Cowboy music and poetry in Winnsboro
Every fall, the Winnsboro Center for the Arts hosts a weekend of cowboy music and poetry that draws performers and audiences from across the region—a celebration of Western culture just 40 minutes down TX-37.
The Winnsboro Cowboy Music & Poetry Gathering is an annual tradition at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, celebrating the Western music and cowboy poetry tradition that still runs deep across Northeast Texas. For anyone spending time in Titus County, it’s the kind of cultural event that feels like it was made for this part of the state—not transplanted from somewhere else, but rooted in the communities, ranches, and wide-open spaces that still define the region.
The 2026 gathering
The 2026 edition is scheduled for September 25–26 at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, located at 200 Market Street in Winnsboro, Texas. The event spans two days of performances featuring cowboy music, Western poetry, and storytelling. Confirmed performer Andy Hedges—a nationally recognized cowboy poet and musician—brings the kind of authenticity that makes this gathering more than a nostalgia act.
Winnsboro Cowboy Music & Poetry Gathering
Winnsboro Center for the Arts, 200 Market Street, Winnsboro, TX
A two-day celebration of cowboy music, Western poetry, and storytelling. Confirmed performer Andy Hedges. Additional performers and the full schedule will be posted by the Winnsboro Center for the Arts as the event approaches. Check winnsborocenterforthearts.com for updates.
What the gathering looks like
The Winnsboro Center for the Arts operates out of a converted downtown space that hosts visual arts, live performances, and community events throughout the year. For the Cowboy Music & Poetry Gathering, the center becomes a stage for performers who work in the Western music tradition—guitar, fiddle, spoken word, and the kind of storytelling that grew out of ranch life and open country. The audience skews toward people who live the life, not tourists looking for a theme-park version of the West. It’s an intimate event, the kind where you can talk to the performers between sets and hear the stories behind the songs.
The drive from the property
Winnsboro sits about 30 miles east of Mount Pleasant via TX-37, a drive that takes roughly 40 minutes through the Piney Woods corridor of Wood and Titus Counties. The road runs through pasture, pine stands, and the kind of rural landscape that explains why cowboy music still matters out here. Downtown Winnsboro has a walkable square with local shops and restaurants—the kind of small-town Texas center that feels both preserved and genuinely lived-in.
For anyone evaluating the property on County Road 1070 as a primary home or weekend retreat, the Winnsboro gathering is a good marker of the cultural range within a 45-minute drive. It’s not just the county fair and the drag boat races. There are events rooted in Western tradition, in the literary and musical heritage of ranching communities, and they happen regularly enough to shape the rhythm of a year spent in this part of the state.
Plan around it
The gathering takes place the last weekend of September, which lines up with some of the best weather in East Texas—cool mornings, warm afternoons, dry air. It’s also the same weekend as the Winnsboro area’s fall arts events, so the town has extra energy. If you’re visiting the property that weekend, the drive to Winnsboro is a natural addition to a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The event is typically free or low-cost, and the Center for the Arts has information posted on its website as performers and the schedule are confirmed.
Plan a visit
Walk the land, then ride to Winnsboro for the gathering.
The property and the Cowboy Music & Poetry Gathering make a natural weekend pair—land, horses, and live Western music in the same trip.
Schedule a visit