Tombstone is gunning for similar success with a lesser-known style of music, striving to make its way into the mainstream: western music.

The ninth annual Tombstone Western Music Festival is set to kick off this weekend. So what is western music?

This unique genre of music is defined as a fusion of folk music with English, Mexican, Irish and Scottish influences.

Instead of focusing heavily on the sound of the music, western music tells a story that commemorates the lives of cowboys.

"We entered this thing nine years ago without a clue, but a desire to promote and preserve this genre of music," said Richard Dollarhide, Vice President of the Tombstone Western Music Festival. "We are not musicians, but life long fans of western music."

The annual event, held in historic Schieffelin Hall, hasn't gone completely unnoticed, however. American Cowboy Magazine has twice named the Tombstone Western Music Festival one of the "101 Must See Western Events."

"The show has gained a reputation for quality and is known both nationally and internationally," Dollarhide said. "Over the years, we have drawn western music fans from across the nation as well as France, Great Britain, Norway, Germany, Austria and Australia."

As successful as the festival has been, people typically aren't aware of what western music is.

"Western music in general has been neglected by broadcast radio in this era of corporate control of the majority of radio stations and lack of local control over programming," Dollarhide said.

The only way to battle the general public's lack of knowledge about this genre is by expanding media exposure and advertising. But, as is the case with most things in this world, the quality and success of the festival is heavily reliant upon money.

Unfortunately for Tombstone's yearly event, there is not a whole lot of wiggle room.

Facing a relatively low budget of $14,000, available funds cover the cost of booking performers, putting them up in hotels and equipment. Also falling under the budget is the cost of advertising, which is capped off at a mere $3,000.

The festival distributes many calendar event inserts in various western music publications like True West Magazine and American Cowboy Magazine. Working with such a tight budget is a struggle, causing many employees of the festival to work very hard for no pay.

"Board members and staff are all volunteer and receive no compensation," Dollarhide said. "It has been a trial and error experience over the years, but thanks to the diligence of board members and staff we have come a long way from the first festival."

Because of such strict budgetary limitations, the festival is very dependent on donations.

"This event is put on by an all-volunteer group and depends on sponsor money to foot the bills," Dollarhide said.

Although money can be an issue, lots of work goes into putting on the festival every year because it is one of the city's strongest ties to the past.

"This festival is so important to the city," said Tombstone local and western music fan Jerry Lane. "The history of this place is told through the music."

"Western music is about the land, the people, the history and aura of Western Americana," Dollarhide added.

In order to ensure the history of the Old West is told properly through the music presented at the festival, there is a specific selection process to choose the performers.

The five members of the festival's Board of Directors listen to music samples submitted by musicians, and then vote on which performers they like the best. The festival is looking for top-notch performers who have received awards or have been nominated for awards by the Western Music Association and the Academy of Western Artists.

"We like to see artists perform original compositions and (possess) an ability to work well with staff, fellow artists and the community," Dollarhide said.

When figuring out what musicians to include in the festival, one name was a no-brainer: Dave Stamey.

A western music legend, Stamey, who has been awarded Entertainer of the Year twice, Male Performer of the Year three times and Songwriter of the Year twice by the WMA, is one of the original performers at the first Tombstone Western Music Festival, and has performed every year since.

"In my line of work, one of the perks is that you make friends all over the country, and when you get to come back to a festival, you get to see all those friends you made the last time you were there," Stamey said. "That's the best part of what I do- coming into smaller communities like Tombstone and getting to know the folks there."

Stamey performs in cities all over the country, but he particularly likes performing in the Old West capital of the world.

"I especially enjoy playing amidst all that history," he said. "I mean, Schieffelin Hall- the O.K. Corral inquest was held there. You can walk down the street and see where Virgil Earp was shot, you can see the Birdcage- places that are synonymous with the mythical Wild West."

"It doesn't get any better than this music," Lane said. "It's the best music out there. I love everything about it."

It is this level of excitement that makes Stamey want to keep coming back to Tombstone.

"What I like best about (western music) is that its fans are dedicated to the point of being obsessive about it," Stamey said.