TOUR INFO AND NEWS
| 2023 DATES | LOCATION | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| MARCH 25 | TEHACHAPI, CA | VFW ALBUM RELEASE PARTY |
| APRIL 28 | ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO | GATHERING OF NATIONS |
| MAY 28 | TEHACHAPI, CA | BIG PAPA’S |
| AUGUST 19 | TEHACHAPI, CA | MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL |
| OCTOBER 14 | SACRAMENTO, CA | BURGERS AND BLUES FESTIVAL |
Blue Mountain Tribe’s Path to the Playing the World’s Largest Powwow
BY STACY THACKER APRIL 25, 2023
What started as a grueling process became one of the biggest rewards for Blue Mountain Tribe, a Native American blues and rock band from Tehachapi, Calif.
The band was selected to perform at Stage 49 on Friday, April 28, 2023, at 7:15 p.m., in Albuquerque, N.M., as part of the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, the world’s largest powwow.
Blue Mountain Tribe comprises four members, lead singer and harmonica player Robin Hairston, also known as Rockin Robin; his son Caleb Hairston on lead guitar and vocals; Jeff “Cooper Hawk” Cooper; bass player and vocals and Pat Mata on the drums.
Before the band formed, Hairston and Caleb were playing the bar scene, but they knew they wanted to do more. After being inspired by a PBS performance by XIT — a Native American rock band that started in the 1970s —, the duo knew what they wanted to do
“They got up there, and they rocked,” Hairston said, adding that it wasn’t the traditional music many were used to hearing from Native American bands. “They didn’t play the flute, the drum; they got up there and just rocked.”
That’s where their journey began. But finding other Native American musicians in their area wasn’t easy. The Hairston duo, who identify as Chiricahua Apache, wanted to find individuals who could play and share their love of music. Finally, they found Hawk, who identifies as Cherokee, and Mata, who identifies as YTT Northern Chumash-Yokuts. And in 2012, Blue Mountain Tribe was born.
“We started writing Native American original music with the bluesy rock sound, but we sang about Native American history and culture and pain and suffering and all the things Native Americans go through,” Hairston said. “And we added these stories to our music, and people literally fell in love with us.”
The band released their debut album, “All Our Relations,” in October 2014, followed by their second, “Oh Great Warrior!” in November 2022.
While the band enjoyed playing the smaller stages, they were ready for a new challenge and put their application in for a sought-after spot on Stage 49.
“They don’t play around,” Hairston said. “They want the best of the best.”
Many of Blue Mountain Tribe’s songs are about Native American veterans and what they endured when they returned from war. Hairston himself is a 20-year veteran and served in the Marines and Army. It’s important for the band to share the stories of those who served, Hairston and Hawk said, but it’s also important for them to bring light to current Indigenous issues as well as the dark moments in Native American history.
“The songs are just sharing our concerns for our people,” Hawk said.
And with those concerns always comes hope. Hawk said they want to remind people to live well, even when things around them aren’t going well.
“We want to pass our music to the world and bring peace, love and understanding through our music,” Hairston said. “A lot of our music is very positive and brings a lot of hope.”
The four-member band works hard to share their message with people, book their own shows, and get their name out there. So, when they got the news about their spot on Stage 49, it felt like they’d made it.
“I keep telling people and the band members, we’re gonna go to the top someday,” Hairston said. “Well, I was telling one of our producers I’d love to go to the top, and he said, ‘Robin, you’ve already made the top by making Gathering of Nations; you’ve hit the pinnacle of your career.”
The band will be playing songs off of “Oh Great Warrior!” and they’re excited for the opportunity to expand their audience reach.
“The Blue Mountain Tribe is not in this for the money at all,” Hairston said. “We’ve done so many charity events and donated to many different things Native Americans were experiencing. We’re in it for the spirituality of the Native Americans and our beliefs and our traditions and helping our people.”
The Gathering of Nations hasn’t been easy. Hairston said the band has had many run-ins with what he calls “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Once the band got more attention, people started trying to exploit them.
Hawk said somebody offered to interview them for their magazine but expected them to pay for it. They also struggle with getting gigs booked around their full-time jobs, he said.
But there were struggles before the band started. In the earlier days of Hairston’s career, he struggled with cocaine use and now speaks out against drugs and substance use. But despite the past and current struggles, the band keeps moving forward.
“Enjoy it,” Hawk said. “If you’re in a band, try to be friends, brothers, with your bandmates, enjoy playing together.”
Blue Mountain Tribe to perform at world’s largest Pow Wow
- By CLAUDIA ELLIOTT For Tehachapi News Apr 6, 2023
Blue Mountain Tribe, an award-winning band that’s entertained Tehachapi crowds for more than a decade, will perform at the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 28.
Group founder Robin Hairston said he was excited to learn that the local band made up of all indigenous musicians was selected to perform at what is said to be the largest powwow in the world.
“This is a huge honor, since a thousand bands applied and only eight bands make it,” Hairston said. “The event is televised on PBS and 15 other television stations, 30,000 people come to the three-day event from all over the world and Tehachapi’s own band made it.”
Melissa Sanchez of Emergence Productions confirmed that the band will be among featured performers on Stage 49, the premier music stage at the pow wow. Stage 49 features indigenous traditional and contemporary artists in a variety of genres including rock, blues, reggae, hip hop, country and more.
According to the New Mexico Department of Tourism, more than 3,000 indigenous, Native American and Indian dancers and singers representing more than 500 tribes from Canada and the United States participate in the event every year.
A horse and rider parade and the Miss Indian World competition are also part of the event.
Hairston named the group after the appearance of the Tehachapi Mountains as he was driving toward them one afternoon with sunlight and shadows making the mountains appear to be blue from a distance.
The band has had some different members through the years. Current members and their nations are Hairston, from the Chiricahua Apache Nation, who sings and plays harmonica; his son Caleb Hairston, lead guitar, also from the Chiricahua Apache Nation; Pat Mata, drummer, from the Northern Band Chumash-Yokuts Nation and Jeff CooperHawk who plays bass and is from the Cherokee Nation.
As a “band of brothers,” the Blue Mountain Tribe has created original songs focused on Native American experiences. The band has received numerous accolades since its formation. In particular, the song “Pray for Our Planet” won Best Music Video at the INDO French International Film Festival, the Latino and Native American Film Festival and the Las Vegas Film Festival.
The song was written in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, after Lakota Native American spiritual leader Chief Arvol Looking Horse asked the band to pray for healing.
Although the band has won awards and achieved commercial success, Hairston said its mission isn’t about garnering wealth and fame.
It’s all about raising awareness, helping others, and making the world a better place, he said.
Visit gatheringofnations.com for more information about the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow.
