The Wyoming Arts Council and Wyoming Humanities are seeking tracks and podcasts from Wyoming-based musicians and podcasters for the 2024 Summer Road Trip Playlist. The Road Trip Playlist is an annual release hosted on Spotify and promoted at high tourism areas across the state, such as at State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, museums, and festivals. In addition to the promotion of the playlist, artists will receive featured pieces on their music through Wyoming Arts Council media channels and additional podcast promotion through Wyoming Humanities.
 

This is a statewide call open to independent musicians of all genres and producers of compelling storytelling podcasts. To apply for consideration, please complete the interest form below by April 30, 2024. Artists may submit up to two songs each, but there is no cap on the number of tracks that can be selected for inclusion in the playlist. The final length of the playlist will be collectively determined by the jurors.

  Songs will be juried by Rachel Haggert, a versatile media professional and creative telling stories in the mountains of Montana and Podcasts will be juried by LaNaya Butler, the Conversations Coordinator for Colorado Humanities.

The Road Trip Playlist is an annual part of the Arts Council’s Wyoming Independent Music Initiative (WIMI), working to build a robust music scene in Wyoming. Through partnership with Wyoming Humanities, we hope to share the thriving arts and culture of Wyoming with our own residents and those visiting our beautiful state.
 

DETAILS

• Individual musicians and podcasters must be Wyoming residents;  the majority of the members of bands/musical acts must be Wyoming residents (Residency defined as domiciled within the state borders for a total of 20 months in the previous two years.).
• The following will be taken into consideration in the jurying process: artistic merit and quality of the recording.
• Artists will need to submit through the Wyoming Arts Council's Submittable page no later than Wednesday, April 29, 2025 at 11:59 pm MST.
• You must submit links to specific songs and podcasts already listed on Spotify.
• Links to an album or general artist page on Spotify will not be reviewed.
• Links to anything other than a specific song or podcast on Spotify will not be reviewed, except in the case of forthcoming albums, EPs, or singles. We will accept a link to an embargoed recording on the understanding that the song will be available to the public on Spotify no later than June 3, 2025.
• You may submit up to two songs or podcasts for consideration.
• If your music was previously listed on a Wyoming Road Trip Playlist, you are welcome to apply again this year, but songs previously listed as a part of a Wyoming Road Trip Playlist will not be considered.

JURORS

LaNaya Butler is a Ph.D. candidate in the Curriculum and Instruction (Teaching and Learning Sciences) program at the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education. She holds an M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver Josef Korbel School of International Studies, as well as a dual B.A. in Africana Studies and Political Science from Rutgers University. In her role as the Colorado Humanities Conversations Coordinator, LaNaya leads the Facilitator Trainings as well as the Community Conversations, United We Stand, The Five States of Colorado, Latiné Partnership, and Changing the Legacy of Race and Ethnicity (CLoRE) programs.

Rachel Hergett is a writer, DJ, artist and educator from Bozeman, Montana. She is the arts editor emeritus at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, and continues to write a weekly story highlighting music, theater, and arts and artists of all forms. She writes the A la Carte column in Explore Big Sky that features local restaurants as well as food memories and family recipes. 

Rachel has been a DJ on alternative public radio station KGLT for more than 20 years, where she hosts the popular Magic Monday Show every Monday from noon to 3 p.m. 

She has been pronouncer at the state spelling bee, writes and hosts a weekly trivia night, lends her costuming and artistic skills to local theater and arts organizations and occasionally plays handbells. She is also learning to weld.
 

Outside of the arts, Rachel leads freshman seminars in the Honors College at her alma mater, Montana State University, helping students develop critical thinking and discussion skills. 

Native Art Fellowships are unrestricted $5,000 awards of merit, based on the artist’s portfolio, honoring the work of contemporary Native American artists at any stage of their career who live in Wyoming. This fellowship supports diverse creative disciplines and artists working in any medium including, but not limited to, visual, performing, literature, multidisciplinary, film and video, or folk and traditional, may apply. Applications are juried by noted Native artists from outside the state. Two fellowships will be given this year and jurors may also select honorable mentions. The deadline to apply is May 15, 2025. 

ELIGIBILITY
 

• Applicants must be an enrolled/citizen member or lineal descendant of a federally recognized tribe, a state recognized tribe, or be an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian. If selected for the fellowship, you may be asked to provide a copy of a Tribal ID, letter of descendancy, or Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB). If your tribe is not federally or state recognized you will be asked to provide more detailed information.
• Must be at least 18 years of age at time of application.
• Must not be a full-time student pursuing high school, college, or university art-related degrees.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or have legal resident status (evidence of U.S. citizenship, resident status and state residency may be required).
• May not be affiliated with the Wyoming Arts Council either as a board member or staff member, including their families, whether full-time, part-time or contractual.
• May not be an employee of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources.
• Must be a Wyoming resident, living in the state for at least 10 months of the year.
• May receive a total of two fellowship awards in your lifetime.
• You may choose to be automatically considered for the WAC fellowships in Creative Writing, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts, but you can only receive one Fellowship per year. 
• You may enter the competition only once by the deadline.

