Photos by Payton McIntyre
The 17th annual Rhythms on the Rio (ROTR) Music Festival wrapped up on August 4, delivering another year of unforgettable memories. The festival took place from August 2 – 4 in Del Norte, Colorado, right along the Rio Grande River — which proved to be a lifesaving resource.
I was lucky enough to find a campsite shaded with some cottonwood trees despite getting there late on Friday and missing out on the Thursday Night pre-party with Easy Jim. While setting up camp, I was listening to award winning Canadian artist Alysha Brilla’s welcoming-feeling set. It felt like she was setting the tone for the rest of the weekend; feelings of appreciation and gratefulness for a community.
Clay Street Unit played the early evening set on Friday that included originals like “1200 miles” and “Weight of the World,” and a newly released cover of “Engine Trouble.” I had become a fan of these guys from Spotify playlists, but seeing them live for the first time really hooked me.The Denver-based group has a distinctive sound that stems from country, 90’s rock and flashes of traditional bluegrass.
I was fortunate enough to sit down with the band after their set, where it was apparent that they were just as excited as anyone else to be at the festival. Guitarist and lead singer Sam Walker said ROTR has been on his list to attend since he first moved to Colorado about eight years ago, noting the festival has “beautiful property, amazing people, incredible bands – hospitality; I don’t think we could be happier to be here.”
The band also includes Scottie Bolin, mandolin; Jack Kotarba, bass; Brendan Lamb, drums; Jack Cline, banjo; and Brad Larrison, pedal steel.
Lamb explained that most of the band comes from the east coast where the pace of life moves a little differently than out here in Colorado.
Kotarba, the only Colorado-native of the group, mentioned how he was excited for the group to see the “best mountain range in Colorado,” in regard to being in the San Luis Valley.
The band also spoke about Denver being a “melting pot” for artists and that’s how they all came together. Their debut EP titled A Mighty Fine Evening was recorded at Mighty Fine Studios in Denver where Walker says the band felt right at home.
Clay Street Unit has been jamming together for about two years and have already built a solid following, touring across the country. Walker says that the group has hopefully found something to do for the rest of their lives, hinting at a new record to be released in the upcoming year.
One of the funkiest, most high-energy and just simply fun bands I’ve ever seen — The California Honeydrops — headlined Friday night and played a truly captivating show. Their encore featured “Just Because” off of their 2013 album, Like You Mean It, and they had the crowd moving any and every which way imaginable.
The night actually didn’t stop after that and before I made it back to my tent I wound up front and center at the late night stage where The Johnny Mullenax Band was rockin’ n stopin’ away. Another band I’ll be waiting to see again!
Saturday morning snuck up on us and once the sun came out everybody flocked to the river.
Just across the street from the festival grounds there’s a river-access park on the clean, cold waters of the Rio Grande, with a man-made wave feature for river surfing and tubing. Safe to say everybody found a reason to get to the river — even if it was just to let the cold water work its magic.
Music got started with Armchair Boogie and quite a few brave folks braced the sun and heat to see this Wisconsin-based bluegrass band.
The Fretliners were up next, another group I was lucky enough to chat with for a few minutes after their set. The quartet consists of Tom Knowlton, guitar; Dan Andree, fiddle; Sam Parks, Mandolin; and Taylor shuck, bass.
Andree and Knowlton spoke about their history and upbringing with music. Andree began Suzuki violin lessons as a kid and Knowlton had multiple mentors giving them exposure to music at an early age.
Andree also commented on playing at ROTR for the first time saying, “Everybody’s been so welcoming … We felt like everyone wants to make us feel at home.”
Andree and Knowlton met in a campground at a bluegrass festival in Lyons, CO which became the starting point of The Fretliners, and they have now been jamming together for about three years. The group released its first full length album back in September 2023 and released a three song EP earlier this summer.
The band credits their mentor/producer Sally Van Meter, for helping them form their music into more cohesive ideas.
The Fretliners will also be playing in Pagosa Springs later this summer at the 28th annual Four Corners Folk Festival.
Sometimes things don’t go as planned and there’s not much you can do other than make the best of whatever the situation is. After the Fretliners performed, it was announced that Daniel Donato would not be making it to the festival to perform his double-headlining set. Unfortunately, travel issues kept Donato from being able to make it in time to be able to perform. Stuff happens and that’s okay, but now with two set times to fill, Shadowgrass and The Lil Smokies both without hesitation, agreed to play an extra set to fill out the rest of the night with live music. It was awesome to see these groups step up and come together for the ROTR community, when they certainly did not have to do so.
Shadowgrass threw down two string picking, foot-tapping sets that really brought the energy to the stage as crowds emerged from their camps. The youthful five piece group originally formed back in 2014 after joining together at fiddlers’ conventions around Virginia and North Carolina. Kyser George on the guitar laid down some of the most impressive bluegrass guitar picking I’ve ever seen; I was truly mesmerized watching him play. Shadowgrass is certainly a name to watch out for, and hopefully will be around for years to come blazing new trails in the world of bluegrass.
The Fretliners also stuck around and treated the crowd to an intimate acoustic set in the main crowd area before The Lil Smokies came on. This was one of my favorite sets of the whole weekend with a small group of folks gathered, you could tell the Fretliners were enjoying themselves, simply having fun getting the chance to play a few more tunes.
The Lil Smokies had us all feeling grateful as they doubled down on their sets, showing no signs of fatigue. Their second set featured The Lil Smokies and Friends, the Friends being members from bands playing earlier that day – Shadowgrass and The Fretliners. The set featured some classic jamming and covers of “Paint it Black” and “Message In A Bottle” which sounded unlike anything I’ve ever heard, making me realize the possibilities in bluegrass are endless.
After another morning trip to the river on Sunday, I made it back over to the main stage in time for The Runaway Grooms to get things rocking. Their sound mixes funk and psychedelic rock that still captures traditional Americana songwriting roots.
Magic Beans, a four-piece group from Denver, who have carved out a nice spot for themselves in the Colorado music scene, took us all to church with an uplifting and good time set that had me feeling pretty grateful for the ROTR community.
The seven-piece funk-soul band Diggin’ Dirt took over next. Their lead singer, Zach Alder, blew me away with his passionate soulful voice and an energy that’s hard to come by.
Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass featuring The Hillbenders closed out the festival on Sunday night with his classic storytelling bluegrass, a festival favorite and hopefully on more future lineups.
The festival benefits the South Fork Music Association (SFMA), a non-profit organization that helps connect kids in the San Luis Valley to music through equipment donations and lessons.
The SFMA was able to donate $5,000 to two schools in the San Luis Valley to revamp their music classrooms. Multiple instruments were donated and given away to the winners of the kids’ dance competitions. This, combined with all the moments I experienced over the weekend, really made it clear to me how important it is and how lucky we are to have such a committed and kind community at ROTR. A community that cares about future generations and sharing resources.
This is the kind of festival that reminds us of all the reasons why we truly love music. It’s all the random connections, new and old friends coming together and those moments in the middle of a song that make you think, “Wow, how beautiful.”
I’m already looking forward to next year’s festival, and I’ll be clearing my entire weekend to catch every moment from the Thursday pre-party to the last encore on Sunday.