Echoes of the Trail offers western concert at FSCC

RFD-TV's "Best of America by Horseback" co-host Del Shields offered to help Echoes of the Trail by giving a concert at 7 p.m., April 28, in the Round Room of Bailey Hall at Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton.

Shields sings, plays guitar, yodels and writes cowboy poetry and songs. He is a real cowboy and farrier, and for "Best of America by Horseback," Shields has ridden from Mexico to Canada, shoeing horses, preaching the gospel and singing around the campfire.

Concert proceeds will go toward bringing the 16th annual Echoes of the Trail Cowboy Gathering to Fort Scott June 8-10. The event is possible only through the generosity of its donors and providers of in-kind help, such as FSCC, a news release said.

The $10 tickets to the Del Shields concert may be purchased in advance at Country Cupboard, 12 N. Main St., at the door, or by visiting http://www.echoesofthetrail.com.

Shields' website states he is a member of the Academy of Western Artists and the Western Music Association and he writes at least half the music on his albums. He had a single, "Listen Close," that reached No. 2 on the Sunset International Western Music chart and two albums that reached No. 9 on those charts.

Shields lives and works on a Humboldt ranch and he has entertained troops at Fort Riley before they were deployed to Iraq, in addition to performing on cruises of Alaskan and tropical seas. Shields' motto is, "Come as you are and prepare to go home a little bit western!"

Echoes of the Trail co-founder Johnny Kendrick and his sons, Jackson and Sam, who call themselves "The Branchy Boys," will open for Shields on April 28.

Kendrick was one of the founders of the" Jubilee" music show in Fort Scott and wrote the theme song for Echoes of the Trail. He and his sons sing three-part harmony, entertaining audiences with bluegrass, traditional and original western music.

The mission of Echoes of the Trail is to preserve the memory of the cowboy way of life, which is reflected in the songs and cowboy poems sung on the trail in the 1800s, and later by silver screen cowboys such as Roy Rogers, the release said. At one time, there were cattle drives to Fort Scott from Texas.

Performers at the annual event at FSCC sing and tell tales from the heart and receive only a small honorarium that hardly covers the cost of gasoline. This year, the Echoes of the Trail committee is asking local residents to house seven of the performers to save on the cost of hotel rooms. A group from Overland Park, 3 Trails West, will open this June's gathering with a sound reminiscent of the "Sons of the Pioneers." For more information and to hear a sample of their singing, visit http://www.echoesofthetrail.com.