Members of local band Elder Grown are moving on to bigger scenes. They aren’t leaving the band, but they are looking for larger music communities. One of those members is saxophone player Sam Kelly, joining bandmates Paul Hoffman and Guillaume Metz on a move to the Front Range. One reason behind this move is the need to be part of a larger music community; Kelly grew up in the Southwest, and a move to the Mile High City will satisfy that need, as Denver and the Front Range provide an opportunity to play more music in addition to playing with Elder Grown.
Along with Kelly, drummer/vocalist Hoffman and guitar player Metz, Elder Grown are bass player John Hoffman and keyboardist Brandon Clark. They’ll continue to keep local ties to the area, which includes regional shows, including this weekend’s second annual Elder Grown Summer Camp, happening this Saturday at Tico Time.
If you go
WHAT: Elder Grown Summer Camp with music by Elder Grown, Ora, Desert Child, J-Calvin, Forest Thump.
WHEN: Saturday.
WHERE: Tico Time Resort, 20 Road 2050. Aztec.
TICKETS: $30/$35 with camping.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit http://eldergrownmusic.com/summercamp.
While Durango is home, active musicians sometimes want something bigger.
“Elder Grown has been the primary thing keeping me in the Durango area. It’s like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this band, it’s gonna be hard to beat this if I move somewhere else.’ I love Durango and if I wasn’t a horn player, I think I’d still be here. It’s hard to beat this area for all the reasons everybody lives here,” Kelly said. “But you know, just being surrounded by a bigger and more robust music scene, it’s kind of the main reason.”
For their second annual event, they are reeling the lineup in to the region. While last year’s event featured Elder Grown along with musicians Kelly met via his international Berklee College of Music courses, this year’s will be a big nod to musicians of the area, featuring local bands Ora, Desert Child and J-Calvin, along with a late-night set by Forest Thump.
“Last year, we were the only local band. This year, it’s like a big pendulum swing, going with a full local lineup and really trying to just go, ‘OK, let’s see what we can do if we get everybody here local and really promote it. Let’s get as many of the local people out as possible,” Kelly said. “Last year was our first run at it, and we were right at that 400-ticket mark. And it went well, by all means we didn’t lose money, we actually made some money. It was a success and we’re hoping to go a little bigger this year, and have more people come.”
This festival showcase of local bands will be look and listen to the diverse musical climate this area offers: Elder Grown is a rock band that treads into funk, hip-hop and jam, while Desert Child is a good-time rock band that drops catchy originals while also tossing in lively, dance-floor packing covers. J-Calvin is a hip, experimental funk and electronic outfit, and Ora is a gloriously noisy, psychedelic and stoner rock band. Late night closers Forest Thump is an electronic music duo that features a DJ and violin.
Festivals and concerts don’t just come together or fall from the sky. Most casual festival attendees don’t realize that a lot of work goes into an event like this, with band members like Kelly doing a load of legwork such as set-scheduling and festival promotion leading up to the weekend.
“It’s a lot of moving parts. It’s a lot of teamwork. The only way I’m able to make this work is not just brute-force, though there’s a lot of that. But it’s relying on people with their skill sets, like Jeff Jones and Brian Willyard of Music Masters, and The Tico Time staff,” Kelly said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a big, group effort.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
