Acclaimed as one of Western Music's brightest hopes, Carin Mari is a songwriter from the heart with a deep passion for her music. She finds inspiration from life at home in the mountains of Colorado where she was born and raised. Friend and mentor, Michael Martin Murphey suggested Carin learn, "I Want to be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" in 2001, and from that moment Country Music quickly became her passion. Not a far stretch from her roots, Country Music fit her lifestyle perfectly since she was already passionate about her horses and an avid rider with a love for the western way of life. After 10 years of continued dedication, her talents as a guitarist/singer/songwriter have won her numerous awards, including 2010 Texaco Country Showdown Southwest Regional Winner and Runner-up in the National Final – and she did it with her own original western music!
For the past seven years, Carin and her two brothers have been performing coast-to-coast as the band "Carin Mari & Pony Express" - adding their own flavor to Western Music. The band has released five CD's in this time, one of which winning the title of 'Most Promising Album.' Carin, who is now nineteen, is pursuing her dreams of being a Singer/Songwriter and is studying Commercial Music at South Plains College in Texas. She is a very diverse artist that can include a wide variety of music in her shows including, Western, New Country, Bluegrass, Classic Country, and Folk. Whether Carin is on stage with a big band or playing as a solo entertainer, she is a crowd pleaser with her soothing vocals and intricate guitar skills. She has a great respect for sounds of traditional western music, but strives to create her own refreshing sound that will appeal to the lovers of the traditional music, as well as those new to the genre.
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Awards
2011 South Plains College, Levelland, Texas
Female Entertainer of the Year
Outstanding Female Vocalist
2010 Colgate (Texaco) Country Showdown
National Finalist Runner-up
Southwest Regional Winner
State Winner - Colorado
Winner for the Upper Arkansas Valley
Western Music Association
Crescendo Winner - youth - (Carin Mari & Pony Express)
Academy of Western Artists
"Will Rogers Award" - Western Music-Yodeler
2009
2009 North
America Country Music Association, International
Female Entertainer of the Year - Traditional Country - Youth
Songwriter of the Year - Traditional Country - Youth, "Always A Road"
Most Promising Album of the Year - Country - "Follow the Trail" (Carin Mari & Pony Express)
2008 Western
Music Association
International Yodeling Champion -Teen
International Harmony Group - Youth (Carin Mari & Pony Express)
Colorado Country Music Association
Best Western Band (Carin Mari & Pony Express)
Best Vocal Group (Carin Mari & Pony Express)
Best Western Album - "Follow the Trail" (Carin Mari & Pony Express)
Female Vocalist
Female Entertainer
#1 Songwriting - "Always a
Road"
#2 Songwriting - "Follow the
Trail"
2006 National
Festival of the West
Youth Entertainers of the Year (Carin Mari & Pony Express)
2004 Patsy Montana National Yodeling Champion
Colorado Country Music Association
Traditional Country Female Vocalist -Youth
Traditional Female Entertainer - Youth
Traditional Country Duo (Carin and Colin Lechner)
Promo Pictures (Click on photo to download image)
JPG 1.3 MB JPG 1.2 MB JPG 2.5 MB
Performance Highlights - A Partial List
2011
Colgate Country Showdown National Competition, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
2010
Pony Express
Sesquicentennial Celebration, St Joseph, MO
Holly
Bluegrass Days, Holly, CO
Michael Martin Murphey's WESTFEST, Rifle, CO
Michael
Martin Murphey - Cactus
Theater - Carin guest appearance, Lubbock, TX
2009
John Wayne
Birthplace - "Duke & the Ladies" - Featuring: Lynn
Anderson & Carin, Winterset, Iowa
Heber City Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Heber City, UT
Michael Martin Murphey - Mile
High Rendezvous - Mile High Event Center, Henderson, CO
Lake County Colorado Professional
Rodeo, Leadville, CO
2008
Santa Clarita Cowboy Gathering, Santa Clarita, CA
Baxter Black and Carin Mari & Pony Express, Buffalo, WY
Heber City's Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Heber City, UT
2007
Colorado Blizzard Disaster Benefit - Colorado State Fairgrounds, Pueblo, CO
Cowboy Songs and Range Ballads, Cody, WY
John Wayne's
100th Birthday Celebration, Winterset, Iowa
Cripple Creek Honors Armed Forces – Opening for: Ty
England, Cripple Creek, CO
Piney Woods Cowboy Gathering presented
by Michael Martin Murphey, Linden, TX
Heber City's Cowboy Poetry Gathering
& Buckaroo Fair, Heber City, UT
Santa
Clarita Cowboy Festival, Santa Clarita, CA
Cripple Creek’s Salute to Our Troops, Opening for Ty England
John
Wayne’s Centennial Celebration, Winterset. IA
Colorado Blizzard Disaster Benefit with Michael Martin Murphy, Pueblo, CO
2006
Colorado
Cattlemen's Association, Colorado Springs, CO
Heber
City Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Heber City, UT
Durango
Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Durango, CO
Cowboy's
Harvest Ball - opened for Michael Martin Murphey, Colona, CO
Cowboy
Heritage - Ozark Folk Center, Mountain View, AR
Holly
Days Bluegrass Festival, Holly, CO
Heritage
of the American West, Spearfish, SD
Old
West Days, Jackson Hole, WY
Santa
Clarita Cowboy Festival, Santa Clarita, CA
National
Festival of the West, Scottsdale, AZ
2005
Old
West Days/Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Valentine, NE
Festival
of the American West, Wellsville, UT
Michael
Martin Murphey's West Fest, Snowmass, CO
National
Festival of the West, Scottsdale, AZ
Route
66 Inaugural Ball, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian,
Washington D.C.
2004
Michael
Martin Murphey's West Fest, Snowmass, CO