Colorado Bluegrass Rocks the Big Thompson

Colorado Bluegrass Rocks the Big Thompson

By J.A. Cambell

The day was beautiful, the venue unbeatable for the second annual Northern Colorado Bluegrass festival. The festival, the only one of its kind in northernColorado, was held at Sylven Dale Guest Ranch inLoveland,Colorado, a beautiful area tucked along the Big Thompson river. There was plenty of shade for guests and the natural grass stage had a great sound system. All the bands were phenomenal.

The first band up was the Buckvillans, a group that plays eclectic bluegrass and the organizers of the event. Tom Woolrich plays the guitar, Pete Beaumont, the banjo, Grant Mcintosh plays bass and Andy Delich rocks the mandolin. Their music ranges from traditional bluegrass to bluegrass covers of Hendrix.

They also play original bluegrass songs that really have the feel of their mixed rock and country backgrounds. I have to say that while I really enjoyed their covers, the original music has special energy that really makes their band stand out. Tom, the guitarist, said “It ain’t bluegrass, it’s black and bluegrass.” A term coined by Andy, their mandolin player. He learned to play mandolin in 2007 specifically for the Buckvillans and while bluegrass is traditionally played on all acoustic instruments, his mandolin is electric.

Tom was kind enough to explain thatColoradobluegrass is often very different than the traditional bluegrass fromNorth Carolinawhere the style originated.Coloradobluegrass shows heavy influence from many mixed backgrounds such as psychedelic music, country western, and even rock. The mix of more traditional andColoradobluegrass throughout the day was a treat to the ear.

We also had the pleasure of speaking with the Lonesome Traveler Band. Jodi Boyce plays mandolin, Evan Neal plays the upright bass, Dustin Scott the guitar, Rick scot plays the guitar and Chad Fisher plays the fiddle and the mandolin. They all sing. This more traditional band has traveled all over the country in the six years they have been together, and almost became world travelers when they were invited to play inIreland. Those plans ultimately fell through, but they believe they will tour the world one day. 

One of their favorite places to play is Byrons, a bar in the small town ofPomaroy,Iowa. It’s a small town and the band said that usually half the town turns out to hear them play. The band travels the country in their tour bus they affectionately call the Fry Daddy. It has been converted to run off of vegetable oil. It holds 120 gallons of oil and 40 gallons of diesel (for starting and stopping), and when full they can travel 1600 miles before they need to fill up. They found this gem at a pawnshop inLoveland. They can often be found play at the Bar Double S inLaport,Colorado.

The Lonesome Travelers are very involved in the local community. The fiddle player, Chad Fisher runs a program at Laurel Elementary inFort Collins, teaching kids in the Suzuki Fiddle program. He has over 170 kids, many that also give up recess, and come in after school, to learn more songs than he teaches in the main program. Sometimes these students even get to play with the band at actual events.

The band writes a lot of their own music and their flawless harmonies and amazing energy really set them apart. They are also very humble. I commented that even though we were listening to them sing live it sounded like a finished CD. The band gave the credit to Sylven Dale’s excellent sound system. I think it had to a lot to do with how awesome the band really is.

The Northern Colorado Bluegrass festival came about when Tom from the Buckvillans got frustrated with how hard it was to book gigs in the northernColoradoarea. He wanted to get the word out about how many great bluegrass bands there are locally. He was able to work with Sylven Dale to set up this great event for the first time in 2010. Tom did the lions share of the work setting the event up but he had help from other band members and the guest ranch itself.

Last year was the first year for the event and it was a huge success. This year the turn out was even better. It is a multi-generation event from toddlers to the elderly coming out to enjoy the great music. When it got too hot, people can cool off in the Big Thompson river, that runs close to the stage. Tom hopes to expand the event to a two or three day camping event in the future. I have no doubt that they will succeed in making this festival a long term and multi-day event. It was well organized and even the mid afternoon windstorm that had had calls of “are the tents staked down?” go out across the radios, didn’t disrupt the bands or the fun in the least.

Seven bands played during the day. I spent the most time with the Buckvillans and the Lonesome Travelers but that doesn’t mean the other bands weren’t awesome.

The Long Road Home formed in 2005 out of a jam session at the 2005 Midwinter Bluegrass Festival. Since then a few band members have left and Grammy winner Gene Libbea on Bass, bluegrass banjo legend Pete Wenrick and Jordan Ramsey on mandolin joined The Long Road Home. Martin Gilmore plays Guitar and Justin Hoffenberg plays the fiddle.

The Bluegrass Patriots, Danny Rogers, Willie McDonald, Glenn Zankey and Ken Seaman, have been together for thirty years. Dan Mitchell joined them in 2003. They have toured all over the world. They got together in the late 1970’s because they all just wanted to “pick a bit,” and they just kept playing.

The Defiance Stringband, April Paine, Don Paine, John Sommers, and Don Kaufman, is a group of multi-talented individuals who very obviously love what they are doing. I’d list the instruments they play, but they all play so many it would take an article just to talk about it. This year they are playing every Friday at the Limelight Lodge inAspen,Colorado.

Mountain Holler formed when Jay Genender and Greg Blake were both called by the owner of Sweet Fanny Adam’s Restaurant and Irish Pub to see if they could play when a band canceled suddenly. Tom Carr joined them and the rest is, as they say, history. Mike Lord and Emily Wilson joined them shortly after. They are based out of Conifer,Colorado.

Dr. Harlan’s Amazing Bluegrass Tonic. Yeah, their name is awesome. They play a mix of classic, contemporary and original bluegrass that “will cure all your ailments!” Their band is as awesome as their name. Todd Friesen plays guitar, Nate Thompson is on the Mandolin, Brad Van Loenen plays Bass, Jack Davis plays Banjo and Jay Timp plays the Dobro.

Category: Noco Music Scene