Walt Richards and Paula Strong have enjoyed performing together for over twenty years in various groups, including Bow Willow and Mandolin Madness. Trails & Rails has appeared at many Western Music Events over the last couple of years, carrying on the grand tradition of Western music.
In November of 2005, Trails & Rails won the Duo Harmony competition at the Western Music Association Music Festival and annual gathering in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Collecting and sharing Cowboy and Train songs, along with information about the history of the West, is just one of their many passions.
Trails & Rails is available for a program,"The Way West", that follows the history of the West through the music of the time, as well as for:
Walt Richards
Walt began playing guitar and performing while still in high school. He soon went on to become one of Southern California's best-known banjo players.
National touring in the 1960s, an Emmy for arranging and too many performances to count, are all part of Walt's history.
Sharing western and train songs and the history associated with them is his current musical focus.The more he and Paula know about this music, the more they like it!
One of his greatest joys is seeing the progress of his guitar, banjo and mandolin students and the performing groups he coaches. Walt loves giving the gift of music - in all of its many forms.
Paula Strong
Paula also has a long history of music involvement including writing, singing, arranging and playing in many different styles (- after a good start with instruction from her band teacher Dad!).
Over the years, she has collected a large number of train and cowboy songs and she's always looking for more!
Singing with Walt in Trails & Rails, has provided the perfect venue from which to share her love of this music as well as her interest in historical events and trends.
An avid reader, her home is overflowing with books on many subjects, with science and western history being her current favorites.
Bruce Huntington
Bruce was born and raised in San Diego, California, where he considered himself a Hopalong Cassidy clone.He brings an eclectic musical background to his upright bass playing. Classically trained on the violin, he "branched out" into electric bass. For ten years he toured the Southwest, including Las Vegas showrooms and clubs.A versatile musician, Bruce enjoys playing a variety of musical styles including Western, Texas swing, bluegrass, Appalachian mountain music, Brazilian and early jazz.His eclectic musical influences include Django Reinhardt, Doc Watson, Ray Brown and Robert Johnson.What we didn't know when Bruce joined us was that he is an excellent song writer in his own right. His cowboy waltz, "If You Would Dance With Me", is featured on "From Way Out West", and the upcoming Trails & Rails album will feature several more new songs by Bruce.
Ken Wilcox
Ken Wilcox is a native Southern Californian and a survivor of the Folk Music Scare of the 1960s.A lifelong devotee of acoustic fingerstyle guitar, and a big fan of the autoharp, he has performed over the years in various musical incarnations: jugband, blues, old-timey, country and now, Western music withTrails & Rails.Fluent in Spanish, Ken frequently travels to Mexico where he searches for special pottery. Through him, we’ve learned that Mata Ortiz is a place, not a person !
And please don’t bother telling him an autoharp joke – unless you make up a new one - he’s heard all the old ones !
San Diego Folk Heritage
(858) 566-4040
SDFH@san.rr.com
Admission: $18 ($15 members)
Advance Ticket Sales: TicketWeb.com
7:00 pm
Templar's Hall, Old Poway Park
14134 Midland RD
Poway, CA