BIOGRAPHIES
1st ROUND 5-6 p.m.
Pegie Douglas
While I grew up in North Carolina, my roots are on the prairie near Faith, South Dakota. And now I have returned to Hill City, SD in the beautiful Black Hills. I retired as a Special Education Teacher after 20 years with the North Carolina school system. Before retiring, I enjoyed singing and creating original songs.
I discovered South Dakota's first poet laureate, Badger Clark, while visiting the area. Since 2007, I have set twenty of his poems to music. I have enjoyed living in the Black Hills since 2019 and performing these songs throughout South Dakota and other parts of the West. I also gave tours of the Badger Clark cabin in Custer State Park.
In 2012, I created the show: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF BADGER CLARK to be performed at the Tatanka Barn Theater at Custer State Park. This hour long show features stories about Badger Clark's life and his poetry set to music.
In 2020, I will debuted my newest program, THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF HANK WILLIAMS: THE HAPPY ROVIN' COWBOY.
In 2023, I was inducted into the Legends of Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame. I am a scholar and participant with the South Dakota Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. I now devote my life to music and sharing it with others.
Brandon McQuade
Brandon McQuade is an award-winning author and founding editor of Duck Head Journal. For a selection of poems from his second collection, Bodies, he was awarded the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award.
“Bengal Tigers”, the poem that opens his most recent collection, Oklahoma, was awarded the October Project Poetry Prize. His fourth collection, Everywhere and Nowhere, is forthcoming.
Hiram Burbank
Hiram Burbank started out his musical career looking at pictures of his great grandfather and seeing his guitar hanging on the wall as a young kid, once he reached 5th grade he started out playing the snare drum and later on moved to the entire kit once he got his own at home. He quickly fell in love with music.
When Hiram was just 14, one of his family friends left a guitar at his house, one day he decided to try to pick it up and play it. The family friends saw him play and said that he would leave the guitar there and if Hiram could play more he would be able to keep the guitar as his own. This gave Hiram a lot of inspiration and he quickly started to pick up playing the guitar sometimes even practicing for 4 hours a day.
He found himself falling in love with stringed instruments and after the guitar, he picked up the bass, the banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and tried to learn whatever other instruments he could get his hands on. When he was 16 he joined the Captain Pancake Band with Randy Crain, as the drummer and part vocalist after only ever filling in as an instrumentalist.
After a while he moved to bass temporarily for the band and later was switched to lead guitarist and part vocalist. With Randy Crain as the keyboardist and other vocalist, with Brandon Ackerman on drums, and Tony Goodman on bass guitar he has learned so much from playing with other amazing musicians and is still barely starting out his musical journey.
2nd ROUND 6:15-7:15 p.m.
Kenna Pitlick
Kenna is 12 years old and in the 7th grade. She discovered her passion for music at 8 years old, when she joined the church choir as a soloist. Kenna loves all things musical!
In addition to singing, she currently plays the piano, guitar and the saxophone. She dabbles a bit with the violin and the clarinet. Her dream is to publish and record her music, so it will reach as many people as possible.
Craig Eutsler
Craig Eutsler grew up in Osage, Wyoming and now lives in Glenrock, Wyoming. His debut poetry collection is titled Old Growth.
Harland Allen
Harland Allen is a singer/songwriter who grew up listening to Hank Williams, Burl Ives & Marty Robbins. He has been a performing musician for over 40 years. His original songs are classic country / Americana style songs. Most of the cover songs he plays are classic country music.
His unique guitar playing style, soothing vocals and charming wit are sure to please any audience.
3rd ROUND 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Todd Kahler
Todd and his wife Ronette (deceased) had two kids. He taught K-12 music in Coleman, SD for 4 years and 7-12 Band and Choir in Sundance for 33 years. The Sundance music program was well respected in the state and surrounding area and was known for having large numbers of talented students and the majority of the school was involved.
Todd began playing and performing in the 5 th grade and hasn’t stopped. He continues to play solo gigs, has a 3 piece band, is the director of the rejuvenated Sundance Community Jazz Band and plays for the Lutheran Church in Sundance. It is an honor to be asked to participate in this event!!
Nicholas Trandahl
Nicholas Trandahl is an award-winning poet, journalist, outdoorsman, and veteran residing in northeast Wyoming, where he currently also serves as mayor of his community. He has had six poetry collections published, and his work has been featured in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Trandahl has been awarded the Wyoming Writers Milestone Award and has received several nominations for the Pushcart Prize.
Additionally, he works as poetry editor for The Dewdrop literary journal and as a contributor for The Way Back to Ourselves literary journal.
Mike Linderman
Mike Linderman is a singer songwriter from Hot Springs, SD known for his lyrical finger-style guitar and warm voice. He booked music and hosted the open mic and concert performances at the Song Bird Café in Custer where he learned a lot about performance and made many friends, and was a co-producer of the Songwriters Gallery series of workshops and concerts in Hot Springs.
Now residing in Hot Springs he remains active in the Black Hills music scene, booking and managing the music for a long running local summer festival, and performing at venues, festivals and gatherings around the Black Hills and beyond.
He has opened for well known singer songwriters including Tony Arata (The Dance/Garth Brooks), Tia Sillers (I Hope You Dance/LeAnn Rimes), Mark Selby (There’s Your Trouble/Dixie Chicks), Don Henry (Where’ve You Been?/Kathy Mattea), Gene Nelson (18 Wheels And A Dozen Roses/Kathy Mattea), Craig Carothers (Little Hercules/Trisha Yearwood), Rob Crosby (Concrete Angel/Martina McBride), Barry Dean (God’s Will/Martina McBride), Michael Johnson (Bluer Than Blue).