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The Whitefish Theatre Co. is hosting Mary Kaye, a solo singer-songwriter known for her genuine and vibrant Western folk songs, Friday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish.

Kirk Gentry, a Whitefish cowboy and poet, will open the show with a collection of his poems.

WITH A voice that ranges from expressively wistful to powerful, Kaye mixes two-stepping songs, swing tunes, and ballads of love and loss that partner with her colorful tales of the West. Kaye is “gifted with one of the most dynamic and original voices in western music,” according to American Cowboy. Nominated for Entertainer of the Year by the Western Music Association from 2013 to 2015, and winner of the 2016 Wrangler Award for Outstanding Original Western Composition, Kaye’s songs about cowboys, horses, women and family breathe life into Western music.

She recently released her fourth solo studio western album, “Ride a Wide Circle”, to a number one debut on the Western Music Charts. Paul Riley of Country Music People Magazine admired, “Mary Kaye’s CD is one of those perfect albums. Everything comes together: the songs, the superb vocals, backing musicians on top form, very good production and, best of all, Mary Kaye’s unique feel for her music.” Western Horseman Magazine agrees that Mary Kaye “delivers a spellbinding, emotional vocal performance in every song she sings” while Big Sky Journal says that Mary Kaye “is one of the strongest singers working today.”

Kaye’s music is as rooted deeply in the Western landscape as her own life is. She is a native Texan who as a young woman ventured to Utah where she “married her a cowboy.” She now resides on a century old pioneer homestead in central Utah where her large family is involved in cowboying, horse training and all things Western.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students, with reserved seating. They can be purchased at the O’Shaughnessy Center box office, 1 Central Ave., Whitefish, or by calling 406-862-5371. Box office hours are from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and one hour before a performance.

Tickets can also be purchased online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.