Chuck Pyle to play 2 Kandahar shows

Colorado’s Zen cowboy, Chuck Pyle, will return to the Kandahar Lodge for two performances this month.

Pyle, who has been performing at the Kandahar for 20 years, will play at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 and 26. Local musician Tim Torgerson will open the show.

An accomplished songwriter, Pyle’s songs have been recorded by a number of popular artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, John Denver, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Suzy Bogguss, Tish Hinojosa and Chris LeDoux. The song “Colorado” became the theme song for the PBS series “Spirit of Colorado,” which is beamed worldwide by satellite.

In 1980, Pyle wrote "The Other Side of the Hill," which has been recorded by more than 20 different artists, including LeDoux, who renamed the song "Cadillac Cowboy" and took it to the top of the country charts in 1991. 

Along with being a lauded songwriter, Pyle is a well-known performer in his own right. He has developed his own powerful and unique finger-picking guitar style, which he calls "Rocky Mountain Slam Picking," that simultaneously emulates rhythm guitar strums and lead guitar lines, making him sound like an entire band.

He has taught guitar seminars at such prestigious events as the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and the Swannanoa Gathering. 

Pyle, a native of Newton, Iowa, has lived on Colorado’s front range for more than 40 years and has spent most of that time traveling the country playing theaters, festivals, colleges and coffeehouses. He has 11 albums to his credit and is in the studio putting the finishing touches on a Christmas album scheduled for release in November.

Kandahar Lodge is located at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

For more information or to order tickets, call 862-6098.