Diana Jorgenson
Portola Editor
3/10/2010

    Vinton’s Cowboy Poetry show is the eastern Plumas event that keeps going and going and going. Now in its 24th year, the show featuring a taste of the Old West will return March 19 – 20 to the Sierra Valley Grange on Highway 70.

 Poet-songwriter T.J. Casey, singer-songwriter Belinda Gail and cowboy poet J.D. Seibert are headlining this year’s show, which promises to live up to the outstanding performances enjoyed in the past.

    Having spent two-thirds of his life in a saddle, mentored by old cowboys and old horses, T. J. Casey sings what he knows and shares that authenticity with the audience. Casey said that while the old cowboys and old horses of his native Montana taught him honesty, humor, respect and trustworthiness, younger horses and wild cattle developed his agility and made him tough.

    Casey has been performing for the past 30 years, sharing the stage with Merle Haggard, the Everly Brothers and other legends. Most recently, the Rural Roots Music Commission awarded him Country Western CD of the Year – 2009.

    Belinda Gail began her Western music career in 1996, singing with the Sons of the San Joaquin. Her dynamic style and captivating voice quickly captured the attention of national venues, and she tours both the Midwest and the West.

    She has appeared with the Sons of the Pioneers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Lynn Anderson and many others and had her own show in Branson, Mo. Most recently, she appeared in Branson for a month-long engagement with Curly Musgrave, a former headliner for the Vinton show.

    Gail has won a long list of awards for her singing and songwriting and has the distinction of holding the Western Music Association’s award for Female Performer of the Year five years in a row.

    J. D. Siebert is an up-and-coming cowboy poet whose witty poems derive from firsthand experiences as a cowboy throughout the West. When he’s not performing at museums and festivals, he lives in the one-horse town of Agua Dulce, attends local brandings and trains horses in his spare time.

    This varied group of performers is sure to delight. Performances are March 19 at 7:30 p.m.; a matinee at 1 p.m. Saturday and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. the same day Tickets are $18 for adults and $6 for kids age 12 and under.

    Dinner tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children 12 and under. Corned beef and cabbage will be served from 5 – 7 p.m. Friday and a roast beef dinner will be served between Saturday’s shows from 4 – 7 p.m.

    Proceeds from the Cowboy Poetry Show benefit the Sierra Valley Grange building fund, preserving and maintaining an historic building and much-needed community gathering place. For more information, call Betty Ramelli at 993-4692.