Episode 56

Fronted by singer-songwriter-guitarist Mike Fleming and featuring lead guitarist-vocalist Raul Reynoso and bassist-vocalist David Jackson, New West has been together more than two decades, and have three albums in their catalog (plus a Reynoso solo album).

The Santa Clarita-based trio’s original songs, three-part vocal harmonies and acoustic sound celebrate the West, the contemporary cowboy lifestyle and the rich history of old California, with great authenticity, depth and humor.

Winner of three “Best Song” awards from the Academy of Western Artists and the Western Music Association, as well as the Will Rogers Award for “Best Western Group,” New West has toured the Midwest in as part of the Arts Midwest and APAP touring programs.

The group has been a featured act at the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival and the Strawberry Music Festival in Northern California. They also have a month-long tour of Arizona under their belt buckles.

Fleming, Reynoso and Jackson perform “Texas Moon” from their 1997 debut album “Texas Blues”; and “Line Rider’s Waltz” and “Buckaroo Dream” from their 2001 “Buckaroo Dream” CD.

The fourth song, “On California Ground,” is a gorgeous slice of old California history Fleming wrote for as part of a grant to the Cowboy Festival from the NEA, which commissioned songwriters to create works about California history. A CD compiling those works is out of print, and New West’s “House Blend” performance marks the first time the trio has been able to perform it live on television.