Wild West Songwriters Festival Turns Deadwood Into a Weekend-Long Songwriter Crawl
National, regional and Black Hills songwriters rotate through Deadwood venues Oct. 15–17, with free writer’s rounds, local jams and a Saturday night showcase at Deadwood Mountain Grand.
Thursday night, ten featured songwriters share the stage at Saloon No. 10. Friday morning, Wild West starts scattering them across Deadwood.
By noon, rounds are underway at Diamond Lil’s, Celebrity Hotel and Jacobs Gallery. An hour later, Saloon No. 10, the Franklin Hotel, Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar and Buffalo Bodega join in. The pattern repeats through Saturday, with national writers, Black Hills musicians and contest performers rotating through rooms all over town.
That is the basic idea behind the Wild West Songwriters Festival, which returns to Deadwood Oct. 15–17. Instead of building the weekend around one stage and a string of conventional concerts, Wild West spreads dozens of songwriter rounds throughout downtown Deadwood. Writers rotate between venues, take turns playing their songs and give audiences a chance to hear the people behind the music in much smaller rooms.
Most of the weekend is free. The festival begins Thursday evening, expands into a full slate of rounds Friday and Saturday, and closes Saturday night with the Wild West Songwriters Festival Showcase at Deadwood Mountain Grand.
How Wild West Works
The festival divides its lineup into three groups: featured writers, Black Hills writers and contest writers.
Thursday serves as an introduction. Buffalo Bodega hosts a welcome reception from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by a 7:30 p.m. round at Saloon No. 10 featuring all ten of this year’s featured songwriters.
Those featured writers are Dylan Altman, Dean Alexander, Bridgette Tatum, Sonia Leigh, Megan Linville, Sarah Carper, Brice Long, Matt Warren, Danny Myrick and Paul McDonald.
Friday and Saturday are built for wandering.
Rounds begin at noon Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday, with songwriters rotating through Saloon No. 10, Buffalo Bodega, Jacobs Gallery, the Franklin Hotel, Celebrity Hotel, Diamond Lil’s, Deadwood Tobacco Co. and Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar.
You can build the day around a particular writer, pick a venue and see who comes through, or simply move through downtown and catch whatever is happening next.
Black Hills writers are well represented throughout the schedule. Abbey Leach, Tyler Bills, Bohdi Linde, Chris Graves, Sarah Carper, Devon Sants and others appear alongside touring and nationally established writers throughout the weekend.
Thursday, Oct. 15
| Time | Venue | Writers / Event |
|---|---|---|
| 5–7 p.m. | Buffalo Bodega | Welcome Reception, all writers welcome |
| 7:30 p.m. | Saloon No. 10 | All Ten Featured Writers |
Friday, Oct. 16
| Time | Venue | Writers |
|---|---|---|
| Noon | Diamond Lil’s | Harland Allen, Mike Endrud, Bill Falcon |
| Noon | Celebrity Hotel | Lonesome Jones, Janice Gilbert, Mark Thompson Jr. |
| Noon | Jacobs Gallery | Laura Mills, Peyton Lilly, Emma Sue |
| 1 p.m. | Saloon No. 10 | Chris Graves, Tyler Bills, Mark Joseph |
| 1 p.m. | Franklin Hotel | Tony Speiser, Trap Kit, Andrew Beaird |
| 1 p.m. | Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar | Eric Hagen, Haeli Allen, Abbey Leach |
| 1 p.m. | Buffalo Bodega | Collin Donley, Todd Keiffer, Jaden Schumacher |
| 2 p.m. | Diamond Lil’s | Bubba Startz, Ja’net Eastman, Birdy Young |
| 2 p.m. | Deadwood Tobacco Co. | Chad Fallon, Bohdi Linde, Zack Scott |
| 2 p.m. | Jacobs Gallery | Bijou Belle, Ruthie Craft, Aubrey Dale |
