Murder ballads are a staple of the mythos of Frontier Partisans. From Matty Groves to the Dreadful Wind and Rain, and on down to Cocaine Blues and Carrie Brown, love, lust, jealousy and rage — often fueled by alcohol and drugs — are a staple of the themes that form the taproot of American roots music. HP at Hillbilly Highways has scouted up an … [Read more...] about Can’t Kill The Murder Ballad
Podcast Episode 3 — Kit Carson, Explorer
The third episode of the Kit Carson series is up and you can access it here or on Spotify or Google podcasts. In the 1840s, with his days as a Mountain Man over, Carson put his vast knowledge of the geography of the Far West to work for U.S. Army officer John C. Fremont. Guiding Fremont’s first three expeditions would make Kit the most famous … [Read more...] about Podcast Episode 3 — Kit Carson, Explorer
The Muddy Morning Ramble
We had us a pretty decent little gullywhumper Friday night that left the woods soggy and sloppy. Nevertheless, Saturday dawned lovely and felt a very strong need to be out in it. My intention was to ramble about three miles or so, then retire to The Pit for my kettlebells-and-shooting bit. Perhaps I was inspired by watching the biathlon pursuit in … [Read more...] about The Muddy Morning Ramble
Shoot Straight, Ski Fast
Thanks to an early-morning text from Captain Schwertfeger, I got to catch some biathlon action from Hochfilzen, Austria. We’re witnessing something remarkable. Norwegian rookie Sturla Holm Laegreid won his first race of the season — a big accomplishment that kinda shocked the biathlon world. He hasn’t stopped shocking the world. He won the 10km … [Read more...] about Shoot Straight, Ski Fast
The Frontier Partisan World Of George MacDonald Fraser
By David Wrolson High Plains Scout George MacDonald Fraser is probably best known for the Flashman series of novels. These are a collection of books that place the hero (lightly speaking) at almost every historical point from the British disaster in Afghanistan in the 1840s to the Charge of the Light Brigade to Custer’s Last Stand and beyond. … [Read more...] about The Frontier Partisan World Of George MacDonald Fraser
Podcast Episode 2 — Kit Carson, Mountain Man
The second episode of The Frontier Partisans Podcast is up. This episode focuses on Kit Carson’s decade in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade, where he became a member of the elite — a Free Trapper. He traveled, trapped and fought across enormous swaths of the American Far West, which would later make him the ideal choice for a guide for John C. … [Read more...] about Podcast Episode 2 — Kit Carson, Mountain Man
The Marksman
Liam Neeson has the badass-of-a-certain age character totally locked down. The Marksman has the look of a satisfying if somewhat formulaic modern Western. If your formula includes Liam Neeson and Katheryn Winnick, I’m in... Here’s the caper: Neeson stars in The Marksman as hardened Arizona rancher Jim Hanson, who simply wants to be left alone … [Read more...] about The Marksman
Bold Ben Hall
I’m a folker. This is not news to long-time readers here, nor to those who know of my 25 years of involvement with the Sisters Folk Festival. I’m no kinda purist; I love me some rock & roll, and genuine country music remains dear to my soul. Nevertheless, when you dig down to the root, it all comes back to folk music. By way of illustration, … [Read more...] about Bold Ben Hall
‘Bad Trouble Ensues’
Tom Russell, one of the great American singer-songwriters, done wrote a book. Against The Blood. “A few words on the saga: Welcome to 1953. A Pima Indian and a young cowboy songwriter are driving across the Great Western Deserts on an odyssey to pick up a load of saddles… discussing Western history in a dying film era when there were 100,00 … [Read more...] about ‘Bad Trouble Ensues’
Podcast Episode 1 — Kit Carson’s People
The first episode of The Frontier Partisans Podcast is up an on the trail. It’s a 20-minute exploration of the culture that borned Kit Carson: The Scots-Irish were a frontier people. Hailing from the contested borderlands of England and Scotland, they migrated in the 17th Century to Ulster (Northern Ireland); and many then moved on to the … [Read more...] about Podcast Episode 1 — Kit Carson’s People
