from Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine, Winter, 2006

Sean Blackburn: 1948-2005

A favorite on the cowboy and Western music scene, Sean Blackburn passed away from a heart attack on September 29, 2005. He was 56. As well-known for his guitar playing and singing as he was for his dry humor, rope tricks and that big handlebar mustache, Sean will be missed by fans, friends and musical peers alike.

Born in Minnesota on December 13, 1948, Sean teamed up with fellow West Bank musician Dakota Dave Hull in the mid-1970s. For a decade, the Minneapolis-based duo presented their brand of vintage western swing to coffeehouse and festival audiences around the country. They released three albums and were regulars on A Prairie Home Companion in its early years.

Sean and Dave ended the duo in 1984, but would perform together often over the years whenever their paths crossed. After a few years as a solo performer, combining his singing and playing with comedy, Sean moved to Colorado. In 1988, shortly after the relocation, he began his partnership with Liz Masterson.

The duo became mainstays of the western entertainment circuit, with a well-honed presentation of western swing, cowboy songs, humor, yodeling and even rope tricks. Liz's pure vocals, Sean's guitar playing and their tight harmonies drove their repertoire derived from the music of the pioneers and cattle drives, the 1940s singing cowboys, ranch life and contemporary western and cowboy fare. Their comedy routines included Sean's dry humor, Minnesota storytelling and talent with a lasso. Partners in music and life, Sean and Liz performed their chemistry-rich show across the U.S. and Canada at festivals, clubs, coffeehouses, cowboy poetry gatherings and high profile venues including New York's Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Although their romance ended a few years back, the two continued to perform together as a duo. In addition to regular touring, they presented their Tales and Tunes of the West program to schools and family and community groups. Combining storytelling, comedy and music, the show delivered the history and culture of the West from the cattle drives of the 1880s to the present day.

When he wasn't singing or delivering comedy routines, Sean's day job was as a web page designer and he had recently landed a position with the University of Colorado's behavioral psychology department. And if he wasn't on stage or at work, he would inevitably be with his Spanish mustang, Hemanito. Sean was an experienced rider and even put in time as a trail guide in New Mexico.

Sean and Liz were scheduled to perform their annual concert at Denver's Swallow Hill on October 15. The event was moved to nearby Washington Park Methodist Park and many of Sean's friends came to help celebrate his life and music, including Dakota Dave Hull, Jay Peterson, Pop Wagner and Duane Dickinson.

Dakota Dave Hull remembers his friend: "I just can't believe he's gone. I've known Sean for 35 years and he was always one of my closest friends. We played together for nearly 10 years traveling from Boston to San Diego to Vancouver to Montreal and most points in between. We continued to get together whenever we could after we stopped working together. I saw him every year when I'd stop and play in Denver and we always did a few tunes at the end of the night. We played a few times in Minneapolis, too. Sean was at the top of his game in recent years, singing and playing better than ever, and happier than I'd ever known him to be, too. I wish he'd gotten to enjoy that contentment for a few more years. Hell, I wish WE'D gotten to enjoy it, too. God must have needed a crooner up there awfully bad because he took one of our best. I'm gonna miss you, buddy."

COPYRIGHT 2006 Sing Out Corporation