Keeping Country Music Alive In NM

Young Musician Keeps Country Music Alive in Rural New Mexico

By Randy Dunson

Coby Carter, a 21-year-old ENMU student and fiddle player from Portales, is the first artist to receive the Academy of Western Artists’ Western Swing Male Vocalist of the Year award for two consecutive years. In addition to his back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015, his band 5 Miles West also received the 2015 Western Swing Group of the Year award.

The Academy of Western Artists recognizes their honorees in order to promote and preserve our western past and contemporary western future. Western swing, which became popular in the Southwest in the 1940s,

is a mixture of traditional country music and 1940s big band with a little bit of blues thrown in. Coby began taking fiddle lessons at age seven, and he was fortunate to have been taught for six years by the legendary Dale Morris. As he grew, Coby won numerous fiddle contests and at age 18 he formed his own band, 5 Miles West. Overall, Coby hopes to give western swing the recognition and exposure it deserves.

Coby Carter

“It is a great brand of music that, over the years, has somewhat fallen by the wayside,” Coby explained. “Many people who have never heard western swing are instantly fans and wonder why they’ve never known about it.”

Coby produced his first CD, “Legends,” in 2014. The album has done quite well in the southwest and in Europe, and at one point it even reached the number one spot in Spain. When asked about his music, Coby simply responds, “we’ll see where it takes me.”

Coby plans to graduate from ENMU in 2017 with a degree in Agricultural Business. In addition to being a full-time student, he also works for a large farm in Roosevelt County, is in the process of getting a commercial pilot’s license, and still helps his dad and uncle in their family farm operation.

Coby’s family also has a long history with ENMU. His father, Alan, attended for two years before leaving to work on the family farm. Coby’s mother, Shawn Carter (MED 07, BS 88) and both of his grandmothers, Pam Smith Shafer (MED 92, BSE 87) and Mary Helen Carter (MED 72, BS 67) earned their degrees at Eastern, and his grandfather, Alva Carter Sr. (MED 70) was president of the Board of Regents from 2004-08. His sister, Chesney, a senior honor student at Clovis High School and chapter FFA president, plans to attend ENMU this fall to major in speech-language pathology.

“Because of my family’s history with ENMU, naturally I was encouraged to attend,” said Coby. “It’s is a great school with many things to offer. The online program has really allowed me to work and pursue music while still earning a degree. It feels great to know that I am carrying on somewhat of a tradition.”