The name of Jared Rogerson’s band — The Rodeo Wreck — comes from real-life experience. The rodeo star-turned-country rocker plays this weekend’s Concert on the Commons in Teton Village.
The name of Jared Rogerson’s band — The Rodeo Wreck — comes from real-life experience. The rodeo star-turned-country rocker plays this weekend’s Concert on the Commons in Teton Village.
Jared Rogerson’s first guitar was a $50 off-brand instrument — and he has never heard of the off-brand Samik guitar before or since.
“The strings were nickel wound,” he said. “They sounded really tinny and one of the tuning knobs broke off and I’d have to pull out my Leatherman to tune the D string.”
The Samik was in Rogerson’s possession in college and high school, but back then it was not nearly as important as his boots and spurs.
Rogerson spent 17 years on the rodeo circuit, from his adolescent days to seven years on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. He competed in bareback bronc riding — and then one accident changed his tune.
Rogerson’s final rodeo wreck left him with a torn bicep tendon, which is now only recognizable by an L-shaped scar on the inner joint of his riding arm, where the tendon was reattached. And he says it was in that last fall, while he was on the ground, that he told himself it was time to stop competing, and time to start that music career and not just strum the Samik when there was nothing else to do.
Rogerson’s version of rodeo rock is not new to Jackson. He’s played the Cowboy Bar more than once, but Sunday’s show will be his first all-ages show for the Pinedale musician, and he says it’s going to be one big party.
“I love music and music of all kinds,” Rogerson said. “People keep calling my music country because it fits under that umbrella. But it isn’t anything like Nashville Country. Some say it kind of fits in with Texas Country. But it’s everything, including Bon Jovi.”
The cowboy is admittedly a big fan of Lucinda Williams, Chris LeDoux, the Grateful Dead and says he’s always seeking out new independent artists.
Rogerson’s band name pays homage to the turning point in his own life and career changes, but it’s also a bit of metaphor: The rodeo wreck may stem from a rodeo collision but it’s not there just to inspire broken-hearted country songs. Rogerson’s Rodeo Wreck is on stage to be feisty, fun and throw down music that gets people dancing, having a good time and making connections.
“Being on stage and performing has created so much but it’s also given way to the unexpected, and that is, in all of this traveling all over the place I never thought that it would also be about the friendships I would make. And that’s been one of the coolest parts about it.”
There’s no doubt Rogerson is a gaucho of positivity. His performances reflect his wishes for everyone to keep dreaming big.
He once told the Independent Music Awards, “You have to live life in a way that makes you feel alive. The phone isn’t going to just ring. You have to make things happen. We’ve only got one shot. Life’s too short to ride a slow horse.”
That first guitar is still around running but it’s no longer road-worthy. Now his kids dabble the way the young rodeo star used to before he realized he was destined to be the “Cadillac Cowboy.”
“Cadillac Cowboy” is one of Rogerson’s recently released singles. The video was shot in an undisclosed desert location not far from Green River.
Rogerson has been recording quite a bit this year in Nashville and dropping music videos as much as he can, but he’s not planning on producing a full-length album as of right now.
Jared Rogerson and The Rodeo Wreck will be anything but a wreck — it will be red dirt, down in the cloverleaf with barrels of rowdiness for the taking.
And an added bonus, Boise’s Tylor and the Train Robbers will open for Rogerson. 
Contact Tibby Plasse via 732-7078 or entertainment@jhnewsandguide.com.
Concert on the Commons: Jared Rogerson & The Rodeo Wreck
with Tylor & The Train Robbers
Since moving to Jackson Hole in 1992, Richard has covered everything from local government and criminal justice to sports and features. He currently concentrates on arts and entertainment, heading up the Scene section.
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