Ian Tyson, a rough stock rider, started playing the guitar while recovering from a rodeo injury. He went on to become a legendary performing artist. Ian’s highly successful 60-year career in the music business included numerous releases and popular TV shows. He was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and the Order of Canada, and his “Four Strong Winds” was named one of the greatest Canadian songs of all time. After finding fame during the ’60s folk revival as half of the duo Ian & Sylvia (with his ex-wife), Ian returned to southern Alberta ranch country, training horses and cowboying in the Rockies at Pincher Creek. In 1985, Ian was invited to the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering to share his “new western music.” An audience favorite, he performed at almost every Gathering since and his shows would often sell out almost instantly. He was a favorite among his peers, spurring meaningful collaborations with other Gathering artists, including Mike Beck, Ross Knox, Gary McMahan, Tom Russell, David Wilke, and Paul Zarzyski. Ian spoke of Elko as the place, the hub, where he and his cowboy songwriting (Old Corrals & Sagebrush, Cowboyography) found an audience in the "cowboy underground" and grew from there. His appearances at the Gathering, and at Stockmens in the early days, were magical, forever raising the bar for contemporary cowboy songwriting and dances. A gifted songwriter and mentor, Ian was not only a legacy, but a beloved friend of the Western Folklife Center.

Photo by Kevin Martini Fuller