Kirkhams appear on magazine cover

By Ron Burtz

Western music recording artists and deejays Allen and Jill Kirkham of Custer have been showered with many honors over the last several years but now, for the first time, they have made the cover of an international magazine. The duo is featured on the cover of the Winter issue of The Western Way Magazine, which is the official quarterly publication of the International Western Music Association (IWMA) of which they have been members since 2014. The Kirkhams are also the subject of a four-page feature story in the magazine’s regular “In the Crosshairs” section.
The article, written by fellow cowboy music artist, Almeda Bradshaw—writing under the pen name A.B. Shaw—details the couple’s 42-year marriage and careers, early musical collaborations and their rise to prominence in the cowboy music world over the last several years. Included are half a dozen pictures from through the years of their relationship including a photo of Allen in uniform as a U.S. Air Force Major during his deployment to Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1996. There’s also a photo of the pair performing together in 1979 shortly after they met at the church where Jill’s father was pastor in Illinois.
The Kirkhams have known about the article since November but weren’t able to say anything about it until after the magazine was published and mailed out to IWMA members around the world.
“We were sworn to secrecy until the first person got it in the mailbox and put it on social media,” said Allen.
Hard copies of the magazine, which reports on western music events and personalities as well as state chapter activities, were mailed out to IWMA members just after the first of the year.
In mid-January the Kirkhams received word from a friend in Nashville, who is president of the Tennessee Chapter of the IWMA, that he had received his copy in the mail. He sent them a photo he had taken of the cover, which they immediately posted to their social media accounts to let their fans know of the honor. The news spread quickly and within hours they began hearing from folks from all over who had either seen the magazine itself or the social media coverage.
While they don’t know exactly why they were selected for the cover story, the Kirkhams speculate it may have had something to do with their high visibility at the IWMA’s annual convention and awards show which they attended in mid-November in Albuquerque, N.M. The huge event is attended, not only by member artists, cowboy poets and western music deejays, but by many cowboy music fans as well.
“We showed up there very branded,” said Jill, explaining they were wearing new jackets with their logo splashed across the back and were highly involved in activities during the convention.
“They had us busy doing things,” said Allen, noting they had been asked to host and emcee a three-hour music showcase and played at their own half-hour showcase as well as at the Friday Night Opry event and the Sunday morning Western Gospel Concert. They were also group of the year nominees and were asked to be among the judges for a songwriting competition which included a dozen singer/songwriter teams. They agreed they probably won’t do that again.
“We left with two friends,” joked Jill.
“Yeah,” quipped her husband, “each other and the winner.”
They also believe their high visibility at the convention was tied to the fact that for the past two years they have been hosts and producers of their own weekly western gospel music show on American Cowboy Radio—The Circuit Rider Roundup.
The show has many people in the industry constantly sending them their music which has raised awareness of their own music among association members.
After being notified about the article shortly after they returned home from the convention, each of them also was emailed a list of questions to answer about their lives and careers. After submitting their answers they did a phone interview with the writer and had to submit photos for the cover.
The photo request came during a late fall sub-zero cold snap in the Black Hills which made things interesting for Jill who served as photographer.
“It was like they needed it yesterday,” said Jill, “so I’m out setting up a camera out by the barn and my fingers are freezing and we drag all our instruments out there.”
Complicating the shoot was the fact that they were asked to wear their lightweight logo jackets and cowboy hats, when the weather called for parkas and stocking caps. Using the timer on the camera, she took one set of photos, but after going back to the house to check them, decided they needed to do a second shoot the following day because the focus was not right.
“It’s amazing our faces were not blue and you didn’t see the breath coming out of our mouths,” marveled Allen after the frigid photo shoot.
The Kirkhams say they will be shipped several cases of the magazine for distribution at their concerts and other events and eventually fans will be able to read the article online at iwesternmusic.org. It hasn’t been posted yet, but when it is, the article will be downloadable for reading and printing.
“We were pretty excited,” said the Kirkhams about the worldwide publicity they are receiving from the cover story and they are hoping it will encourage more people to tune into their weekly radio show at AmericanCowboyRadio.com and attend their concerts.
Black Hills fans will get their first opportunity this year to hear Allen and Jill live on Saturday, Feb. 18. That’s when they will be playing at the season opening Live On Stage event at High Country Guest Ranch north of Hill City. They have already heard from local fans who are promising to be there for the season debut.