CHEYENNE — When Ian Munsick wrote the song “Cheyenne,” he imagined himself as the headlining act at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
On Friday night, there was no more imagining.
Munsick became the first Wyoming native to headline Cheyenne Frontier Days, eliciting a chorus of adoring cheers and whistles from the audience.
“I think I see a little bit of country in Cheyenne tonight!” Munsick told his fans during his first song, “I see Country.”
There were more cheers in response, and the songs continued into a steamy night with a light rain and plenty of country music and fun.
Hours before the performance, Munsick spoke with Cowboy State Daily about the significance of the moment for him. That’s when he got emotional.
To put his response in context, Munsick first discussed his childhood on a ranch in Sheridan, Wyoming.
“When I moved to Nashville when I was 18,13 years ago, there was no one from this part of the country who was putting on for the West in country music,” according to him. “That always irked me, because I grew up on a ranch in Wyoming, and that’s as country as it gets.”
Munsick promised himself at the time that he would not only never forget Wyoming, but that he would carry it with him wherever he went. And this is where his motto “Bringing the West to the Rest” comes from.
Returning home to headline Cheyenne Frontier Days after finishing his latest album Eagle Feather — an album of mostly Wyoming-themed songs — Munsick sees his new Cheyenne Frontier Days milestone as a full circle moment.
“It’s a homecoming for me as a kid from Wyoming who just wanted to make Wyoming proud,” he said, choking up slightly. “I feel like I’ve accomplished that now, and just, yeah, I’m getting a little bit emotional now, but it’s just a huge honor for me.”
The Whole Family Is Watching
Munsick announced his dream to headline Cheyenne Frontier Days last year after an equally iconic accomplishment — playing to a sold-out crowd at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.
Red Rocks is a world-renowned venue that marries a beautiful natural setting with exceptional acoustics. It’s a coveted place for artists to perform. The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead — those are just a few of the big names who have checked the Red Rocks box.
But Munsick said he sees the Cheyenne stage as the biggest of his career to date, and it’s something he couldn’t wait to share with others who have inspired him along the way.
One of those was Travis Tritt.
Asking Tritt to open for him was another full-circle moment for Munsick. He was the first country star who really embraced him, Munsick said, and it was not so very long ago that it was Tritt encouraging Munsick to become an artist.
Munsick also reached out to Wyoming singer songwriters Ned LeDoux and Chancy Williams, to invite them to share the stage with him, but both were already booked.
“Friday night in July, odds are they’re going to be out playing somewhere,” Munsick said. “But we’ll have three Wyoming natives joining us on stage. My dad, my brother, and a guy named Ryan Charles, who is one of my good friends.”
Sharing his moment with other Wyoming natives is important to him, Munsick said. He wants to show his appreciation for the state, as well as for musicians who helped inspire him when he was young and just starting out.
“I love those guys,” Munsick said, referring to both LeDoux and Williams. “When I was in high school, they were the ones who were the country music stars of the state.
“So, any time I have the opportunity to help give my spotlight to them, I will gladly do it. They have just been a huge inspiration for me as an artist.”
Munsick’s dad and younger brother weren’t the only family members in the audience. The entire clan was there for the moment, except for older brother Tris, who is touring in Germany.
“I don’t blame (Tris) for that,” Munsick added. “Because playing country music in Germany sounds like a pretty damn fun time. But my other brother is going to be here. His wife, his kids, my parents are going to be here. My wife is obviously here, and my 5-year-old boy is here, and my wife’s parents are here. So the whole family, yes ma’am.”
A Day Of Chaos
Munsick wasn’t nervous about playing for the big crowd at Cheyenne Frontier Days, even though it’s a high-pressure moment and the stakes feel high.
He was most nervous about playing for his father in the audience.
“My dad is the one who taught me how to play music,” Munsick said. “For me, it is always about trying to prove myself. Like, “Hey, dad, here I am now. Like, I’m trying to make you proud. So there’s always a little extra pressure there.”
However, Munsick has come to the realization that parents do not last forever.
“They’re getting older,” he explained. “I understand that. I know they won’t always be there. So that just makes me grateful that they’re present right now.”
