Donnie Poindexter Album Nominated for Top Award

“Cowboy Life,” an album by Donnie Poindexter and son, is nominated for a national award to be presented March 15. Poindexter, a true Western music artist, preserves his own life as a cowboy through his music.

Donnie Poindexter

Donnie Poindexter, musician, artist extraordinaire and a resident of rural Sallisaw, has an album – “Cowboy Life” – that is one of five nominated for Western Music Album of the Year at the 22nd Annual Academy of Western Artists Will Rogers Awards.

The awards will be presented March 15 in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Oh, I am thrilled,” Poindexter said this week on learning his album was one of five nominated for the award.

“I don’t even know who nominated me. I thought it sure would be cool to get a top 10 nomination, and then I got a top five nomination. It would just be icing on the cake to win it,” Poindexter said.

Poindexter said he wrote three of the songs on the album, and co-wrote a fourth. His co-writer is Royal Wade Kimes, another artist who is originally from Arkansas. The title of that song is “Makes Me Want to Dance.”

But Poindexter credits his son, also named Donnie, with helping produce the album.

“He produced it, engineered and recorded this thing,” Poindexter said. “He sings on it too. He played 99 percent of the instruments on the album.”

“Cowboy Life” was released in June and has done very well, Poindexter said.

“It’s done better than I thought it would,” Poindexter said.

The nomination for top album was a surprise. Poindexter explained the album was one of 22 nominated for the award. Then the Academy of Western Artists sends the nominees to disc jockeys all over the world. The DJs are the one who nominate the top five.

“The fans can nominate,” Poindexter said, “but it’s the DJs worldwide who vote and narrow it down. I’ve even got fans in foreign counties, even in Denmark!”

Poindexter was nominated in several other categories too.

He said he and his son will be attending the awards ceremony in March.

“Cowboy Life” is available on iTunes and Amazon.

Poindexter said “Cowboy Life” is a solo album. He has other solo albums and albums recorded with his closely-related band, Steeldust.

Originally Poindexter and some of his family members started a band, “Poindexter Family Bluegrass.” Along with his wife and son, his older brother and his wife and daughter, and their dad, the group started a nearly thirty-year span of playing outside gigs and hosting shows at their own “Poindexter Family Bluegrass Barn.”

Tired of playing many of the same songs for thirty years, Donnie started looking for something more fun and discovered “Cowboy Music.” Nothing fit his background as well as this western music and he quickly became a fan of such greats as Ian Tyson, Don Edwards, and Tom Russell. Again in the roll as lead singer in his new group, “Steeldust,” Donnie supports efforts to conserve the traditional cowboy trail songs but also enjoys more contemporary western music. Poindexter is also a member of the Western Music Association (WMA) and serves as president of the Oklahoma Chapter of WMA. “Steeldust” performs cowboy music as well as old country and original material.

Poindexter most recently performed for the Fort Smith Dandies benefit dinner last weekend, and will be performing at the Fort Worth Stock Show next week.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

For more news stories stay tuned to The MIX 105.1 or visit www.kxmx.com