Many world-class artists have performed underneath the shell of the Deer Valley Snow Park Amphitheater in Park City this summer. To name just a few: Buddy Guy, the Utah Symphony, B.B. King, Wynonna, Ben Folds, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Randy Travis, Al Green and Jimmy Cliff.

But of all the artists who have graced the scenic stage, only two have won Oscars: Bob Dylan, who performed on Aug. 17, and Ryan Bingham, who will perform on Monday, Sept. 6.

Earlier this year, Bingham and co-writer T-Bone Burnett picked up Academy Awards for Best Original Song for penning the acoustic folk-country ballad "The Weary Kind," a 4-minute encapsulation of Bad Blake, the main character in the film "Crazy Heart."

Just as Dylan won an Oscar in 2000 for the "Wonder Boys" song "Things Have Changed," Bingham and Burnett conjured the scorched landscape of a down-on-his-luck character. "I tried to describe the character," said the New Mexico native in a soft-spoken tone that belies a gravelly singing voice that sounds like Tom Waits on a whiskey-soaked bender. "Everybody knows someone like that."

Bingham, 29, could have been describing himself, as an alt-country artist on the rise who played many of the same kind of desolate honky-tonks that Bad Blake played on his way down the ladder.

Despite two well-received albums, 2007's "Mescalito" and 2009's "Roadhouse Sun," Bingham failed to reach mainstream attention until he and Burnett picked up Golden Globes and Oscars for "The Weary Kind." "The music exposed us to people who had never heard of me before," the 29-year-old New Mexico native said.

Bingham, who sports a wispy beard that adds years to his face, took an unusual route to an Oscar-worthy singing career. His late teens and early 20s were spent on the rodeo circuit, as he tried his hand at bullriding. It was a passion until he hit the competitive ranks, when the sport seemed to become more about money than anything else.

He met his drummer, Matthew Smith, on the rodeo circuit, as Smith's brother was a bullrider. Over the years, the two started playing more music gigs than rodeos, and along the way they assembled the Dead Horses, Bingham's longtime backing band.

"We've grown up together," Bingham said of his band. "They're more like brothers than a band."

Bingham's third album, "Junky Star," was released Aug. 31, and it was the first time his album was produced by someone other than Marc Ford, the former lead guitarist for The Black Crowes. It was Ford who noticed an unsigned Bingham at a Texas roadhouse back in 2005. Bingham said Ford was one of only five people in the audience that night.

"Junky Star" was produced by Burnett, who met Bingham when working on the soundtrack to "Crazy Heart." The collaboration on "The Weary Kind" was so fruitful that the two worked on Bingham's third album together. "The guy brings out the best in you, and you have to have your game plan ready before you go into [the studio]" with Burnett, an in-demand producer, Bingham said.

Even with an Oscar in hand, the highway in front of Bingham is a long one. Alt-country and folk tunes aren't played on the radio, so the road to more exposure is filled with endlessly long tours criss-crossing the country.

dburger@sltrib.com —

Wild horses

P Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses perform, with Sara Watkins and Crooked Still opening.

When • Monday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m.

Where • Deer Valley, 2250 Deer Valley Drive, Park City

Tickets • $62 for reserved seating for members of Park City Performing Arts Foundation, $65 for general public; $32 for lawn seats for members, $35 for general public; available by calling 435-655-3114 or going online at www.ecclescenter.org