UCROSS ARTS FESTIVAL RETURNS WITH HEADLINER HAYDEN PEDIGO

Ucross is thrilled to announce the return of the Ucross Arts Festival on Sunday, August 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. Held in The Park at Ucross, the free, family-friendly event will feature live performances headlined by nationally acclaimed guitarist Hayden Pedigo, as well as poetry readings, a printmaking workshop, and the pop-up Ucross Café food truck.

“We’re thrilled to bring back the Ucross Arts Festival,” said Caitlin Addlesperger, Ucross president and executive director. “The festivities will be infused with the arts across disciplines—poetry, performances, and printmaking. We look forward to celebrating our alumni artists with our community on this beautiful 20,000-acre ranch.”

Pedigo will headline the event as part of his international tour for his new album, I’ll Be Waving as You Drive Away. Known for his virtuosic fingerstyle technique and cinematic compositions, Pedigo blends American primitive guitar traditions with ambient and experimental influences. Now based in Oklahoma City, he gained national attention through his surrealist campaign for Lubbock City Council, which was chronicled in the 2021 documentary Kid Candidate. His previous album, The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored, was praised by publications including Pitchfork and The Guardian for its experimental edge and haunting beauty.

The Ucross Arts Festival will also feature poetry readings by Ucross Fellows M.L. Smoker and David Romtvedt.

Smoker is Nakoda, Dakota, and Lakota, a citizen of the Fort Peck Tribes. She served as Montana poet laureate from 2019 to 2021. Her first collection of poems, Another Attempt at Rescue, was published by Hanging Loose Press in 2005. She also co-authored a children's graphic novel titled Thunderous (2022). She received a regional Emmy Award for her work as a writer and consultant on the PBS documentary Indian Relay. Smoker first came to Ucross as a recipient of the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Writers.

Romtvedt is a writer and musician from Buffalo, Wyoming, who first came to the state as a Ucross resident. A recipient of NEA fellowships in poetry and music, the National Poetry Series Award, and the Wyoming Governor’s Arts Award, his most recent books are Still on Earth and Forest of Ash, the latter a collection of translations from the earliest known Basque poetry and song. Romtvedt served as Wyoming poet laureate from 2003 to 2011.

In addition, the Ucross Arts Festival will include a hands-on printmaking workshop led by Ucross artists and staff. Guests are invited to bring a white T-shirt to create their own print; paper and T-shirts also will be available for purchase at the Ucross Gift Shop, along with poetry by Smoker, Romtvedt, and other Ucross alumni.

Finally, after a successful debut during Ucross Founder’s Day on May 31, the pop-up Ucross Café food truck will return, offering wood-fired pizzas, appetizers, and desserts prepared by Ucross chef Jackie Vitale, available for purchase. 

Guests are encouraged to bring picnic blankets or lawn chairs and enjoy an afternoon of the creative spirit and community on the Ucross artist residency grounds. Parking is limited; carpooling is recommended.

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