Wherever your little heart took you when Head For The Hills initially shouted you out. Head For The Hills, Ragged Union, Friendly Reminders. If you couldn’t tell by the non threatening and generally optimistic band names, these are non threatening and generally optimistic bluegrass bands. The bluegrass part isn’t as obvious from their names, but the rest is! And they played at Globe Hall BBQ, one of the Denver’s bbq joints.
I’ve never had their food. I can’t say if it’s good or bad.
But what I can say is that the general upbeat attitude of this show was welcome as fuck. It felt very mature from the second I walked in to the second I left into the windy night.
You walk into the venue and everyone is sitting in the restaurant eating their bbq yet somehow not getting it on their evening wear. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone – the concert space was 99% empty.
Until, of course, the first band Friendly Reminders started. Then, in the span of about ten seconds, the concert space filled, and it stayed fairly full the entirety of the night. There was no, “transition between bands, go get some air!” There was only, “transition between bands, go to the bathroom or something!”
Maybe the mature vibes and the non aggressive music was why I felt like I was at the Hollywood Bowl again. My family took me, like, once as a kid. And I didn’t have a say in the show so it was some chill ass motherfucking music. And there was good food, maybe a call back to Globe Hall’s offerings (I wouldn’t know).
Even the crescendo between bands – from the three-and-a-half piece Friendly Reminders (because one of them had undergone surgery recently), to the full five piece Ragged Union, to Head With The Hills with a drummer – wasn’t too intense. It just felt right.
The jams were impressive, the harmonies were sexy, and I wrote down: maybe if I go to enough of these I won’t be too depressed anymore.
Hey, it’s 2025. We’re all feeling depressed as fuck. But there were many moments throughout the night where I almost could get into the positive optimism and motivating upbeatness. Even when I almost got punched by some dancing chicks.
I thought this was bluegrass, not punk death metal ska!
You know what really makes me happy? Signing up for the mailing list over on the side there! So I can spam your inbox every Sunday at 10am whatever standard time I choose.
