Academy Announces Award Winners

FORT WORTH, TX - Winners of 18 awards from the Academy of Western Artists for outstanding 2024 work were announced on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 at two awards ceremonies in Fort Worth. Held at Billy Bob's 81 Club in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, the ceremonies included performances from a number of finalists, both vocalists and poets.

The evening ceremony also included a presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Red Steagall for his many years of work as a songwriter, singer, poet, TV and radio personality, film actor, event producer, and more.

Awards for Poets, Authors, Artists, Artisans, and Chuckwagons (1 PM)

2024 Chuckwagon
Bobby Burleson
Burleson Chuckwagon, Weatherford, Texas

2024 Western Short Nonfiction
Natalie Bright
"Trying to Save the Texas Panhandle"
published in RANGE magazine

2024 Silversmith
Gregg L. Clark
Hide Town Silver, Mobeetie, Texas

2024 Cowboy Poem
Betty Lynne McCarthy
"The Couldnt's"

2024 Cowboy Poetry Book
Betty Lynne McCarthy
Etchings

2024 Male Cowboy Poet
Kye Rieff

2024 Female Cowboy Poet
Teresa Burleson

Awards for Musicians & Lifetime Achievement (7 PM)

2024 Western Swing Song
Micki Fuhrman & Douglas Green
"Swing on By"

2024 Western Country Song
Jessie Veeder
"Hard on Things"

2024 Western Country Single
Larry Cann
"Only A Cowgirl"

2024 Western Country Album
Jessie Veeder
Yellow Roses
production: Bill Warner, LuckySky Music, Nashville, Tennessee

2024 Western Country Female Vocalist
Micki Fuhrman

2024 Western/Cowboy Song
Matt Robertson
"The Letter"

2024 Western/Cowboy Single
John Lowell
"Snow on the Wineglass"

2024 Western/Cowboy Album
Matt Robertson
Arizona
production: Tom Frear and Casey Shelden, Cottonwood Studios, Rapid City, South Dakota

2024 Western/Cowboy Music Video
Jessie Veeder
"Red Barns and People Get Old"

2024 Western/Cowboy Female Vocalist
Kristyn Harris

2024 Western/Cowboy Male Vocalist
Matt Robertson

Lifetime Achievement
Red Steagall

Finalists for Awards Recognizing 2024 Work

FORT WORTH, TX - After applications, nominations, and voting, here are the finalists for awards from the Academy of Western Artists recognizing 2024 work. Finalists for each award are listed in alphabetical order. Due to ties in voting, a few awards have more than 3 finalists. A winner of each award will be selected by a panel of expert judges and announced at one of two awards ceremonies in Fort Worth on Tuesday, December 2.

WESTERN/COWBOY MUSIC & POETRY

Western/Cowboy Male Vocalist – finalists

• Jon Chandler
• Doug Figgs
• John Lowell
• Matt Robertson

Western/Cowboy Female Vocalist – finalists

• Patty Clayton
• Kristyn Harris
• Carol Markstrom

Western/Cowboy Song – finalists

• Lori Beth Brooke & Devon Dawson, "Call of Hualapai"
• Jon Chandler, "On Peg Leg's Trail"
• Doug Figgs & Andrea Renfree, "Cowgirl from Illinois"
• John Lowell, "A Wandering Stray"
• Matt Robertson, "The Letter"

Western/Cowboy Single – finalists

• The Arizona Wildflowers, "We Raised Hay"
• John Lowell, "Snow On The Wineglass"
• Matt Robertson, "Arizona"

Western/Cowboy Album – finalists

• Jim Jones, Storyteller: Tales from the West
• John Lowell, Snow On The Wineglass
• Matt Robertson, Arizona

Western/Cowboy Music Video – finalists

• Jim Jones, "Cowboy Heart"
• Carol Markstrom, "Jeffords' Secret"
• Jessie Veeder, "Red Barns and People Get Old"
• Joel Alden White, "Quit When It Hurts"

