A legendary lineup of Nederland music history for an amazing benefit
In the wee hours of October 9th our little town of Nederland was awakened to a terrible tragedy. A massive fire was tearing through the south building of the Caribou Village shopping center, the largest hub of business in town. While thankfully no one was injured in the blaze, the building was home to nearly 20 businesses, and subsequently the provider of the livelihood of many of the towns residents as well as a substantial portion of the town’s revenue.
Nederland, as many small towns tend to be, is a tight-knit community, and even as the fire was still smoldering, helpful hands were coming together to help those affected by the devastating loss. A GoFundMe was kicked off by local Dan Vollmer which went on to raise over $300k to be dispersed among the businesses and their employees. Many other fund drives have since sprung up as well as a number of events around town and the surrounding Peak-to-Peak region raising money to be put towards various fronts with the goal of helping our affected community members.
One such event, the Benefit For the Village took place this past Friday night at our cherished music venue, The Caribou Room. Organized by our wonderful Peak to Peak Music Education Association, the evening featured a legendary line-up of Nederland music history with all ticket proceeds going towards the cause as well as a large silent auction with over $10k worth of donations and services offered.
Along with the diverse line-up for the evening, the venue kitchen was taken over by the Tres Gringos Mexican restaurant crew who lost their business in the fire. Amazing food was provided into the evening along with their signature margaritas being offered from the bar!
The PPMEA became one of the driving forces behind our former music festival of 20 years, NedFest, after its founder Michigan Mike passed away in 2011. With an amazing legacy of local talent in their arsenal, they put together a spectacular evening of musical journey and fun for the community.
The evening kicked off with some relative newcomers to the music history of the area, Flash Mountain Flood. The band got its start in 2015, comprised of a youthful lineup of local talent who quickly grew into the shoes of the rock and jam band scene that has called the Colorado Front Range home for the last few decades. In true jam style, they brought a blend of original tunes as well as covers spanning across the catalogs of psychedelic and classic rock band greats.
Next up was an eclectic blend of talent that came together relatively recently on the front range featuring 2 local greats from the area. Bassist and all-around string maestro Dango Rose and drummer Dave Watts have both shared space in the Nederland scene for decades. From the early days of plying the rich musical waters of the town’s small venues and bars, to many appearances at the best little fest in the west, NedFest, these two have entertained our ears for a generation.
Dave arrived on the front range scene over 30 years ago and began his rise along with many other Boulder music legends in the historic Double Dig Ranch community. While he has played with a plethora of talents and genres over the years, he is best known as the founding member of Colorado’s funk favorite, The Motet.
Dango arrived on the scene in the early 2000’s and became a founding member of Nederland’s own acoustic giants, Elephant Revival. With roots right here in our little town, they have gone on to play some of the greatest stages in the country from Red Rocks to the iconic Kennedy Center.
These two legends were joined by guitarist Danny Musengo, keyboardist Ryan Benthall and vocalist Stephanie McMillan. Together they wove a beautiful tapestry of original music from the catalogs of both Dango and Danny, sending the audience into beautiful blissful reverie.
Next up was another dive into local history, Bill Nershi of Colorado’s one and only The String Cheese Incident, and his wife Jillian. Bill was also deep in the Double Dig scene after moving to Boulder from the SCI roots of Crested Butte and Telluride in the 90’s. He and Jillian soon moved into the foothills and settled into a Nederland home base for many years to come.
While not on the bill for the evening, the wedded duo brought a surprise to the event in the way of being joined by their incredibly talented daughter, Lauren. With her father as mentor and teacher, she has grown to become a delightful guitarist and vocalist, following in her father’s footsteps with beautiful and fun energy. The family trio brought laughter, stories of an older Ned and a charming selection of music with originals from all 3 members.
In true Nederland Jam style, the night continued with Billy coming back to the stage along with String Cheese bandmate bassist Keith Moseley, also a former long-time member of our mountain community. They were joined by Ryan Benthall on keys who played earlier in the evening as well as Dave Watts again on drums. This impromptu quartet brought a fun, electric energy to the crowd after the acoustic family set, and it wasn’t long before Billy brought out Jillian and Lauren to join in on the festivities providing backup vocals.
Moving on to the closing set of the evening, the stage was graced by yet another Ned legend, the beautiful fiddle player Bridget Law, also of Elephant Revival, and her husband, the amazingly talented guitarist Tierro Lee. Together these two joined forces many years ago and play the front range and beyond as Tierro Band. For the evening’s set they were accompanied by Tierro Band vocalist Lee Gabriel as well as, once again, Dave Watts (did I mention this man can play stunningly with ANYONE at a moment’s notice, an absolute legend…).
Tierro brings an alluring and esoteric energy tinged with a heavy dose of Latin vibes to their sets. With Lee and Bridget providing hauntingly stunning vocals to accompany the strings and rhythm, the blend is a unique and bewitching sound, mesmerizing the audience into dance and revelry. While the crowd had begun to dwindle towards the end of the evening, the ensemble wound the night down in spectacular style and delectable grace.
Many heart-felt thanks to all who helped to organize and volunteer for such a fun and valuable addition to the cause! Once again, the spectacular Nederland music scene came out to shine in all its glory for a beautiful aim of fun, family and raising money for our wonderful little mountain community! As always, we remain Ned Strong!
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