TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — “Colorado Bluegrass” has become its own subgenre over the past two decades, shaped by originators Hot Rize, Leftover Salmon, and The String Cheese Incident and developed more recently by The Railsplitters, Wood Belly, Ragged Union, and Trout Steak Revival. For Denver’s Trout Steak Revival, it’s been a slow burn since taking third place at the RockyGrass Festival then winning the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition. The indie-folk, bluegrass-inspired stringband will take stage at the Mangy Moose on Sunday night.
While contemporary bluegrass bands have become as far reaching to describe as Americana, it’s best left to the music to speak for itself. For a name as trivial and whimsical as Trout Steak Revival, their music is rather grounded and thoughtful. It’s far from bluegrass’ Southern roots ala Bill Monroe or Flatt & Scruggs, though the quartet didn’t grow up on bluegrass. Instead, they started out in indie-rock and blues bands before launching into the newfound common language of grassy old-time music.
These days, the band—Bevin Foley (fiddle/voice), Casey Houlihan (bass, voice), Will Koster (dobro, guitar, voice) and Travis McNamara (banjo, voice)—play about 120 shows per year. Among their recent accomplishments include an Emmy Award for a soundtrack they contributed to a Rocky Mountain PBS web documentary, Westword named them Denver’s Best Bluegrass Band, and they were nominated as a Momentum Band of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (2016).
Just a month ago, they released a fifth studio album, The Light We Bring. The self-produced, uncluttered set of nine tracks also features guest instrumentalists ranging from brass to woodwinds and orchestral strings. Lyrically, it covers themes of lost love and the lingering regrets.
Trout Steak Revival, 10 p.m. Sunday at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village. Tickets are $10. MangyMoose.com.
