Tip the bands 

Blue Canyon Boys

The Blue Canyon Boys are equal parts purists and innovators when it comes to bluegrass: they stay true to the form’s roots while constantly re-imagining their relationship to tradition. The result is a toe-tapping mix of haunting standards, genre-bending arrangements, and catchy original numbers—all built on the bedrock of their collective bluegrass mastery. They bring it all: seamless brother-duet style, crisp instrumentation, unvarnished lyrics and subversive humor. After winning first place at the 2008 Telluride Bluegrass festival band contest, the Blue Canyon Boys went off at full tilt, taking the bluegrass circuit by storm, performing in illustrious venues across the country as well as internationally. Their distinctive sound, honed from over a decade of performing together, moves easily from instrumental wizardry to playful ribbing. Whether calling on their old timey musical roots or reconnoitering the future, the band’s musical prowess never wavers. This is high lonesome sound at its best: a driving pulse that weaves through harmonies and fierce rhythms. Classic bluegrass, clean and raw, blends effortlessly with the band’s homegrown compositions, then peppered with a judicious cover or two, such as the band’s riveting take on Pink Floyd’s “Time.”

Chain Station

Chain Station is a 4-piece, high-energy, get ‘em out on the dance floor string band from Denver, Colorado. Their music is well-steeped in Americana roots, with vocal harmonies that are high, lonesome, and tight. Their picking ranges from lightning-fast to mountain mellow. They are a bluegrass band that would satisfy a picky old-timer and delight fans of newgrass, a delicate balance indeed.

Hunker Down

Hunker Down is a hard driving acoustic band that is carving a new sound while paying respect to the traditions that came before them. Their music is spicy blend of many influences that they have decided to dub “Rocky Mountain Folk n Roll.” Based in Bluegrass, good songwriting, and soulful country rock, they have found a way to harness the groove that lifts audiences energy high and leaves them wanting more. The band consists of Andy Straus on guitar and vocals, The Real McCoy on keys and vocals, Danjo Harris on Banjo and Electric mandolin, Denton Turner on Upright Bass, and Scotty Hicks on Drums.

Jeremy Garrett

Jeremy Garrett is known as an innovative fiddle player, expressive singer and soul-searching songwriter in the GRAMMY Award-winning band, The Infamous Stringdusters, who broke onto the national scene in 2007, scooping up 3 International Bluegrass Music Association awards, including Album and Song of the Year. Since then, the group has become a national ambassador for progressive bluegrass, playing to club, theater and festival audiences around the country.To the fans of the Stringdusters Jeremy is known as “G-Grass” or “Freedom Cobra” for his dynamic stage presence. When he is not touring with The Infamous Stringdusters he turns his attention to his solo show, wowing listeners by using electronic effects to layer and loop multiple instruments and vocals, which he showcases on his latest album“Circles”released on Organic Records.Jeremy also performs in all-star line-ups ranging from funk music to traditional bluegrass.Jeremy has a more intimate side as a songwriter, and has a broad catalog of originally crafted songs. He has contributed several songs to the Stringdusters, including the title track for their 2014 album “Let It Go”, winning first place in the Folk category for the 2014 USA Songwriting Competition. His songwriting collaborations include Darrell Scott, Oliver Wood (of The Wood Brothers), Jon Weisberger, Josh Shilling, Becky Buller and more.

Jackson Earles Band

From the traditional roots of bluegrass to the new acoustic sound, Jackson Earles finds inspiration and desire that drives his individual sense of playing.

jacksonearles

Dahlby & Nadine Band

Dahlby & Nadine is a duo that was born out of a local bluegrass jam in Estes Park, Colorado. They discovered they had a similar drive to make music and write songs. The first time they blended their voices, they knew they had a sound vibration that must be shared, and a playful energy not to be contained. Their songwriting contains clever lyrics with irony and metaphor, and their arrangement of old standards is refreshing.The duo has recently enjoyed playing as a band with bassist and vocalist Steve Tice, as well as with the talented fiddle player, Jackson Earles.

TAARKA

From the acoustic-rich hills of Colorado comes the accomplished alt. Americana band Taarka. Much like the sizzle of spices and the vibrating of strings implied by its Indian name, the band’s sound embodies passion, energy, and taste. Derived from members’ diverse influences – bluegrass, pop rock, folk, old-time, Gypsy-Jazz, and Celtic – the band ignites audiences with music that SF Weekly called “a collision of Django Reinhardt and David Grisman.”

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​Taarka seamlessly fuses brilliant instrumental chops with songwriting of great depth and creativity, cooking up musical “sustenance that stays with you long after you’ve pushed away from the table.” Adventurers through the many landscapes of music and true world travelers, veterans of 1000-year floods and veggie oil tour buses, David (voice, mandolin, guitar, and octave mandolin) and Enion Pelta-Tiller (voice, 5-string violin) spin stories and melodies that delight, inspire, and move all who listen.

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What does Taarka mean?

In Indian cooking, “taarka” is the word to describe roasting spices to create the base for an indian culinary delicacy. A wet t(a)arka is a mix of garlic, ginger and onions sauteed in ghee. A dry t(a)arka is a mixture of whole spices, dry-roasted or fried in oil, til the seeds begin to pop. Taarka is in fact the sound of the spices roasting…

High Road Home

The High Road Home brings you a progressive bluegrass sound with a clear focus on lyrically-driven songwriting.

“The music, it moves me... I got pushed over by one band in the competition. The High Road Home.”

Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth on The High Road Home’s 2019 UllrGrass Band Competition win.