The Colorado songbook
An Americana band for welcome receptions, retreats and mountain evenings.
A fiddle takes the melody of Friend of the Devil, the upright bass walks underneath, and a group that flew in that morning is singing along on a ranch deck. This Americana band plays acoustic guitar, fiddle, upright bass and drums, and its songbook is the one people expect in the mountains and the one written in them: the Grateful Dead and Tom Petty beside Nathaniel Rateliff and Gregory Alan Isakov.
It books for a conference welcome reception downtown, a ranch or resort dinner in Vail or Beaver Creek, a company picnic in July and a patio wedding.
Trusted and booked by
The songbook
Friend of the Devil, Wildflowers, S.O.B., Big Black Car.
Two songbooks in one. The first is what everybody pictures for a mountain evening: the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Band, the Allman Brothers, John Prine and the Avett Brothers. The second was written here, by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats out of Denver, Gregory Alan Isakov out of Boulder, and the Lumineers. The fiddle and mandolin carry the bluegrass standards between them.
A welcome reception gets the acoustic end of the song list, quiet enough to talk over, and a ranch dance floor gets Petty and the Dead with the drums in. The rest of the covers list is on the repertoire page.
Sizes
A trio, or a quartet with drums.
- The trio
- Voice and acoustic guitar, fiddle or mandolin, and upright bass. It’s the size for the reception a group walks into on its first night, or a dinner where people want to talk.
- The quartet
- The trio plus drums, which makes it a dance band for a ranch dinner, a picnic that runs into the evening or the last night of a retreat.
Occasions
Who books an Americana band.
- Conference welcome receptions
- The first evening of a conference or an incentive trip, downtown or at a convention-center hotel, for a group that wants to hear where it has landed.
- Mountain retreats and incentive groups
- The ranch dinner, the resort deck or the last night in Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen or Breckenridge. A date past the passes adds the drive and a night’s lodging to the quote, and the mountain planning page covers altitude and local sound rules.
- Summer company picnics
- A lawn, a park pavilion or a brewery patio in July, where the trio plays the afternoon and the quartet can carry it into the evening.
- Patio and ranch weddings
- A mountain cocktail hour or a ranch reception, for a couple who wants the music to sound like where they got married.
- Birthdays and parties outdoors
- A milestone birthday in a backyard or at a rented ranch, with a crowd that knows every word of Wildflowers.
Americana band questions
Stage sizes and power for each size are on the technical page, and the questions every booking shares, from substitutions to volume limits, are on the full question list. What Americana is, and how it differs from country and bluegrass, is in what is Americana music.
- What does the Americana band play?
- Two songbooks: the one people expect in the mountains, from the Grateful Dead to John Prine, and the one written in Colorado, from Nathaniel Rateliff to Gregory Alan Isakov, plus the bluegrass standards. It plays on acoustic guitar, fiddle or mandolin, upright bass and drums, and it's booked through Signet Artists in Denver.
- Is it a bluegrass band?
- It plays bluegrass when the night wants it, which is why the fiddle and mandolin are in the band, but the songbook is wider than that. Tell us the evening and we'll build the set to it.
- How loud is it?
- The trio plays a reception or a dinner at a level people talk across, and on a lawn the people at the back hear the fiddle while the front tables keep talking. The quartet with drums is a dance band and plays up to whatever the venue allows. Mountain venues often have a sound limit or a curfew, so give us the number early and the set is built under it.
- How much space and power does it need?
- The trio sets up in about 12 by 8 feet on one dedicated 20-amp circuit and needs about an hour to set up. The quartet takes about 14 by 10 feet, two circuits and 90 minutes. Sound support that's the right size for the venue comes with both, and on a ranch or a resort deck that's what keeps acoustic instruments from disappearing.
- Can it play outdoors and at altitude?
- Yes, and lawns, ranches and resort decks are most of its work. It needs a covered, level and dry spot with power run to it, and we agree a plan for moving indoors with you ahead of time.
- Can we add time or ask for a song?
- Yes. Let us know the song when you book and the band can usually learn it (a few weeks' notice helps). If you think the night might run long, let us know that too.
Send us the date and the venue, and we'll bring the Colorado songbook.
Live music for your event, from a solo musician to a full band, with sound support that’s the right size for the venue and a personal contact for the night.