Songs & Stories of the American West

Rochester Public Library Auditorium

Award-winning western songwriter Kerry Grombacher will appear in a special morning concert at the Rochester Public Library on Saturday, October 19th, 2024.  

In the spirit of the Troubadours of old, Kerry Grombacher's contemporary folk and western songs paint vivid portraits and tell fascinating stories that are set in the landscape he travels, from the bayous of Louisiana, through the desert Southwest, to the Hi-Line of Montana and the forests of the Pacific Northwest. "Range of the Buffalo," the title track of his 2021 CD, was named Song of the Year by the International Western Music Association. Kerry, who is sponsored by Elixir Guitar & Mandolin Strings, logs as many as 40,000 miles each year driving from show to show.

"I'm fascinated by this area where the Great Plains meet the Upper Midwest," Grombacher said recently, "As I travel, I always look to the land, the history, and the people I meet for stories that help me to better understand our nation and myself."

In the course of his nationwide tours, Kerry has sung his songs on stages as varied as the Newport Folk Festival, the Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage. In addition to appearing at Cowboy Gatherings and Folk Festivals, he performs regularly at concert halls and other music venues. He's also been featured on "Born to Explore," the ABC Television adventure travel program, and on "River City Folk," the nationally syndicated music interview program.

A native of Kansas, Grombacher makes his home in New Orleans now, but he lived in Austin, Texas for many years. A self-taught musician who plays guitar and mandolin, Kerry Grombacher has fought forest fires in Oregon, worked as a field archaeologist in New Mexico, done day work on ranches in New Mexico, Colorado and California, and worked with an outfitter in Yellowstone National Park and in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Kerry Grombacher's recordings are "Range of the Buffalo," "It Sings in the Hi-Line," "Sands Motel," "Riding for the Brand," "Dreams of New Orleans," and "Home to the West." Kerry's songs have been recorded by other artists, including Belinda Gail, Jim Jones, Ed Stabler, The Texas Trailhands, Duke Davis, Gary Prescott, Trails & Rails, and Earl Gleason.

Nalini Jones, of the Newport Folk Festival, says "Kerry Grombacher is the best kind of songwriter, with lyrics that take us on journeys to places we've never visited before, and melodies so pure and true that they seem to rise up from the plains..." Cowboys & Indians Magazine said songwriter Kerry Grombacher "...is one of the West's new breed, who builds on, embellishes, expands, and updates traditional Western themes."

The concert on Saturday, October 19, 2024 is free to the public, and all ages are invited. The concert will begin at 10:30 a.m.