Moonlight Trails

2014 finds KG & The Ranger (Karen Gogolick & Rick Roltgen) aiming toward performance # 2500 of their 25 year career as Wisconsin's foremost quot;Singing Cowpokesquot;. They have even more cause to celebrate this year with the release of their 6th album of vintage cowboy songs, 'Moonlight Trails'. Their newest CD features lush harmonies, classic songs plus rare gems of the Western Music genre. They are joined by outstanding fiddler, Suzanne Lansford, plus their talented daughter on harmony vocals and son-in-law on bass. This is an album that will put your imagination out west, on horseback or out under the stars, relaxing at the end of a long day of hard work. Their story is a good 'once upon a time' type with no ending in sight.... It all started for KG & The Ranger back in 1986 at a local community barn dance, where they both showed up to play bass in a pick-up band. At the time, Karen was playing banjo and bass in two string bands, and invited Rick to play bass with one of them. They soon discovered a shared love for classic cowboy songs and their duo spun off from the band in 1989. They named themselves quot;KG & The Rangerquot; and headed out along the trail performing together. That same year they formed another kind of duo: husband and wife. Their career was launched in a modest way with 3 shows that first year, and no thoughts of ever quitting their quot;day jobsquot;. But when they found themselves doing over 100 gigs in 1999, they decided they needed to make a major life decision. In 2000 they took the plunge into full-time performing and have made their living as entertainers since then. They are still going strong, as full-time professionals performing nationally. With numerous awards to their credit, they were voted quot;Outstanding Entertainersquot; by the Western Music Association in 2010, were three-time winners of the WMA's harmony yodeling contest, and inducted into the Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame in Iowa in 2011. Their musical career has had many rewards deeper than simply making a living. The spirit of the music and the quot;cowboy wayquot; is a passion for them. Preserving these old western gems has become a mission. Western music is not the same as today's quot;country musicquot; - it blends qualities of jazz, swing, folk and country into a unique sound all it's own, with compelling images of cowboys out on the range. The wholesome quality of this music acts as an antidote to many of today's problems. They love bringing back memories for some, and introducing others to a new musical sound. Kick back and relax, and fuel your 'inner cowboy' with this new collection of great old songs!