In August 1988, many of the most noted Western Music performers and fans met in Las Vegas, Nevada to organize an association and present a festival. As a result, the Western Music Association was incorporated in Arizona in 1989 and has presented its International Western Music Festival in Tucson, Arizona every November since 1989. In large part due to the continued efforts of the WMA and its performing members, Western Music has experienced phenomenal membership growth and visibility and continues to gain in popularity and enjoy and ever increasing worldwide audience. Since this inception, the WMA has expanded its reach to several regional chapters. In helping with the mission of the WMA, our goal has become one of reaching the youth of our community. The WMA has begun an Educational Outreach program to educate and entertain the children who will become our future.

The WMA provides an organized central focus with name recognition which allows the opportunity for the professional growth of individual Western Music performers. Our open membership policy encourages all Western Music performers and enthusiasts alike to take advantage of membership. The WMA produces the only professional publication solely dedicated to the promotion of Western Music. In large part the WMA is responsible for the continuing growth of this music. Recently, articles on Western Music have appeared in such national publications as the Christian Science Monitor, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, the front page of the Billboard Magazine, and in publications in countries such as Britain, France, Austria, Algeria, and Italy. One of the best ways to expand the visibility and enhance the reputation of Western Music and the WMA is through the annual production of the International Western Music Festival. Through performances, seminars, and our answers to frequently asked questions we educate the public to Western Music --- and help them understand and appreciate why it is important to our culture, heritage, and lifestyle.

The WMA represents what is good and wholesome in our communities. No one could forget the Code of the West, or Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger singing along the trail. However, our children and teens are lost in a society of little to no values, with no one to look up to. The WMA is a reminder of where we began. The WMA is the Code of the West.