Photo: Anna LoPinto

Just east of the Bighorn Mountains, on a piece of prairie north of Gillette, Wyoming, a porcupine slowly plods through the blue gramma and western wheatgrass. Not the most athletic of the rodent family, the porcupine relies on its 30,000 quills to discourage predation, and more specifically its barbed tail that bristles when agitated. An otherwise relatively benign animal if you keep your distance, coexistence is realistic.

Unless of course you’re a curious heifer, nosing the peculiar mammal that is ambling through the pasture. With that type of behavior you might get a muzzle full of quills, which was the fate of four unlucky bovines. Their situation was quickly remedied however, on a midmorning in late August by rancher and singer Kellen Smith who expertly cut the heifers from the herd, drove them into a squeeze shoot, and quietly removed the quills with a pair of pliers.

That morning I joined Kellen, his son, and his nephew, as well as author J.B. Zielke, to gather 500 heifers in a couple thousand acre pasture at the historic Daly Ranch. My first introduction to Kellen Smith was not through ranching and agriculture, but through his music career. Between raising kids and cattle, Kellen has become a central character in the growing Wyoming country music scene. He is known for his eclectic mix of signature cowboy yodel meets rock’n’roll energy, a sound he aptly describes as, “rancher blues.” I have traveled to Wyoming to discuss his new album, Winter’s End, but this morning there is still work to do.

After a 30 minute drive in a flatbed Dodge Ram, hauling a stock trailer, with two boys sitting next to me, and a blue heeler at my feet, we arrived at the “Bing” pasture. Kellen handed me a gray ranch horse to mount, and dropped each of us off on the north side of the pasture, to push the herd south to a holding pen. As I retrieved heifers on a far hill, I had a clear vantage point of Kellen Smith at work. 

On a quarter horse and thoroughbred cross sorrel gelding, Kellen efficiently gathered the majority of the herd while simultaneously assessing the pasture, and playing host. Pausing to adjust his son’s stirrups, or to give his nephew instructions on riding a sticky pony, Kellen was aware of every minute detail. Loping with ease through the sage on the far side of the pasture with rolling grasslands as a backdrop, his lean frame matched by his leggy gelding, Kellen feels like a timeless figure on the plains. 

PHOTO: J.B. Zielke

There is some truth to that statement. A 5th-generation rancher, the Daly Ranch was established in 1894 by John T. Daly, Kellen’s great-great-grandfather. Kellen and his predecessors have been riding this range for over 125 years. After a successful cattle move, and a lunch of Daly Ranch burgers, Kellen recounts his family’s history to me at his ranch office.

The office is a microcosm of Kellen. Historic family photos cover the wall, a pile of muley sheds sits in the corner, an old but well polished saddle is propped on the floor, and an impressive vinyl collection is on display. Kellen sits behind a massive antique wrap-around desk, made less formal by the mason jar full of rattlesnake tails and the cans of Copenhagen. As Kellen begins to share, “My great-great grandpa John T. Daly is from Beloit, Kansas. It took him and his brother 42 days on horseback to ride to Gillette. The two of them were following the railroad, pitching a tent, and selling merchandise.” 

The brothers linked up with Edward Gillette, the surveyor of the railroad (and namesake of Gillette, Wyoming) and settled in the town. “My grandpa told me my great-great grandpa wasn’t much of a cowboy, but he was a businessman.” As Kellen explains, John T. Daly created the first general store in Gillette along with his brothers in the late 1800s. As customers acquired goods at the mercantile, they’d occasionally pay off their bills with deeds to their homesteads. With time the Dalys amassed a portion of land, and began to purchase buildings in downtown Gillette. Simultaneously their cattle business began to grow. Impressively each enterprise of the Dalys’ various businesses were (and still are) financially independent. 

Kellen manages the cattle operation of the Daly Ranch with his brother, as well as guides hunts on the ranch for mule deer and pronghorn. The ranch has a diversified business model to help ensure longevity and viability, to sustain the operation for generations. An objective that is ever present on Kellen’s mind. “My ultimate goal is to keep it in the family and allow my children to have the same opportunities or at least be presented the same opportunities to be here or not. It’s a tough thing, family and agriculture. Because each person, each spouse, each child, that’s more money, and profit that a business needs. There’s more to this than just ranching.”

And for Kellen, he also is managing a budding music career. A well-known name in Wyoming, Kellen has played historic events including the famed Cheyenne Frontier Days and Chris LeDoux Days. His shows amass impressive crowd sizes (especially for the least populated state in the country), and his lyrics often resonate on a personal level for his audience. After all, one of the main industries in Wyoming is agriculture. Beyond his lyrics, Kellen appeals not only to the ag side but the musos as well. Wearing a vintage Resistol hat trimmed with ribbon, a pearl snap, balanced with tattoos, and giant Ray Ban aviators, he could have walked straight out of a 1970s Marlboro ad. He also has a good sense of humor, and is known for being hospitable and generous. All factors that help elevate star quality. 

Kellen’s sound is both familiar and original, and feels like an easy and natural extension of the artist himself. His lyrics are lived-in and vulnerable, often revealing the less bucolic side of ranching like unrelenting weather, breech births, and the weight of legacy. Themes widely explored in Rancher Blues as well as his newest album, Winter’s End. Surprisingly, Kellen didn’t play music until he attended school at the University of Wyoming at Laramie. He received a degree in Range Management and Watershed Ecology, but his academic takeaways were perhaps not as significant as his personal ones. The broad strokes of ranch management didn’t resonate with Kellen, “Every cow is different. Every family dynamic is different. Every boss man is different. Every ranch is different.”

