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Kacey and Jenna Thunborg, 16-year-old twin sisters and western musicians from Lemitar, were in a car on the way to the Western Slope Cowboy Gathering in Grand Junction, Colorado when the Journal caught up with them recently. They answered interview questions by telephone.
“This is the first time for us,” Kacey said of the Western Slope meeting. “We were invited to an open mic up there.”
It may be her first appearance at the Grand Junction Festival of Cowboy Poetry and Music, but it isn’t her first rodeo. The sisters have been performing in front of an audience since they were eight. This year they performed at the Cimarron Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering, the New Mexico Tech Women Fest, and the Arizona Folklore Preserve in Sierra Vista, Arizona, to name a few.
Kacey plays guitar, trumpet and ukulele, has recently picked up the violin and sings and writes songs. Jenna is a singer-songwriter. Together they form the exquisite harmonies that gave them the awards of the International Western Music Association Youth Harmony Duo of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
Do you think harmony is your strength?
“Absolutely,” they said at the same time – and of course in harmony.
‘Let’s do it’
Upon their return from Colorado, the sisters will have the opportunity to demonstrate their talent in Albuquerque when they perform at a Rising Stars Showcase at the Rio Grande Best Western, 1015 Rio Grande NW on Tuesday. The showcase, which highlights the Thunborgs and three other young western artists, is sponsored by the New Mexico Chapter of the International Western Music Association and serves as the prelude to the IWMA convention, which starts Wednesday and lasts until Sunday at the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town, 800 Rio Grande NW.
Kacey, left, and Jenna Thunborg, 16-year-old twins from Lemitar, will demonstrate their harmony on Tuesday at the Rio Grande Best Western and at the International Western Music Association Convention from Wednesday to Sunday at the Hotel Albuquerque. (Courtesy of the New Mexico Chapter IWMA)
About 300 IWMA members from across the country are expected to attend the convention, which includes music and poetry performances and is open to the public. Kacey and Jenna will perform there.
“You see people you haven’t seen in a long time,” Jenna said of the convention, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic. “Everyone knows everyone somehow.”
“Western musicians are an amazing community,” said Kacey.
In addition to the Thunborgs, the Rising Stars Showcase on Tuesday includes:
- Vanessa Carpenter, a 17-year-old singer-songwriter from Idaho.
- Jack George, 15, from Quemado, who recites classic cowboy poetry.
- Alice Back, 16, of Virginia, a singer-songwriter who sings about immigrants, children, drifters, and other western characters.
Kacey, Jenna and Carpenter will be performing “Sisters of the West,” a song the three of them wrote together, at the Tuesday showcase.
“I like to just be able to create something,” Jenna said of the songwriting process. “It can be something I made up or it can be historical stuff.”
Kacey recently teamed up with Jim Jones of Rio Rancho, IWMA’s 2014 Male Performer of the Year, to write a song called “In the Moment.” The song is on Jones ‘recent CD “Good Days Are Comin'”.
“I thought we should write a song about wild horses,” said Kacey. “He said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ He added the part “in the moment”. We did it through Zoom and I really enjoyed writing it with him. ”She said that when writing songs she usually starts with the melody and the chords.
“I’m thinking how to do it,” said Kacey. “I’ll hum a tune and throw in words every now and then.”
Tell stories
Founded in 1988, IWMA is an organization of western musicians and cowboy poets and people who love and support this type of music and poetry. IWMA has held its annual congress in Albuquerque since 2005.
The public can buy tickets to convention events, but people can visit the vendors, CD store, and western clothing boutique for free. Music performances are free during the day, and you can usually sing and play Western musicians in the hotel lobby and hallways. It’s all about the music celebrating a country and a way of life that is in some ways the same as it was over 100 years ago.
“Western music is special,” said Kacey. “I love the lyrics.”
“You can just tell stories,” said Jenna.
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