An hour north of Denver in a bend of the St. Vrain river sits a beautiful amphitheater and campground, home to Rockygrass and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, among other events.  The far bank of the river is a cliff of Colorado red rock that positively glows in the afternoon sun.  The river itself has enough current to take a blissful tube ride on a hot day, but at the same time is gentle enough for kids to play in the eddies and pools along the bank.  I’ve spent many a warm summer afternoon there in a state of music-filled rapture.  As Mother Nature is wont to do though, the river sometimes plays the demon and a couple of years ago wreaked havoc on the area and the adjacent town of Lyons.  St. Vrain, from the latest FY5 effort entitled Eat the Moon describes that devastating disaster from the unique perspective of the river itself, “I’ve been rolling since up in Estes and now I’m mad as hell.”
Colorado Secret Stages from Spencer O’Hara on Vimeo.
As one of the veins running down the front range of the Colorado Rockies, the St. Vrain is also a kind of metaphor for the musical influences of FY5, also frequently known as Finnders & Youngberg.  Covering the sound of Americana from this part of the world the band’s members all have strong musical pedigrees from the area, including a variety of Rockygrass and Telluride wins both individually and in previous bands.  One the most vivid examples of this is She Wants To Eat the Moon.  It has an interesting combination of old-timey and indie sounds, with a surprising turn from the pedal steel.  Other tunes have the pre-Bill Monroe sound, like Back Door and its tale of being the object of desire to someone who’s too embarrassed to bring you in the front door.  Old Dog Waltz, an instrumental, is a picker’s dream.
On the indie side of the sound is the picturesque The Day Is Wide Open and a simple analogy to life’s possibilities.  St. Vrain has the soul of modern bluegrass as well, while Mama’s Cooking is sort of a bluegrass swing number that borders on rockabilly.
 Across all these sub-genres of bluegrass, the lead vocals of Mike Finders and Erin Youngberg provide the backbone for the fiddle, mandolin, and banjo virtuosity of their bandmates, respectively Ryan Drickey, Rich Zimmerman, and Aaron Youngberg.  Whether you’ve had your own moments of life in that meadow outside Lyons, or just want to hear a sound that’s worth a thousand pictures, Eat the Moon is a worthy addition to your playlist this summer.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.