Male Cowboy Poet – finalists

• Floyd Beard
• Mark Munzert
• Kye Rieff

Female Cowboy Poet – finalists

• Teresa Burleson
• KC LaCourse
• Miska Paget

WESTERN SWING MUSIC

Western Swing Song – finalists

• Lori Beth Brooke, "Hot Flash Baby"
• Micki Fuhrman & Douglas Green, "Swing on By"
• Dennis Jay, "Cowboy Rhythm"

WESTERN COUNTRY MUSIC

Western Country Female Vocalist – finalists

• Aspen Black
• Micki Fuhrman
• Carin Mari
• Ashley Westcott

Western Country Song – finalists

• Lori Beth Brooke, "The Roots Go Deep"
• Sarah Pierce, Randy Palmer, Merel Bregante, "Blessed By The West"
• Jessie Veeder, "Hard on Things"

Western Country Single – finalists

• Aspen Black, "What if There's a Heaven?"
• Larry Cann, "Only A Cowgirl"
• Patty Clayton, "Wolf Moon"
• Dennis Ledbetter, "Right to Bear Arms"

Western Country Album – finalists

• Dennis Ledbetter, I Should Have Known Better
• Sarah Pierce, Blessed By The West
• Jessie Veeder, Yellow Roses

WESTERN ART

Silversmith – finalists

• Gregg L Clark
• Jodi Echeverria
• Brian Strange

WESTERN MEDIA

Cowboy Poem – finalists

• Floyd Beard, "A Good Summer Rain"
• Rik "Yonder" Goodell, "Wanna Cowboy Do Ya?"
• Betty Lynne McCarthy, "The Couldnt's"
• Miska Paget, "This Girl is a Cowboy"

Cowboy Poetry Book – finalists

• Rik "Yonder" Goodell, Yonderin' Tales: Western Poetry from a Cowboy Heart
• Betty Lynne McCarthy, Etchings
• Miska Paget, Ranch Call: Original Cowboy Poetry from the Vet Truck and Beyond

Western Short Nonfiction – finalists

• Floyd Beard, "Short Grass Philosopher - November 6, 2024"
• Natalie Bright, "Trying to Save the Texas Panhandle"
• Preston Lewis, "The Wilde Wild West"
• Candy Moulton, "Wild Times in the Rockies"

CHUCKWAGON

Chuckwagon – finalists

• Bobby Burleson, Burleson Chuckwagon
• Steven Hauser, The Long Trail Chuck Wagon, LLC
• Bit Pruitt, From The Wagon

2025 AWA Member Conference and Awards Ceremonies - Dec. 1-2, Fort Worth Stockyards

FORT WORTH, TX - Make your plans now to come to Fort Worth's Historic Stockyards in December for the 2025 AWA Member Conference and Awards Ceremonies!

On Monday, Dec. 1, we'll gather with Academy members at the Courtyard Fort Worth Historic Stockyards, our headquarters hotel and conference location, for panel discussions, networking, and a 7 PM meet & greet. The conference is included with your Academy membership. Please register by November 15, 2025 so we can host you appropriately.

On Tuesday, Dec. 2, we'll have two awards ceremonies. At 1 PM, we'll give the Awards for Poets, Authors, Artists, Artisans, Media, Industry, and Chuckwagons, and at 7 PM, the Awards for Musicians & Lifetime Achievement, including the award presentation to Red Steagall. Academy members get 50% off 2 tickets per show.

Location

The Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District celebrates Western spirit and culture. You'll find Western shopping, live music, authentic country dancing, a twice-daily cattle drive of the Fort Worth Herd, rodeos, fiestas, museums, saloons, and more. Compact and walkable, you can rediscover your Wild West spirit in just a few fascinating blocks.

Billy Bob's 81 Club, the private event space next door to Billy Bob's Texas, is the setting for our 2025 Awards Ceremonies. As "The World's Largest Honky-Tonk," housed in an historic 1910 building, Billy Bob's Texas invites everyone to "come experience our Honky Tonk attitude, friendly Fort Worth hospitality, and truly unique atmosphere." >> full article & travel info >>