He Lived the Cowboy Life Before He Sang About It | Chancey Williams
Chancey Williams doesn’t need to imagine what cowboy life looks like.
He grew up living it.
Wyoming country artist Chancey Williams discusses rodeo, ranching and keeping cowboy country authentic during CMA Fest 2026.
Raised on a ranch outside Moorcroft, Wyoming, Chancey spent years competing in saddle bronc before country music took him from rodeo arenas to stages across the country. Even today, ranching and the Western way of life remain central to both the man and the music.
During CMA Fest 2026, Chancey joins Heart of the Gulch to talk about why authenticity matters, his family’s rodeo legacy and what separates singing about cowboys from actually being one.
Inside Chancey Williams’ Heart of the Gulch Interview
Welcome to Heart of the Gulch, a Nashville-based YouTube show and country music podcast featuring artists, singer-songwriters and personalities shaping country music and Western culture. During CMA Fest 2026, host and creator Tony Mendoza sits down with Wyoming country artist Chancey Williams to discuss rodeo, ranching, Cheyenne Frontier Days, Ian Munsick and the real cowboy experiences behind his music.
For Chancey, authenticity isn’t a marketing strategy. It determines which songs he’s willing to record.
Writing Country Music for Real Cowboys
Chancey still has friends and family members who ranch and rodeo.
Heart of the Gulch host Tony Mendoza interviews Wyoming cowboy and country artist Chancey Williams during CMA Fest 2026 in Nashville.
When he hears a song, he thinks about whether those people would actually believe him singing it. The terminology has to be right. The story has to make sense. And the lifestyle behind the lyrics needs to feel genuine.
That philosophy runs through songs like “Rodeo Cold Beer,” “The Saint,” “Pearl Snap Preacher,” “Wyoming Wind” and “The Ballad of Uncle Don.”
He isn’t trying to create a fictional version of the American West. He’s documenting a world he knows firsthand.
The Munsick Connection Runs Deep
Wyoming country music is a small world.
Chancey shares his longtime connection to fellow Wyoming artist Ian Munsick and the Munsick family. Long before either artist was building a national country music career, Chancey lived with Ian’s brother Tris in college and competed in college rodeo alongside his brother Sam.
It’s a connection that stretches back well before Nashville, record deals and touring.
Chancey Williams talks about Wyoming cowboy culture, saddle bronc riding, Cheyenne Frontier Days and the real experiences behind his country music.
Cheyenne Frontier Days Is Personal
Few places represent the intersection of rodeo and country music quite like Cheyenne Frontier Days.
For the Williams family, it means even more.
Chancey’s father won at Cheyenne in 1971. Chancey and his brothers would later compete there themselves before Chancey eventually returned on the other side of the arena — this time as a country artist.
His career has since put him on stages alongside artists including Merle Haggard and Toby Keith while allowing him to represent the same Western culture that raised him.
Believe in Yourself First
Rodeo also gave Chancey something he carried directly into music: confidence.
Chancey Williams appears at CMA Fest 2026 as he continues representing Wyoming and authentic Western culture through country music.
During our conversation, he reflects on self-doubt, imposter syndrome and advice his father gave him years before he knew where his career would lead.
If you don’t believe in yourself, why should anybody else?
It’s a mentality that works whether you’re climbing onto a bucking horse or walking onto a stage in front of thousands of people.
Tony Mendoza hanging with Chancey Williams at CMA Fest 2026
Chancey Williams has done both.
And that’s exactly why the cowboy stories in his music feel different.
Watch Chancey Williams on Heart of the Gulch
Watch the full Chancey Williams interview from CMA Fest 2026 as he discusses Wyoming ranch life, saddle bronc riding, Ian Munsick, Cheyenne Frontier Days and why keeping cowboy country authentic matters to him.
Tony Mendoza is the Nashville-based host and creator of Heart of the Gulch, where he has interviewed hundreds of country music artists, entertainers and industry leaders while covering events including CMA Fest and Country Radio Seminar.
