If you are looking for a great local band that is both entertaining and family friendly, check out my recommendations below!
Lola Rising: Lola Rising is an Island Folk Rock band also known as "Jahawaiian" that is ukulele driven with high energy melodic dance rhythms and soaring guitars. Combing Lola Rising's dance rhythms with their vocal harmonies, makes for a perfect storm to bring everyone together for an amazing singalong dance party. The six piece has quickly risen in the burgeoning Colorado music scene with strings of dates alongside Rusted Root, Trevor Hall, and appearances at festivals like Big Ticket Festival, Velorama, and Spread The Word Music Festival. Lola Rising actually played by 40th birthday party back in February and were amazing and great to dance to! They are available for private parties, but you can catch them at local spots around Colorado as well.
Card Catalog: Card Catalog is a Boulder Rock band on the Colorado scene. They will make you move your feet with their bluesy 90's vibe! Dalton Clayton, Jenn Tatro and Kelton Kragor found each other in 2013 working downtown in Boulder. They met up one day to just jam, and--bam!--chemistry happened. They started writing and creating music soon after that. They slowly made the move from Kelton's house in Louisville to Dog House Studios in Lafayette, Colorado. They later found Ricky Brewer (also their producer) and Ryan Wheale who began drumming for them.
Esme Patterson: Singer/songwriter Esme Patterson is a founding member of the large, Denver-based indie folk group Paper Bird. Growing up in nearby Boulder, Colorado, Patterson, along with her sister and bandmate Genevieve Patterson, grew up listening to old R&B records, coming to folk and Americana music later on. In collaboration with another sibling combo, Mark and Sarah Anderson, the two Patterson sisters formed Paper Bird in 2006, focusing on a mix of chamber folk and lush baroque pop. The group went on to release several successful independent albums, tour frequently, and even score music for the Ballet Nouveau Colorado dance company.
Paper Bird: Denver has become a home for many indie folk groups and all of them are at the top of the field. Paper Bird is no exception, having formed back in 2006 and self-released their first album just one short year later. Paper Bird is a six-piece band composed of guitar, drums, bass and three lead female vocalists who know how to carry a tune, like they do on their ode to their home state, "Colorado." A unique thing about this group is that they play in odd meters, which gives them a vintage sound unlike most bands. Paper Bird takes influences from all types of music such as gospel, rock ‘n' roll, soul, African rhythms and jazz. To read more about this amazing group, head to their website and put them on your next playlist.
Elephant Revival: This Colorado group does things a little differently than your average folk band. Their style of music is referred to as "transcendental folk," which mixes the typical folk sound with elements of Celtic fiddle tunes, traditional ballads, reggae, indie, bluegrass and an occasionally hip-hop beat or two, in songs like "Down to the Sea." The group of five members has found a dedicated fan following and they also individually and collectively lend their musical talents to other musicians. To hear more of this radical sound, check out the group's website.
