Jake Leg Band + Pick & Howl

Jake Leg Band + Pick & Howl

by | Aug 23, 2023

Presented by KGNU

Doors: 7:30

Showtime: 8:00

Jake Leg Band

Jake Leg is a 4-piece, new acoustic group from the Front Range of Colorado. The band consists of award-winning musicians Eric Wiggs (vocals/guitar), Dylan McCarthy (mandolin/vocals), Justin Hoffenberg (fiddle), and Troy Robey (bass). Forged in their favorite elements of the bluegrass genre, Jake Leg focuses on delivering compelling, original music. Expressive musicianship and soulful vocals create the framework for the vivid storytelling in each song to come to life. A Jake Leg live show centers on exciting improvisation, and features a spectrum of textures and grooves that engages the audience from the first note to the last.

Since forming in 2021, Jake Leg has been quickly recognized as one of the leading contemporary bluegrass bands out of the Colorado area. 2022 saw them moving into bigger regional festivals and going to the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual conference as an official showcase artist. With steadily growing momentum and plans to release their debut full-length album in early 2024, Jake Leg is poised to make their mark on the bluegrass genre with their unique voice.

 

Pick & Howl

Founded in Denver CO, the progressive bluegrass 6-piece has gained notoriety as both practitioners of traditional Bluegrass by way of winning the 2022 Rockygrass Band competition, and as prolific creators of authentic original material. Lead vocalist Jeremy Richard serves as the conduit to create a unique category of soaring, frenetic, authentic Americana. Backed by a string band featuring Paul Larson on the Scruggs-style banjo, Melissa Stube on Fiddle, Andrew Gordon on Dobro, Pickin’ Pete Barbaro on Mandolin, and Eric Gordon on The Bass Fiddle, Pick & Howl delivers a groundbreaking Bluegrass performance that is not to be missed.

Dreama Team (film screening)

Dreama Team (film screening)

by | Aug 23, 2023

The story of ultra-runner and mom, Dreama Walton

Doors: 7:00

Showtime: 7:30

Come see Dreama Walton’s film, Dreama Team followed by a post-film Q&A with Dreama Walton.

When you meet Dreama, in many ways she’s like any other person. Someone you could grab a burger or a beer with. She’s a mom, co-parenting her daughter. She works as a full-time IT employee. But Dreama has an extraordinary hobby. She’s an ultra runner… and she’s just gotten into America’s biggest ultra marathon: The Western States 100.

As she runs the 100 mile race from Olympic Valley, CA to Auburn, CA, the film begins to explore her upbringing and what fuels her: A traumatic childhood. A younger sister that never gave up. A new community that changed the direction of her life. She finds encouragement in unexpected places, and begins to seek out a new way for herself, outside of the poor choices of her traditional role models. Knowing that she’s overcome these past experiences, it gives her strength in the present, to push toward the infamous 24-hour cutoff.

The film explores Dreama’s backstory, the value of “Struggle” in one’s life and how hardships shape the way that obstacles are perceived. It shows a person deciding to willfully enter into struggle.

The effort comes from independent filmmakers Chad Weber and Steve Vanderheide in their first feature-length film.

“Dreama Team” is an independent production that has been in the works for two years, and was made possible by the grassroots efforts of countless individuals.

Sturtz with Natalie Spears – LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Sturtz with Natalie Spears – LIMITED AVAILABILITY

by | Aug 23, 2023

Presented by KGNU

Doors: 7:30

Showtime: 8:00

Sturtz

Sturtz’s music stands out for its distinctive, soothing instrumental and vocal harmonies. The acoustic quartet – Andrew Sturtz [vocals, guitar], Jim Herlihy [banjo], Courtlyn Carpenter [cello], and Will Kuepper [bass] – falls somewhere at the intersection of folk and soul, with lead singer Andrew Sturtz’s melodic vocals soaring over the lower string instrumentals. Sturtz is based in Boulder, CO, and has toured across the U.S. opening for groups like the Eli Young Band, Trout Steak Revival, Lillie Mae, the Band of Heathens, and Smooth Hound Smith. NPR’s All Songs Considered described the band as “a reassuring breath of fresh air that pulls me back to simpler times” in their April 2020 blog. Sturtz released their debut album You’ve Done This Before in August 2021, and now they are hard at work touring on this album and writing songs for their next album. When they’re not playing music, you’ll probably find them milling flour, farming, laying in a creek, or eating native foliage.

Natalie Spears

Natalie Spears brings listeners in touch with the warmth of community, the quiet awe of wild places, and the intimate corners of humanity. Inspired by her father’s English Folk heritage and talents as a Jazz pianist, Natalie carries a deep love for porch-picking music and music that swings. Drawing on these roots and pulling from a quiver of instruments (banjo, piano, and guitar), her performance is dynamic as she navigates between these tonal worlds. Natalie’s angelic voice threads together a sonic language of both nostalgic and contemporary colors, creating a vibrant musical narrative of her own.  In 2021, Natalie’s duo, Lizzy Plotkin & Natalie Spears, released their debut EP, “Just Over the Ridge,” which reached #10 album of the year on the Folk Alliance International Dj Folk Charts, and her song, Seasons Change, reached #4 song of the year.

May Erlewine – SOLD OUT

May Erlewine – SOLD OUT

by | Aug 16, 2023

Presented by KGNU

Doors: 7:30

Showtime: 8:00

May Erlewine brings her songs Westward with solo performances along the coast and in Colorado. Join us for an intimate evening of music and togetherness. Bring those near and dear, come as you are and sing along.

One of the Midwest’s most prolific and passionate songwriters, May continues to share her gift for writing songs of substance that feel both new and soulfully familiar. Her lyrics offer a window into her heartbreak, her empowerment, and her emboldened spirit.

These lyrics, which are really stories crafted through May’s unique experiences, are rooted in wisdom, joy, sorrow, simplicity, and love. Musically, she carries the songwriter’s torch through many genres and sonic landscapes. The delicate arrangements seem to land somewhere between the go-to labels, making it difficult to describe and easier to enjoy.

May considers her career in the music industry as a service-oriented one and uses her platform for positive change. She stresses the importance of environmental advocacy, social justice, creative empowerment, and community building as necessary work in our world. May’s body of work has become an anthem and an example of why we need to listen to women, empower women, and why we need to hear their stories.

Translate »