He did however have a cathartic experience with music. Specifically after a particularly painful breakup. “After that relationship ended, I started listening to every single Hank Williams Senior song. I don’t know where I got the kick. I had never listened to 1940s country music. I went and bought a guitar out of nowhere, and started learning his songs. Hank Senior changed my life.” His curiosity extended to a deep dive into blues, classic rock, jam band music, and its occasional complimentary activities. “I started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. I was a pretty straight laced kid in high school. I played basketball, rodeoed, ranched, and guided hunters. But when I went to college, a switch flipped and I realized, wow, I like to party.” 

He made friends with an eclectic group of folks beyond his usual circle of cowboys and jocks. He found the music world liberating, “Music taught me to be way more open. It is amazing. I love music for that. It changed me. I was able to be me.” He dove into Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lynyrd Skynyrd (his favorite band), Lightnin’ Hopkins, Yonder Mountain String Band, and String Cheese Incident. Then he began to write, and sing. “I didn’t view myself as a musician, but I knew I wanted to be one.”

Where he was fascinated with his musician friends, they were in turn fascinated by his cowboy upbringing. One of his friends, fellow singer-songwriter Tyler McCollum (brother of Parker McCollum), encouraged Kellen to record. “I wouldn’t be an artist without Tyler McCollum. For a year he’d call me and say ‘let’s record.’ I’d keep saying ‘I don’t know man, I don’t know.’ But then I finally agreed.” With McCollum he recorded, Rancher Blues, his first full-length album. His very first release, Haywires, a collection of primarily ranch songs, had been removed from streaming services but has now been re-envisioned for his latest album, Winter’s End.

Winter’s End, released October 31st, 2024, was recorded at The Zone Recording Studio in Dripping Springs Texas. The studio has seen the likes of Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Produced by Tyler McCollum and Cody Angel, the record includes heavy hitters like harmonica player Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson) and drummer Pat Manske. “My first songs on Haywires always meant a lot to me. I felt like those seven songs deserved more listening. So now I was able to record them with higher end equipment.” 

The track list includes the seven songs on Haywires, with the addition of three new tunes: “Kiss the Children,” “Meant to Last,” and “Old Photographs.” Sonically the album is a creative blend of classic country, red dirt,  southern rock, with a peppering of Kellen’s yearnful cowboy yodel (a nod to his hero Hank Senior). He feels just as comfortable leaning into Bob Wills with “Kiss the Children” as he does rocking out in “Dead Lonely.” It is a perfect make up of the man himself. Combine this with his playful personality, fascinating family history, and impressive skill set, Kellen has an unexpected star quality.

PHOTO: Anna LoPinto

He also has an important perspective to share, the hardships of ranching and agriculture. With an increasingly disconnected food system, art is a tangible way to connect consumers to producers. According to a 2021 Michigan State University study, 41% of people are unaware of where their food comes from. Artists like Kellen Smith, or the growing sector of popular country artists connected to agriculture (Lainey Wilson, Colter Wall, Noeline Hofmann), can help bridge that gap, or at the very least spark curiosity. Some artists, like Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young – who created the benefit concert FarmAid – have used their massive cultural influence to support local agriculture. 

“Ranching can be overwhelming at times. Especially when it’s a hundred degrees, and your water line’s broke and there’s 500 plus mothers who need you,” Kellen shares. “You’ve just got to be patient.” Between fluctuating cattle prices, weather events, the isolation of rural living, the incredible workload of managing the basic infrastructure of a ranch, and the demands of animal husbandry – it’s a lot to navigate. Kellen’s album, Rancher Blues, cover art even depicted a breech calf. There’s a lot of responsibility with this lifestyle, but of course it’s balanced with a lot of beautiful moments too.

Where Kellen’s exploration of “rancher blues” is an important topic, his album, Winter’s End, offers another critical conversation, sobriety. A standout on the album is the new track, “Meant to Last,” which shows a maturity in Kellen’s songwriting. Exploring his complex journey with alcohol and substance abuse, Kellen shows a renewed focus on his personal relationships. “You said I would be nothing, without the damn whiskey.” At a quick glance you might assume he’s talking about a critical partner, but with further inspection he’s talking about himself. “It’s something I think to myself. That I won’t be as worthy. Maybe part of my persona is drinking.” 

As he further shares, They say the first week is the hardest, can’t be further from the truth, when your claim to fame is the cocaine and the alcohol abuse. A sentiment shared by other artists whose identity is often linked to reckless lifestyles. Like Roger Miller who was rumored to be hesitant to give up drugs and alcohol because it was a cornerstone of his writing. I asked Kellen about sobriety and creativity and his response was encouraging. “Being sober is better than using alcohol because the devil’s in the bottle. This is the best I’ve ever felt. I feel good. I feel happy. My substance abuse isn’t meant to last, but my relationships with my family and my wife are. That’s why I wrote that song.” 

“Meant to Last” is one of Kellen’s most sincere and powerful songs to date, a hopeful beacon of what’s to come. So what else is meant to last for Kellen? A man who is balancing multiple businesses, a family, and a music career? I posed the question to Kellen as he sat back in his chair at his office at the Daly Ranch. He looked out the far window, towards the horse corrals, barn, and work trucks. A guitar now sits in his lap, and Hank William Senior’s song emanates from the record player.  A perfect portrait of a person who is half cowboy, half singer.

“Oh, I don’t know everything that I’ll be doing going forward, but one thing I do know for certain is that I’ll never stop ranching.”