Authenticity radiates from Adrian Brannan in any setting, but especially while she’s on stage. Whether the “Buckaroo Girl” is singing the Star-Spangled Banner to 50,000 rodeo fans at the 2021 American Rodeo or performing at the Western Heritage Awards in a formal gown, Brannan is comfortable on stage, and it shows in the effect she has on her audience. Along with being a singer and songwriter with a Billboard chart-topping album, the one-time ranch rodeo bronc rider is also the sole creator of the popular buckaroogirl.com blog; designer of the Make America Cowboy Again and Cowboy-Girl clothing brands; an inspirational author; and a recent recipient of a Master of Arts from Georgetown University.
“For me, there is no better feeling in the world than being in a room or arena full of a bunch of proud Americans all lending their own voices singing the most beautiful song in the world to the most beautiful flag in the world,” says Brannan.
She exhibits that same kind of heartfelt passion while singing for a group of European team ropers in northern Italy or at a Working Ranch Cowboy Association’s rodeo in Oklahoma.
“I write and sing cowboy music,” says Brannan. “I sing about roping stuff and the weather, bucking horses, ranch families, traditions, God, and girls.”
Early Years
Brannan was born in Ventura, Calif., to parents who loved horses, the Old West, the early fur trade and … books, a dangerous literary addiction she admits to inheriting herself.
“There are times I’ll spend more on books in a month than I will on groceries,” says Brannan. “My favorite book ever is the classic People of the First Man about the early days of the fur trade. It was the first book my dad ever gave me. I’m also a total geek on any book about cowboy artists Charlie Russell and Will James.”
Brannan’s early years took her a long way from the coast of California to the Great Basin cattle country of Nevada. Then it was off to France, Switzerland, Ukraine and finally Scotland, where her father, a former ranch cowboy and SWAT team sniper, worked towards his Ph.D. in terrorism studies at one of Great Britain’s top universities. The years in the Scottish Highlands left a lasting impression.
“Those memories of endless heather and sky bring the same feeling of wildness and joy that the Nevada high desert does for me,” says Brannan. “I just can’t contain myself. It’s that big, beautiful feeling when the wind picks up like anything is possible—you are standing on the edge of the world, and if you’re not careful, you might just spill over into a real-life fairy tale.”
Making a Musician
Brannan’s music has its roots in her father’s appreciation of country, classic rock, and the blues—along with her mother’s love of classical music. Eventually resettled back in California at the age of 13, the cowgirl’s love of singing opera led to her performing in several local college theater productions.
“The Baroque period in the 18th century still just takes my breath away,” she says. “There is this great scene in John Wayne’s The Cowboys, one of my favorite Westerns. One of the cowboys plays a piece on his guitar by Baroque composer Vivaldi. You wouldn’t think a piece by an 18th century Italian composer would work in a Western about a 19th century trail drive, but it does.”
Then there’s Brannan’s big sister, Liz.
“She’s five years older and has always been my best friend and biggest fan,” says Brannan. “I was just 14 when I tagged along with her on her first job cowboying. Maybe that’s what led to me picking up her pawn shop guitar. I started to write lyrics about a little mare I was starting on my own and some of the things I loved the most about Nevada, cowboys, and the West.”
After a while of muddling through playing that guitar, Brannan asked her mom for guitar lessons. Her mother had some conditions.
“She said that until I had calluses on the ends of my fingers, she wasn’t going to spend any money. So, I locked myself in my room with the guitar for two days. When I finally came out, my fingers were pretty beat up, but I held them up to Mom and said, ‘See’!”
While her sister Liz was showing the rawhide horse equipment she had braided at the Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, much to her family’s apprehension, young Brannan decided to sing at an open mic event. Entrepreneurs Mike and Elizabeth Vanderhoof saw her performance and were immediately impressed with her voice, and offered to help her pursue a singing career.
“The Vanderhoof family became my second family,” says Brannan. “They are truly one of the biggest and best gifts God has ever given me. I don’t know that there ever was a girl more surrounded by the best souls right when she needed them the most.“
There have been others just as encouraging in other ways, Brannan remembers fondly.
“When I was still that little girl with a pawn shop guitar, I met a very jolly, kind man riding in the elevator at that same Monterey Cowboy Poetry Festival,” she recalls. ”He asked me about the guitar I was carrying and made me feel like I was the only thing he had to focus on at that moment. That kindhearted man turned out to be Red Steagall.”
Then there was the time she met Michael Martin Murphy in a green room in Durango, Colo.
“He noticed how intimidated I was and walked over,” says Brannan. “‘Young lady, this is your green room too. You need to take part.’ I will never forget his generosity.”
A few years later at the big Elko Cowboy Poetry gathering, Brannan cornered Tom Russell, singer and song writer of “Tonight We Ride,” maybe the greatest cowboy ballad since “El Paso.” She got up the gumption to respectfully ask him to work with her.
“He wasn’t used to little girls with big guitars wanting him to add his ‘desert weird’ vibe to their second album, but I grew up on his music and loved his gritty tunes like ‘Tonight We Ride,’” she says. “I loved how folksy it was, and for a little girl who had discovered both Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, I knew he would add magic to a record.”
Russell introduced Brannan to her favorite studio, Wavelab, in Tuscon, Ariz., with lead engineer Craig Schumacher. Working with Schumacher, Brannan won several awards together for the records out of his studio.
Back when Brannan was riding broncs, she got a call from cowboy singer and artist Gary Morton, one of the founders of the Working Ranch Cowboys Association. He told her she needed to grab her guitar and saddle and head on down to the WRCA Rodeo Finals in Amarillo. Morton’s invitation turned into another adopted home for her.
“The WRCA are just the most generous, down-to-earth dang group of real ranch cowboys and cowgirls you will ever meet,” says Brannan.
Dear Cowgirl
Alongside all of her accomplishments, Brannan possesses a quietly courageous side to her, forged from rough personal times in her past. After experiencing the lasting impact of domestic violence, Brannan started to remake herself into the woman that she really wanted to be.
“I realized that God had a bigger plan for me and that eventually through my music, my Dear Cowgirl books, and my blog that I could really help others,” she says.
By opening a dialogue about domestic and sexual abuse within the Western world, she hopes that she is empowering survivors to break free from judgment.
“We want to think that sexual assault and domestic violence don’t happen in our ranching and farming communities, but they do,” she says. “As an insider and survivor myself, I feel that I have a unique perspective to arm the next generation of cowgirls with the confidence to choose safety and peace over pain and chaos. Although trauma can change the brain, so can healing—I know!”
Higher Education
Going to Georgetown University had always been a dream of Brannan’s and signified one of the biggest turning points in her own personal and professional narrative.
“It’s one of the most respected universities in the world,” says Brannan. “Before going there, I was terrified at how a ‘Cowboy-Girl’ would be received in today’s Washington, D.C. Still, I showed up in my cowboy boots. My fellow classmates and professors accepted me with open arms. They have allowed me to use my unique experiences when addressing real-world issues. I hope I can use these experiences as a spokesperson for the cowboy world and rural communities, and contribute to the efforts in defending our country from those who might seek to divide us rather than unite us.”
All the way from ranch rodeo bronc rider and successful “Cowboy-Girl” singer to a courageous advocate for today’s cowgirls and future cowgirls, Brannan shines bright in all her facets.
This article about Adrian Brannan appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of Western Life Today magazine. Click here to subscribe!
