An Evening with Gone with the West and invited performers

Gone With the West ~ Nashville, Tennessee

This dynamic group delivers high onstage energy, honey-smooth harmonies and seasoned musicianship, with an entertaining mix of traditional and original Western music. The band was the featured performing group for the IWMA’s annual award show in Albuquerque and is wrapping up a second year of touring the Western states. This powerhouse band includes multiple IWMA/AWA/Wrangler-winning vocalist and songwriter Mary Kaye Holt; vocalist/keyboardist Micki Fuhrman, winner of a WWA Spur Award (Best Western Song) and the 2023 Wrangler (Best Traditional Western album); Spanish-born singer/songwriter/guitarist Tecia McKenna; and Coloradoan Merna Lewis, aka “The Barefoot Fiddler,” a fourth-generation fiddle player.
Mary Kaye is a singer/songwriter, business owner and brand ambassador for Gone With the West. Her songs are an authentic window into the cowboy culture and ranching heritage she has lived and understands. From her flat-brim hat to her bench-built boots, Mary Kaye is the real deal of what Nashville promises in Country-Western music.

Micki Fuhrman grew up in a river town in northwest Louisiana and, beginning in her teens, headlined Shreveport’s venerable “Louisiana Hayride.” She recorded for MCA Records, Word Records, and twice guest-starred on The Grand Ole Opry. She released Westbound in 2022, an album of Western original and cover songs, which includes “You Oughta See Wyoming,” the Western Writers of America Spur Award winner for Best Traditional Western Song. Also an author, Micki’s short stories (written as Vonn McKee) have been named finalists for both the Western Writers of America Spur Award and Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award.

Tecia McKenna was born in southern Spain to an Air Force Californian and a Spanish mother, and has always been musically gifted. Since she was very young, she's loved entertaining, expressing a great appreciation for Western music and the cowboy way. She finished high school in northern Virginia and then pursued a career in the music business, performing across the U.S. and Europe. After raising a family, she has continued writing, performing, recording and being an active member of the worship team at her church! "I feel truly blessed to be able to do what I do," she said. "Music is very much a part of who I am and I can't imagine not being able to express my heart through it."

Merna Lewis is a Colorado native with a rich musical heritage spanning at least four generations. Since the age of 14, she has performed and toured with a number of talented artists, songwriters and musicians. Known as "The Barefoot Fiddler," her melodies are born from years of unprecedented passion, education, tenacious dedication and persistence. Merna was nominated 2023 IWMA Musician of the Year and has been featured in a number of media publications. She performs on a daily basis with various artists in and around Nashville, both live and in the studio.

Host or Publisher Durango Cowboy Gathering