May 18 at 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Free
On Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 2:00 pm, the Betty Strong Encounter Center is thrilled to welcome Joan Wells and Kris Simon as they travel and sing “Up the Nebraska Cattle Trail and Songs of the West.” Admission is free with a reception to follow.
In 1867, and with a surplus of cattle in Texas, cattle drives brought hundreds of thousands of cattle to Nebraska. Herds were gathered near San Antonio, Texas and driven up the Western Trail to Ogallala, Nebraska. During these four-month long drives cowboys would pass the time singing about life on the trail and to calm the cattle the night.
Joan Wells and Kris Simon share about the cattle drives and the origin of western music while singing the songs of the early day cowboys.