Rex Rideout & Mark Lee Gardner

Music and Ballads of the Old West

Musicians and historians Mark Lee Gardner and Rex Rideout first met at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site some forty years ago. They’ve been performing the historic music of the American West together ever since. Their carefully-crafted recordings can be heard in television documentaries, National Park Service films, and museum exhibits.

In addition to his music, Mark is a bestselling author and an authority on the American West. His recent YouTube video for WIRED’s Tech Support, where Mark answers questions from the Internet about the Wild West, has received several million views. His most recent book is the critically acclaimed Brothers of the Gun: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a Reckoning in Tombstone (Dutton).

Rex, a long-time student of the fur trade of the American Southwest, has served as an interpreter and instructor for numerous living history events from Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Rex appeared as "Fiddler" in the blockbuster Dreamworks film, Cowboys & Aliens. He can also be seen in the PBS film Badger Clark: Poet Among the Pines. Rex was Associate Music Producer for the PBS documentary Law for a Lawless Land. His writings have appeared in The Western Way, Fiddler Magazine and Wagon Tracks.

Both musicians call the Rocky Mountains of Colorado their home, Mark hailing from the small town of Cascade and Rex from the cool thin air of Conifer.

https://songofthewest.com/