Blessed by the West (Self-released, 2024)

Sarah Pierce, the daughter of a cowboy, raised in rural West Texas, is the genuine article. She sings about the West as naturally as many of us go through our daily routines. There's no pretention in her approach as she paints character sketches, relates stories and shares her nostalgic emotions with her smooth alto voice that evokes such singers as Mary Chapin Carpenter or Amy Speace.

Producer Merel Bregante is one of the best in the business and he and Pierce recruited a slew of musicians to record "Blessed by the West," with a full 16 in the credits. Those credits boast such names as guitarist John Inmon (JImmy LaFave, Eliza Gilkyson) and fiddler Cody Braun (Reckless Kelly). The music is bathed in Dobro, pedal steel and acoustic gutiars, with fiddle the predominant sound.

Her songs fall into three categories: love for the environs ("I Wanna Go Home," "Blessed by the West," "A Dream As Big As Texas'); story songs that capture the nature of growing up in the West ("The Cowboy Way," Any Place That's Wild," "White Dog Revenge," "There's Some Things A Cowgirl Just Knows') and the centerpice trilogy about strong women that shaped the character of the West in the late 18th and early 19th centuries ("The Librarian," "The Messenger," and "Rough Stock"). Rich lyrics abound, such as "the saddle is her church and a long ride confession" and "We pray in the saddle even on Sunday/our horse is our best friend;" or the title track's imagery - "Fifteen hands above the ground we watch the sunset/she's a beauty/she'll take your breath away,"

The trilogy songs are the focus. "The Librarian" tells of a brave woman who brought children books. "The Messenger" is about a woman who rode from New York City to Portland in the late 1800s braving the elements and predators. She risked all to deliver confidential letters. "Rough Stock" is the story of one who rode aside men in pursuit of her rodeo dream.

Pierce delivers soothing music that evokes memories of those TV westerns we loved growing up and makes them much more realistic in the process.