WHAT IF YOU WIN AN AWARD?
 

• You’ll receive $5,000 up front.
• You’ll sign a contract that verifies you’re eligible to receive this award.
• You’ll need to supply a bio and a photograph for publicity.
• The Arts Council will work with you to find an appropriate venue or showcase to publicly share your work.
• You will retain all rights to this work and the work you produce during the grant period.
• You must create an impact statement, due August 31, 2026, sharing how this award helped you and what you accomplished during the year you received it.
• You may be asked to provide a copy of a Tribal ID, letter of descendancy, or Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB). If your tribe is not federally or state recognized you will be asked to provide more detailed information.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
 

• Your name must not appear anywhere on your application. 
• Do not send supplementary materials (letters, resumes, etc.)
• You may submit up to 10 work samples. Samples can be a combination of multiple art forms. Image, video, audio, and document files will be accepted.
• If submitting a writing sample, you may only upload ONE manuscript, up to 25 pages in length, typed, double-spaced using a 12-point standard font. If submitting poetry, only one poem is allowed per page and the double-spaced requirement is waived. For a book excerpt, you may provide a synopsis, but it will be included in the 25-page limit. You may submit more than one piece of writing, as long as you don’t exceed the 25-page limit. Pages must be numbered; include title of work and page number on each page.
• If submitting performance-based work, you may submit original works or performances of other works (not original). Fellowships are awarded to an individual; however work samples of group performances will be accepted for demonstrative purposes as long as the individual applicant is clearly identified in the description.
• Other work samples can include: experimental (conceptual/new media), graphic (printmaking/book arts), painting, sculpture, installation, photography (includes experimental, color, black & white, photocopy and computer), clay, fiber, glass, leather, metal, paper, plastic, wood, mixed media, film or video, beadwork, quillwork, regalia, ledger art, other traditional forms. Up to two images may be detail images, if appropriate. Jurors will only be required to watch up to 10 minutes of a film/video submission.

JURORS

TahNibaa Naataanii

By way of introduction, I am a traditional Diné woman, representing the Many Hogan Clan and Coyote Pass Clan. My maternal and paternal grandfathers are the Mexican Clan and the Steep Rock Clan. I hail from Table Mesa and Toadlena, New Mexico. As a young girl my paternal grandmother bestowed on me my Navajo name: TahNibaa Atlohiigiih. Translated, it means “Going into Battle with Weaving.” I was introduced to Navajo Weaving by my mother, Sarah H. Natani at 7 years old. I learned to weave stripes first, then advanced to complex patterns. I actively wove during adolescence, however took a hiatus to enlist in the U.S. Navy. In 2000, hearing a sacred call from the weaving deities, I enthusiastically returned to weaving. As a spiritual and cultural practice, I delight in the many stages of weaving: washing the wool, carding, hand spinning, wool dyeing and the weaving stage. Advancing in fulfilment of this calling, I am learning to create traditional Twill weave patterns together with various sacred weaving songs. I ranch heritage Navajo Churro sheep, following the legacy of my grandparents. I often weave utilitarian pieces such as Shoulder blankets, Ponchos, Navajo Woman garments (“biil ee”), wall hangings, and contemporary works. I created a special weaving garment, given the name, “TahNibaa Shawl”, in honor of my weaving ancestors. Numerous accolades are found in my Resume, however, uniquely blessed, to have received two special honors worthy of mentioning here: Recognition as “Culture Bearer” from the First People’s Fund (2020), and recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts, “National Heritage Fellow” (2022). 

Jackie Sevier

As an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, she is proud of her Native American and Wyoming heritage. Jackie (Allen) Sevier was born in Riverton, Wyoming. For the past fifty years, she has resided with her husband and together raised their children in the small rural sandhills community, Seneca, Nebraska.

Awards include honors at the Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM; Heard Fair, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ: Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK; Northern Plains Indian Art Market, Sioux Falls, SD; Red Earth Festival, Oklahoma City, OK; Cahokia Contemporary Indian Art Show, Collinsville, IL; Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, Gallup, NM; Artesian Arts Festival, Chickasaw Nation, Sulphur, Ok.

Jackie's works have been included in “Let the Spirit Speak”, Pope VI Institute of the Arts, Washington, DC: “Our Way Continues”, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, The Sioux Indian Museum, Rapid City, SD, Museum of Anthropology, Lawrence, KS; “Influences of our Grandparents”, Oscar Howe Museum, Mitchell, SD; and “Heart Dreams and Legends”, a joint indigenous exhibit that toured the US and Australia.  Her works were also included at the Bradford Brinton Memorial Museum, Sheridan, WY: “The Cowboy, Rodeo & WYO Rodeo”, “West of the Mississippi”, “Ladies’ Choice.”