Things have been a little crazier than usual for Munsick as he prepares for a big performance.
“It’s been chaos,” he said. “There has been a lot of media coverage and interviews. We went to Boot Barn a few hours ago and had a big meet-and-greet there because our jewelry line is coming out.”
He expects the chaos to last until his bus departs from Cheyenne Frontier Days at 1 a.m.
“These kinds of ones only happen a couple times a year,” he informed me. “So, for me to deal with this, as long as I have just little spurts throughout the day, just a half hour to be quiet or read or just lay down and close my eyes, that’s how I cope with that the best.”
Munsick will begin preparing for performances about an hour before showtime and has no plans that differ from his usual routine.
“I’ll do my exercises for my voice,” said the actor. “And I have a little back roller, which I’ll use for a few minutes because it always feels great.
“And I’ll stretch, because I run around on stage like a maniac at times, and I’ll drink some tea and hit my humidifier mask, which helps my voice out here in the dry prairies of Wyoming.”
He simply rubs a small amount of oil onto the ends of his famous hair, which he claims is the best in the West. However, this time he braided his hair ahead of the performance to give it a little curl for the special occasion.
Munsick and the band almost always gather 10 minutes before the show to pray.
“That’s what we like to do as a band,” Munsick explained. “We like to pray right before going on stage.
“All of my luck comes from God and just hopefully allowing myself to do his will and to spread joy, because all things that are good, including joy comes from God, and I truly do believe that he wants me to spread joy through my music on stage.”
Just Remember, It’s All About Fun
Munsick is no stranger to stage disasters. After four years on the road and counting, things don’t always go according to plan.
“O’Neill, Nebraska, 2022,” he announced. “They were hosting their annual town party. And we arrived, and our tour bus had broken down about an hour away, with all of our gear on board.”
Munsick’s team called the town to request assistance in getting their gear and everyone to the site.
“They hitched our trailer to a dually truck and brought it out there, but as we were coming into town, you could see the sky is just greenish black,” Munsick told me. “And it’s like, ‘What is about to happen?’ I’m not sure if it was a tornado or something, but it was awful.”
When Munsick and his crew arrived at the stage, he noticed it had been knocked flat, and the speakers were piled on top of each other.
“Well, I don’t think we’re going to be playing the show tonight,” Munsick recalls. “But, classic country Nebraska, they pulled up a flatbed trailer and they had the local gym donate their speakers, and so we played on the back of a flatbed trailer for 5,000 people that night, and it was awesome.”
That’s the craziest thing Munsick recalls happening right before a show, but it didn’t derail anything, which he attributes to his wife, who is his manager. He said she handled all of the phone calls and extinguished all of the fires.
Today, however, the Nebraska incident serves as a reminder to him of what is truly important in terms of performance. It’s important to remember that the audience’s goal is to have fun.
“As an artist, you just have to go with the flow,” he told me. “The show must go on. Even if you’re playing on a flatbed, the people who attend the concert don’t care. They simply want to have a good time.
Munsick frequently recalls Nebraska, and it was on his mind prior to his Cheyenne Frontier Days performance.
“We like putting so much pressure on each other,” Munsick explained. “Like, this needs to be the best show of my career because it’s the biggest stage of all. However, at the end of the day, people simply want to have fun. So, just let it happen.
And go with the flow.
Despite the fun and flow, Munsick expects it to be a memory unlike any other. Along with the special souvenir he’ll be taking from the event: a new Cheyenne Frontier Days belt buckle.
This time, it is presented to the headliners.
He still has the Cheyenne Frontier Days buckle from 2022, when he opened for Parker McCollum.
“I had no idea that was a thing,” Munsick said. “But when they handed it to me, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever.'”
“And I’ve gotten to a lot more places throughout the last few years, but in the back of my head, I was always like, ‘I want that headline Cheyenne Frontier Days belt buckle, because that’s going to be the coolest one.”
Munsick intends to wear the new CFD buckle every day until he finds a cooler one.
“That’s going to be hard,” he admitted. “The only one that’s going to be cooler would be when I come back next time as the headliner.”
