How the West was sung

Music, history, storytelling and a little time travel will come together for a one-day performance of "Romancing the West" at 2 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Museum of North Idaho's Fort Sherman Chapel.

Singer/songwriter Christina Lynn Martin and cowboy poet and balladeer Butch Martin co-produce and perform in this time-traveling documentary concert that tells the story of more than 250 years of the people of the American West. The husband-and-wife duo take audiences through trials, tribulations and triumphs while celebrating diverse cultures, lives and legacies.

"It is our passion and honor to share the rich history in documentary, music and poetry as the stories of the diverse cultures and people of the American West come to life," Christina said. "As we remember their trials, tribulations and triumphs, we feel them with us at every performance, as the lessons of this history speak empathy, unity and hope into all of our hearts at a time when it is so needed."

The Martins tell the stories of westward expansion ranch history in historic photographs, rare film, video, live poetry and original music written by Christina. Her songs about the West include “City of Roses," “California,” “Columbia” and “Oh Oregon,” written for the 150th birthday of the Beaver State.

Butch recites master poems of the Old West, such as “The Ballad of William Sycamore."

As the show moves from old to modern West, the music ranges from traditional Western and folk/Celtic to jazz, big band and pop/rock. "Romancing the West" also includes a moving tribute to veterans as well as a majestic musical tribute to national parks and to hometown America.

This is the ninth consecutive year the show has toured in national trail centers, concert series and theaters throughout the country from California and the Mountain West to the Midwest. It has also traveled to Butch’s beloved Wind River Valley in Wyoming, where he had a Morgan Ranch from the 1970s through the 1990s — a treasured time in his life spent with closest friends like Darrell Winfield of Marlboro fame and the late Dubois Game Warden Kay Bowles.

The Martins' mission is: "To foster love and respect for our fellow man and the love of this land by telling the sometimes painful story of Western Expansionism and celebrating the diverse cultures whose stories continue to inform and inspire our nation and our world.”

The couple make their home in a log cabin in Applegate Valley at Cougar Mountain Ranch in southern Oregon surrounded by kids and grandkids, where they also record their weekly radio show "Whittler’s Corner" and its history segment, “Time Travels through the American West”.

Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for youth 5-12.

Visit romancingthewest.org or museumni.org/events for tickets.

Info: 208-664-3448