In an atmosphere where most college kids turn to expressive hip-hop and relevant indie bands, the members of The Bluegrass Quartet prefer more traditional music, quietly gaining a following of devoted fans with their acoustic, often surprising, bluegrass folk music.
Rarely heard in today’s mainstream music, The Bluegrass Quartet uses a variety of different instruments to produce their own original bluegrass sound, including a mandolin, fiddle, an upright bass, and a quintessential banjo.
Starting in December of 2008, the four-member band has always pursued music in some variety or another.
Patrick Dethlefs, a 19-year-old member of the band who plays the guitar, banjo, and contributes vocals, described his transition from playing punk music to bluegrass.
“I started playing the guitar when I was twelve,” Dethlefs said. “I got really into punk music, then acoustic, and it really progressed into me playing a lot more.”
Robert Collins, an 18-year-old freshman open-option major who plays upright bass for The Bluegrass Quartet, juggles both school work and dorm life while playing with the band, which has already put on a modest 30 shows since its conception.
When the band isn’t performing, Collins and Dethlefs said they’re always eager to play with other people.
“When [Dethlefs and I] played at [CU’s] Battle of the Bands, we had put a band together with our friend Martin Gilmore about two hours before the show,” Collins said.
That band, Fast Cash, went on to win third place in Battle of the Bands.
“I wasn’t expecting to place,” Collins said. “We put it together really fast, and we were just doing it for fun.”
Dethlefs said he was also surprised by the sudden win.
“We were the only acoustic band playing, so it was nice to see that an all-acoustic band could place,” Dethlefs said.
The Bluegrass Quartet has covered a number of different musicians, but also have seven original songs. The song “Stays the Same,” written by the band and sung by lead singer Kyle O’Brien, combines western bluegrass with heavy folk to create a soft ballad reminiscent of Ray LaMontagne’s sad but oddly uplifting musical style.
Collins and Dethlefs said that most of their musical influences come from Denver.
Local bands like the Dovekins, Paper Bird and Ian Cooke all contribute to the way The Bluegrass Quartet produce and perform songs.
“Paper Bird actually hooked us up with a show at the Boulder Theater once,” Collins said. “So that was pretty cool.”
Dethlefs said he also plans to work with Paper Bird as he works on a solo EP, due to be released in February.
“I’ve already started recording,” Dethlefs said. “Everyone in The Bluegrass Quartet plans to contribute, and some of the girls from Paper Bird, too.”
As students begin to wind down in preparation for fall break, The Bluegrass Quartet already has a show booked in California.
“We’re playing a show in California which should be a lot of fun,” Dethlefs said. “One of our band members, Maura O’Brien, won’t be able to make it, but Robert, Kyle, and I will be there.”
As for future shows in Boulder? The Bluegrass Quartet said they hope to perform in front of another live audience soon.
“I think we’ll play in December, over break, once things have settled down. We plan to play a lot of shows in the summer, too,” Collins said.
For those unable to wait, The Bluegrass Quartet have posted a few songs on their Myspace page, including a live cover of Dolly Parton’s “I’m Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sebastian Murdock at Sebastian.murdock@colorado.edu.
