JACKSON, Wyo. — Colorado jam rock is descending on the Silver Dollar Showroom this Friday and Saturday, courtesy of adept up-and-comers The Runaway Grooms from Vail Valley. Funky keyboard, wah pedal swells and dueling guitar solos atop a foundation of folk-inspired songwriting is showcased in their live show posted below, with a recorded sound that also showcases an acoustic roots side with three-part harmonies. The intimacy and longer duration of the Silver Dollar stage is likely to bring out more of the latter.
“The [debut] album itself has this incredible progression of going from singer-songwriter folk songs to adventurous, psychedelic instrumentals,” frontman/guitarist Adam Tobin told Vail Daily last March. “It’s got this crazy progression and we definitely encourage people to listen to the whole album as an art piece and as a natural progression of the Grooms and the kind of music we’re creating.”
The Grooms started out when Tobin met multi-instrumentalist Zac Cialek while living in employee housing on “the mountain.” The two were joined by drummer Justin Bisset shortly after and formed the original lineup. The trio moved in together, started gigging up and down Vail Valley, and began cultivating a fan base. Bassist/vocalist Zach Gilliam and keyboardist Cody Scott joined the band in November 2019, infusing more of the funky sound and stretching the band’s improvisational sections that often feature Cialek wailing on lap steel. The addition of Gilliam and Scott birthed a new sound for the quintet, as evidenced on 2020’s eponymous debut, Tied to the Sun.
The Runaway Grooms, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Silver Dollar Showroom for the Sit Down Get Down series. Free.
VIDEO: The Runaway Grooms: Live at Mishawaka Amphitheater 8/28/20
