Rob Eaton Jr. plays lead guitar for The Other Brothers, an Allman Brothers tribute band. They are kicking off the Glenwood Springs Summer of Music concert series at Two Rivers Park on Wednesday.
The Glenwood Springs Summer of Music concert series will return this summer with seven free concerts at Two Rivers Park, featuring a mix of rock, bluegrass, funk, soul, rock, jazz and world music acts.
The series begins Wednesday and runs through Aug. 12, with all shows starting at 6:30 p.m. Each show features two sets, with most featuring a warm-up band and a headliner. A few bands will play both sets.
“This year’s lineup showcases a broad range of different musical styles, with a touring band and a local opener at each concert,” Glenwood Springs Summer of Music President Annie Olson said. “We wanted to offer something for everyone.”
The bands in the lineup include (opener/headliner):
• July 1: Wild Flight Trio (roots, rock, country) followed by the Other Brothers (Allman Brothers cover and jam band)
• July 8: Straygrass (contemporary blues) and by Cass Clayton (funk, soul, jazz)
• July 15: Awen Family Band (jam, classic rock) warming up for Bill McKay Band (funk, jazz, jam, soul)
• July 22: Zivonai Masango will perform both sets (African, dance, world)
• July 29: Typical Ghost (electric, jam, funk) and Titonic (funk, soul, blues)
• Aug. 5: Moonbeem (psychedelic, rock, and jazz-fusion) preceding Fireside Collective (bluegrass, newgrass, jam)
• Aug. 12: Easy Jim for two sets (Grateful Dead, jam)
Food and beverages will be provided by Rolling Fork Food Truck, Taqueria El Yaqui, Mama’s Pierogi, Slow Groovin’ BBQ and El Bajon Churros during the concert series. Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, rain gear, and coolers.
The series began more than 40 years ago as the Summer of Jazz before expanding to multiple genres. After being managed by the Glenwood Springs Arts Council and later the city of Glenwood Springs, Summer of Music became an independent nonprofit in 2018.
Easy Jim is a Grateful Dead cover band whose members hail from the Gunnison/Crested Butte area. They have become a favorite in the RFV over the last two years. They play in the Glenwood Summer of Music on Aug. 12.
Tribute to southern rock royalty
The Other Brothers kick off the series Wednesday. The band is made up of Colorado musicians, including Roaring Fork Valley resident John Michel, who plays drums.
The Other Brothers employ the post-1991 Allmans’ lineup of two drummers and a percussionist, with Will Trask providing percussion and Marc Levy playing the second drum kit.
“I love playing with those two guys,” Michel told the Aspen Daily News earlier this year. “They’re like my little brothers and we have such a great vibe together.”
The rest of The Other Brothers are Bill McKay on keyboards, Rob Eaton Jr. on guitar, James Dumm on guitar and Todd Smallie on bass.
For all of the members of The Other Brothers, the band is a side project.
Between the seven members, their day jobs include playing for (or having played with in the past): JJ Grey and Mofro (Smallie), Steely Dead (McKay), Derek Trucks Band (McKay and Smallie), Very Jerry Band (McKay), John Oates (John Michel), Circles Around the Sun (Mark Levy), Leftover Salmon (McKay) and numerous other bands.
“With The Other Brothers, we all just kind of fell into the groove together because we’re all doing all these other things, so everybody just plays really super musically well together,” Michel said.
“Everybody really listens, and everybody lets everybody shine, which is not always the case.”
Michel pointed out that the Other Brothers are not trying to merely imitate the Allmans’ sound. The band members strive to bring their own style to collectively interpret one of the great canons of rock ’n’ roll.
“Everybody really does their homework,” Michel said. “But we make it into our own thing. It’s less like a tribute band. We’re honoring the music. We’re putting our own stamp on it. It’s just a really great, genuine musical experience and very heartfelt when we play.”
Easy Jim
Easy Jim has become a favorite in the RFV since they first played Belly Up in September of 2024. They’ve since become a quasi-house band for the venue, having played eight more times, several of which were sellouts.
Easy Jim consists of Reinert on bass and vocals, Dwayne Dodson on rhythm/lead guitar and vocals, Tyler Lucas on rhythm/lead guitar and vocals, Julian Young on keyboards and vocals, Chris Chalmers on drums and Ben Wright on drums.
Easy Jim approaches the music differently than many tribute acts. Instead of assigning one member to play the role of Garcia or Bob Weir, Lucas shares guitar leads and vocal duties along with Dodson. Lucas and Dodson both approach the music as lead players, often trading solos within the same song.
“I’ve always been a lead guitar player and so is Dwayne and neither one of us wanted to give up the appeal of playing Jerry’s parts and soloing and that kind of led to, ‘Well, we’ll just split up the songs, and we’ll even split up the parts within the songs.’ And we’ve done the same with the vocals,” Lucas said.
Reinert said the band’s goal is for the joy the members get from playing the music to spread to the audience. “We try to bring as much joy to the music as we can and hope people leave remembering how much fun they had. We feel like we’ve got something special happening in the Roaring Fork Valley.”
Olson stated that the series remains committed to providing free live music performances and fostering community gatherings.
“Our free seven concerts will leave a wonderful feeling for folks and visitors alike to experience a night of no worries, have family time together, watching kids run around, play games and enjoy a fun night,” Olson said.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.aspendailynews.com ’
