After a bit of a break from shooting live music, I headed out a week ago to see and support a friend and check out some new tunes at Nederland’s The Caribou Room.  Powerhouse duo Sgt. Splendor was making their way through Colorado, and they had invited Dave Watts, drummer and founder of Colorado funk legends The Motet and Bassist Patrick Smith from the Dallas/Ft Worth area.  I wasn’t familiar in any way with the music prior to the show, but lets just say I was pleasantly mind-blown.

The duo consists of guitarist and flautist Kate Vargas and Eric McFadden.  Kate has been growing in the music world with highly regarded acclaims by NPR, HuffPost, SPIN, No Depression, Rolling Stone and more.  Eric brings a wide array of playing experience with George Clinton’s P-Funk All Stars, Anders Osbourne, Fishbone’s Angelo Moore and many others, along with a number of solo albums and side projects with Jackson Browne, Joe Strummer of The Clash and more.

Sgt. Splendor is self-described as a unique Alt-Funk, Desert Roots, Dirty Blues and Rock combination.  Taking some major influence from Tom Waites, the band weaves an original musical tapestry that wends it’s way down roads sometimes dark and mysterious, sometimes deep and soulful, with occasional drifting along tucked away dirt lanes of psychedelia.

The band is out on the road promoting their album Death of the Hootchie Coo, and as they travel around the country, they invite friends along for the ride.  The 4-night Colorado run brought funk beast Dave Watts into the mix along with bass-master Patrick Smith.  While they had certainly rehearsed and enjoyed their first night of the run, it wasn’t as though the band had had a lot of experience together.  That said, one would never have been able to tell from the stunning show that was borne out through the evening.

Each member brought their own variety of spectacular talent, and while the songs were relatively new to Dave and Patrick, the unit so seamlessly meshed together that the sound was as though they all had been playing together from the inception of the band.  Tight doesn’t even begin to describe how well they played together.  At one point it was mentioned that they had recently watched the new rockumentary Becoming Led Zeppelin, and one could tell it had made quite an impact, with a number of Zeppelin classic teases and a few moments reminiscent of The Song Remains the Same.

After the show it was a pleasure to meet and chat briefly with Kate and Eric.  You couldn’t ask for a more humble and friendly pair of stunning talent.  While it’s hard to say how often Dave and Patrick might play with the duo again, I highly recommend checking out Sgt. Splendor if they make their way to your area.  I guarantee you will not be disappointed in the least, and make sure you show some extra love and grab some vinyl of Death of the Hootchie Coo while you’re at it!

Show some love and grab the album here!
https://color-red.com/products/pre-order-sgt-splendor-death-of-the-hoochie-koo

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Long-timers of the greater Boulder County area have fond memories during the 70’s of heading up the hill to local bar The Pioneer Inn, as the “house band” often consisted of names such as Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Dan Fogelburg and others.  This scene attracted many other stars to purchase homes in the area to “escape” from the hectic life of tour, occasionally popping out of hiding to enjoy an evening on the town, sometimes playing with the local musicians for a song or two or occasionally for the evening.

In the 90’s, long-time local promoter Michigan Mike took his dream of concert promotion and infused it with the spirit of the area beginning 2 traditions of spectacular music. Nederland Acid Jazz brought together a weekly selection of stellar hand-picked musicians from the front range (and occasionally bigger names such as Stanley Jordan), gathering to collaborate and improvise our Monday nights away.  NedFest was an annual end-of-summer festival that brought both local bands and national touring acts together to share the stage for an amazing and incredibly fun 20 years.

Over that same period, the local establishments carried on the spirit, regularly hosting local bands, singer-songwriters, and touring bands getting their chops on the road. Even bigger names that were on the road playing larger venues in the Boulder area were invited up to the mountains for impromptu shows, further inspiring the local scene.  At many points over the past 4 decades, one could find live music 7 nights a week in this tiny town of 1600 people.

That scene went into a bit of hiatus, as the scene in general did globally during the pandemic.  In the years following, the town has been a bit sleepier and quieter, but the traditions are once again beginning to emerge, and the culture of music is beginning to shine once again.  This summer saw the beginning of a new chapter in the way of an outdoor run of events called the Nederland Summer Concert Series put together by the Time Served Production Group.  This year has 6 Saturday afternoons scheduled, some with single bands, and others with 2 bands, each playing one set.  The series is free to attend and held in Chipeta Park with local food truck Kaleidoscope Kitchen providing amazing cuisine by local chef Lauren Knight.

I had been unable to attend the first two events, but with some friends and family I’d not seen play in some time coming out for the July 6^th afternoon, I couldn’t help but break away from working at the editing computer and take in the fun.  Benjamin Sproul and friends began the afternoon with a great set of original tunes and covers, getting the crowd going on a warm summer afternoon by the creek.  They were followed by Banshee Tree, taking a small break from tour to visit home and play for the local crowd before heading back out on the road. 

The vibes were high and the music got everyone higher, with a great turn-out of young and old gathering to commune in the sun and dance the afternoon into the evening.  As I strolled through the crowd capturing images, I had quite a few nostalgic moments taking me back to the days of NedFest, having been the festival photographer for the last 6 years of that wonderful event.  It was great to see some of those beautiful faces out in the mountain air once again, celebrating the musical tradition that brought many of us together over the years.  I greatly look forward to watching this new chapter grow!

Along with this series, that great tradition is still being carried on with all three breweries in town (Busey Brews, Very Nice Brewing Company and Knotted Root) hosting regular music.  Just minutes south of Nederland, the scene in Rollinsville is also blossoming into an amazing happening with music at Howling Wind brewery and the Gold Dirt Distillery tasting room and the new Toss wood-fired pizza providing delicious pies. 

Also, just a couple years before the pandemic, Nederland welcomed its first-ever music venue, The Caribou Room, a state-of-the-art dream of local sound company owner, Peter Fiori, that doubles as an amazing recording studio.  The venue is a 500 person capacity room designed by a sound engineer to provide the very best indoor sound around, hosting local and nationally touring acts during the fall, winter and spring months.

In many ways the industry is still recovering from the incredibly hard hit of the pandemic, and the local scene is following suit.  That said, it is wonderful to see the local spirit begin to raise its own head from the ashes to carry on and continue providing beautiful music to the masses.  With three more August nights left in the Nederland Free Concert Series, if you live along the Colorado Front Range you don’t want to miss out!  Check out the schedule and take a Saturday drive up the hill for an afternoon and evening of relaxing musical fun in the mountains and stay tuned with the many other venue’s schedules to enjoy this new chapter of musical tradition along the scenic Peak to Peak highway!

image gallery with Benjamin Sproul and Banshee Tree, Nederland Free Concert Series 7/06/2024

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