| 3 p.m. | Buffalo Bodega | Brian Cox, Craig Winquist, Tyler Bills, Wayne Baye |
| 3 p.m. | Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar | Devon Sants, Nevada Ellison, Ben Suchy |
| 3 p.m. | Franklin Hotel | Nathan Paul, Eli Rey, Johnny Hastings |
| 3 p.m. | Saloon No. 10 | Christine Alice, Kaspen Haley, Jacquie Daniels |
| 4 p.m. | Jacobs Gallery | Dylan Altman, Dean Alexander |
| 5 p.m. | Buffalo Bodega | Bridgette Tatum, Johnny Hastings |
| 6 p.m. | Franklin Hotel | Sonia Leigh, Megan Linville, Sarah Carper |
| 7 p.m. | Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar | Brice Long, Matt Warren |
| 8 p.m. | Saloon No. 10 | Danny Myrick, Paul McDonald |
| 8 p.m. | Deadwood Tobacco Co. | Black Hills Songwriters Jam |
Saturday, Oct. 17
| Time | Venue | Writers |
|---|---|---|
| 11 a.m. | Jacobs Gallery | Chris Graves, Zack Scott, Andrew Beaird |
| 11 a.m. | Diamond Lil’s | Laura Mills, Janice Gilbert, Birdy Young |
| Noon | Saloon No. 10 | Devon Sants, Peyton Lilly, Ja’net Eastman |
| Noon | Franklin Hotel | Bubba Startz, Ben Suchy, Emma Sue |
| Noon | Celebrity Hotel | Mark Joseph, Bohdi Linde, Craig Winquist |
| Noon | Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar | Bijou Belle, Christine Alice, Jaden Schumacher |
| Noon | Buffalo Bodega | Eric Hagen, Kaspen Haley, Nathan Paul |
| 1 p.m. | Diamond Lil’s | Lonesome Jones, Wayne Baye, Zack Scott |
| 1 p.m. | Deadwood Tobacco Co. | Bill Falcon, Harland Allen, Mike Endrud |
| 1 p.m. | Jacobs Gallery | Jacquie Daniels, Haeli Allen, Eli Rey |
| 2 p.m. | Buffalo Bodega | Tony Speiser, Brian Cox, Trap Kit, Chad Fallon |
| 2 p.m. | Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar | Tristen Schofield, Mark Joseph, Johnny Hastings |
| 2 p.m. | Franklin Hotel | Ruthie Craft, Todd Keiffer |
| 2 p.m. | Saloon No. 10 | Abbey Leach, Aubrey Dale, Collin Donley |
| 3 p.m. | Jacobs Gallery | Brice Long, Sonia Leigh |
| 4 p.m. | Buffalo Bodega | Paul McDonald, Dean Alexander |
| 5 p.m. | Franklin Hotel | Matt Warren, Johnny Hastings |
| 6 p.m. | Ian Munsick’s Cowboy Bar | Megan Linville, Danny Myrick, Sarah Carper |
| 7 p.m. | Saloon No. 10 | Dylan Altman, Bridgette Tatum |
| 8:30 p.m. | Deadwood Mountain Grand | Wild West Songwriters Festival Showcase, ticketed |
Schedule note: We’ve pulled the weekend schedule together from the official Wild West Songwriters Festival materials available as of Oct. 15. Times, venues and artists can change, so it’s a good idea to double-check the official festival page and individual venues before heading out.
The Saturday Night Showcase
At 8:30 p.m., the weekend moves to the Deadwood Mountain Grand Event Center for the Wild West Songwriters Festival Showcase.
Unlike most of the writer’s rounds, the showcase is ticketed. Admission is $10, with tickets available online or at the door. Attendees under 21 must be accompanied by an adult.
The showcase serves as the festival’s grand finale after two days of smaller rounds spread throughout town.
A Weekend With More Than One Songwriter Festival
Wild West is not the only songwriter event happening in Deadwood this weekend.
The Trails of Tales Songwriter Festival runs Oct. 15–17 at multiple locations, with its own schedule and rounds beginning around noon. Trails of Tales is a separate event and is not affiliated with Wild West.
The Art of Song is also holding ticketed performances at Scott Jacobs Gallery during the weekend. Leslie Satcher and Kent Blazy perform Thursday, followed by Rivers Rutherford on Friday.
Those events are separate from Wild West, but together they make this an unusually dense weekend for anyone interested in songwriting.