30 • Fruita Fall Festival 2010

Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams

Those unfamiliar with Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams are often as shocked by the band’s rootsy, honky tonk music as listeners once were by the Beatles’ shaggy hairdos or Johnny Rotten’s snarling lyrics. But just as old-time beers like Pabst Blue Ribbon and Miller High Life are again topping the drink charts, classic honky tonk is back in style with a force. The echoey twang of the steel guitar, snap of the snare drum, thump of the stand-up bass and rippin’ electric guitar so-los mix with Wofford’s distinctive vocals to create a solid sound that is familiar yet purely original. Not unlike hard-core bluegrass, The Hi-Beams’ style of honky tonk has a language and culture all to itself, but only takes one quick lesson to learn how to love for a lifetime.

Wofford’s growly, wavering tenor rings out across dive bars, theaters, municipal concerts and festivals all along the Front Range of Colorado and beyond, conjur-ing up images of Hank Williams Sr., Buddy Holly and Bob Wills. But while Wofford and his cre-ative powerhouse of talented musicians are committed to playing real country music, they don’t stick just to the old, time-tested favorites. The band’s long collection of origi-nal tunes accompanies a handful of familiar crowd-pleasers to create a bulging repertoire of good music. Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams’ first CD was released in 2003 to criti-cal acclaim, topping the Freeform Ameri-can Roots (FAR) Chart for two consecutive months. On the heels of a successful appear-ance on A Prairie Home Companion, the band’s second CD, Midnight Rodeo, was re-leased in June 2006. A third, as now untitled CD, will be released in 2009.

Bluegrass Patriots“They” are the Bluegrass Patriots, one

of the very, very few working bands in the

bluegrass world to have testimony from the father himself. In history and tradition, for 30 years the Bluegrass Patriots, from Fort Collins, Colorado, have faithfully repre-sented the unbroken circle that is bluegrass. But longevity is a reward reserved for those bands with the talent, drive, and class to sus-tain the highest levels of musicianship and entertainment. And like an old instrument, their sounds have grown sweeter through the years. Present as always in their show are the stunning lead and harmony vocals

by all five members, the bluesy and punchy picking, well-penned originals, and folksy charm on stage. Slowed, they have not.

Sons and BrothersSons and Brothers Band is the Wolking

family from Westcliffe, Colorado. They con-tinue to captivate audiences with their fusion of americana, gospel, western and country-rock music inspired by the band’s founding father, Frank Wolking. Colorado’s premier brother string band, Sons and Brothers bring a unique energy, instrumental prowess and tight, powerful family harmony to the roots music genre. Rooted solidly in the Mountain West, the band describes its brand of music as “West Grass” - songs with Western and

Gospel themes, fused with a unique playing style that draws from genres as diverse as bluegrass, swing, country and rock ‘n’ roll. Each performance features a dynamic con-trast of songs and sounds ranging from stir-ring ballads and powerful gospel numbers to fire breathing instrumentals, poignant sto-ries of family life, mountains, range and the American West.

Sons and Brothers builds a personal con-nection with audiences by sharing the good-natured relationships within the family and

presenting insightful introductions mixed with doses of irrepressible humor. The band is composed of brothers and sons Mike Wolking (vocals, dobro, banjo and lead gui-tar), Aaron Wolking (lead vocals and bass) and Joe Wolking (vocals, mandolin and fiddle), with every-body’s favorite Uncle, Fred Wolk-ing (guitar and vocals), Old Time Country fiddle treasure of Denver, Colorado, Johnny Neill, and broth-er-in-law Ryan Finney (drums).

Sons and Brothers have trav-eled, with great success, to concerts and festivals in numerous states over the past ten years, as well as Scotland, England and Wales. Ac-cording to Dave Higgs, columnist for Bluegrass Now magazine, “It’s not only Sons and Brothers power-

ful paint-peeling vocals that make them one of the most strikingly original band in Blue-grass, but it’s their sound…an arresting brand of Bluegrass, flavored by the wide open spaces, grandeur and panoramic majesty of the West.”

The Special Consen-sus

The Special Consensus is a four-person acoustic bluegrass band that began tour-ing in the Midwest in the spring of 1975. The first band album was released in 1979 when the band began touring on a national basis. In 1984, The Special Con-sensus initiated the Traditional American Music (TAM) Program in schools across

Featured Musicians

Bluegrass Patriots