of Great Western Performers inductee, and Reba McEntire, the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

The main event was the awards dinner the next night. Honorees, listed by categories, were:

Literature – “The Rediscovery of America” by Ned Blackhawk (nonfiction); “Bighorn Visions: The Photography of Jessamine Spear Johnson” by Tempe Javitz (photography); “Heartwood Mountain: The Adventures of Wilder Good #8” by S. J. Dahlstrom (juvenile); “The Geddes Murder Trial: Gender, Race, and Murder-for-Hire in Montana’s Criminal Justice System” by Shane Dunning (magazine article); “The Ways of Water: A Novel” by Teresa H. Janssen (Western novel) and The Best Material for the Artist in the World by Kenneth Chamlee (poetry).

Music – “The Shelter of the Wildwood,” recording artist Riders in the Sky, composed by Douglas Green (original Western composition); “From The Saddle To Symphony Hall,” recording artist Dave Alexander, composed by Dave Alexander (traditional Western album);

Film and television – “Today’s Wild West: Episode 603” produced by Mark Bedor (Western lifestyle program); “Ride,” starring C. Thomas Howell and Forrie J. Smith, directed and written by Jake Allyn (theatrical motion picture); “Lakota Nation vs. United States,” directed by Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli, produced by Benjamin Hedin and Phil Pinto (documentary); and “Hózhó náhásdlįį (Beauty is Restored),” “Dark Winds” S2, E6, directed by Chris Eyre, produced by John Wirth, Graham Roland, George R.R. Martin, Robert Redford, Tina Elmo, Vince Gerardis, Chris Eyre, Zahn McClarnon, Anne Hillerman and Jim Chory (television feature film).

Hall of Great Westerners inductees – Jack LeForce and Buster Welch (1928-2022)’

Hall of Great Western Performers inductees – Keith Carradine, Noah Beery Jr. (1913-1994) and John Smith (1931-1995); and Chester A. Reynolds Award – Don Reeves; Lifetime Achievement Award – Reba McEntire; and New Horizon Award Mo Brings Plenty.

This event brings in people from around the country, and Friday’s party was a great start to showing off how special this weekend generally is.

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