Animas, New Mexico

"COWBOY, WESTERN SINGER AND SONGWRITER"

Ken Moore comes from a long tradition of ranchers and cowboys. His great-grandparents settled in the spectacular Blue River country of Arizona, and much of his family still ranch there. He was born and raised in Arizona and has been involved with ranching most of his life. Ken and his wife, Coleen, spent a few years traveling working constuction but soon realized that ranching was where their hearts were. They spent several years around the Silver City, N.M. area working on ranches and finally ended up back in Arizona / New Mexico. Ken and his family have settled on the Gray Ranch in Animas, NM. Along with his music, things stay real busy.

Ken has been writing Cowboy/Western songs and stories for over 20 years. With the help of his wife, who also helps Ken write the songs he performs. Ken came out with an album "Bringin' the Wild One's In", in the summer of 1998. The album, with all original songs, has been nominated by the Academy of Western Artists for Album of the Year for 1999. Ken and his (and Coleen's) songs have been nominated by the Academy of Western Artists and the Western Music Association for Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year, and Rising Star.

In the past 10 years he has had the good fortune to be featured in many Gatherings and concerts throughout the U.S. Ken has also worked with the school systems in several states teaching children and older students with songs and stories about cowboys and the ranching industry. With the help of the Arizona Cattle Growers, the Arizona Cowbelles, and the Arizona Beef Council, he has had a lot of material to take in and show the students. "It's good they get to see all sides of the issue's concerning agriculture, not just what's on T.V."

Ken is a member of the Western Music Association and the Academy of Western Artists and is looking forward to spending many years singing western music and telling stories about the old, and sometimes new West. With roots firmly planted in ranching and the cowboy life, he has had the chance to hear first hand from family members and others that he has worked with, real stories of real people and the things that happened in their life. As with almost all cowboy stories,there is usually a humorous side, some tragedy, and most always a moral hidden in there somewhere. These stories are a part of our heritage and need to be preserved in any way possible. That is one of his primary goals with the western music and stories," is to keep our past in an art form that all people can enjoy and appreciate."