PBR Enlists Eddie Montgomery, Chevel Shepherd, Black Stone Cherry For Theme Debuting at November Finals In Las Vegas (EXCLUSIVE)

COURTESY DEAN ALLEN – Be Cowboy
Eddie Montgomery and Chevel Shepherd

“Be badder, be bolder, be braver” goes the chorus to “Be Cowboy,” the newly minted theme song for PBR (Professional Bull Riders), which it will introduce during its CBS-televised World Finals at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from Nov. 6-10.

The phrase is also the linchpin to a massive marketing campaign that will feature four versions of the song, one each by country star Eddie Montgomery, “The Voice” winner 17-year-old Chevel Shepherd, a hard-rock version by Kentucky rockers Black Stone Cherry, along with a duet featuring Montgomery and Shepherd.

Check them out below.

“Anybody can be a cowboy, no matter age or gender,” explains a chirpy Shepherd, who learned about PBR when she performed the national anthem at one of the organization’s rodeos in Albuquerque, N.M. “It’s all about heart and what you believe in.”

Both Mitski (“Be a Cowboy”) and Paula Cole (“Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?”) would certainly agree.

Since being acquired by Endeavor four years ago, PBR has been a true sporting world success story, with attendance up 14% during that time, with two of the three dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden in January selling out, representing 40,000 in tickets, along with a pair of sold-out shows and 24,000 seats sold at Staples Center in February. All in all, PBR will hold 57 individual events in the U.S. in 2020, including 26 dates of the Monster Energy-sponsored “Unleash The Beast” tour.

Having just completed a five-year deal with CBS, which just recently re-upped for another 10 years, PBR attracts more than 1 million viewers per broadcast on Sundays, where it takes up the time slot of the NFL game in markets without doubleheaders.

PBR CEO Sean Gleason has been with the company for almost 20 of its 26 years since it launched, but Endeavor’s involvement has been pivotal in the recent growth.

“They’ve opened up a tremendous number of doors for us,” he says. “Not just through access to artists and relationships within the industry, but there’s such a great base of expertise, professionals who have skills in everything from artist representation, to custom content creation and event booking.”

“Be Cowboy” will be the new anthem for PBR moving forward, replacing Steven Tyler’s “Hold On {Won’t Let Go),” and other themes in the past from the likes of Gary Allan, Dustin Lynch and Uncle Kracker. PBR commissioned the song from hit country songwriter Wynn Varble, who’s co-written No. 1 hits for Darryl Worley, Brad Paisley and Easton Corbin.

“I gave him fairly specific directions as to what I needed, including the title and the values it espouses,” explains Gleason, who controls the copyright and the song’s uses. “We want to take advantage of the value we created, to use the song across the entire spectrum.”

PBR’s live show is heavily dependent on music, with musical director Marc Stevenson creating walk-on music for the individual riders, blasting classic rock like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC through the custom 385,000-watt sound system installed for each event.

“It’s an integral part of our show,” says Gleason “It’s like a rock concert where the world’s toughest sport breaks out.”

Opening acts like Toby Keith, Steven Tyler, Dierks Bentley and Gary Allan have appeared during PBR events, though Gleason is quick to add that “music doesn’t sell any tickets… it’s an added entertainment future, part of the experience.”

With the help of Endeavor, PBR is trying to turn some of its champion riders into crossover stars, including Bonner Bolton, an ex-rider who broke his neck four years ago, but has segued into becoming a model, represented by the agency’s IMG Models. He’s appeared on “Dancing with the Stars” and is currently the face of Tom Ford’s new western-themed cologne, “Hombre Leather.”

Another two-time winner of the PBR World Championship Gold Buckle, Justin McBride, wasn’t as successful with his post-retirement career as a country singer.

“His talent on the music side wasn’t quite there,” admits Gleason.

With a surprising even male-female demo split for live shows (the figure for the CBS telecasts is more like 55/45 male), Gleason points to women’s love for “cowboys, wranglers and especially, the bulls.”

Indeed, the 2,000-pound bucking bulls are the real stars of the PBR, with surveys showing they’re more popular than the riders. In fact, Gleason says, “Our biggest breakout star was a bull called Bushwacker, the Muhammad Ali of bulls.” In fact, Bushwacker was named over LeBron James in ESPN magazine for having “the baddest body in sports.”

With several different circuits, including the “PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour,” a farm club for the main circuit, the PBR Touring Pro Division and international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, the sport is poised on the edge of global expansion.

“PBR is a hybrid of NASCAR and WWE, very much entertainment-focused, with an attention to the whole family,” says Gleason, which explains his “Be Cowboy” musical lineup, consisting of a male rock band, with both an older male and younger female country singer. “We want to create an environment around a very raw, real, exciting, dangerous, adrenaline-packed sport. We burn up more dirt and set off more pyro than anybody out there. Music sets the tone.”

“You have to put a lot of work into excelling in both,” says Shepherd about the connection between music and sports. “You have to eat, live and breathe it. You have to be passionate, because if you love something, you won’t give up.”