Two high-energy string bands will close out Steamboat’s summer concert season this weekend, each bringing blends of bluegrass tradition and modern twists to stages at Steamboat Resort and Howelsen Hill.

On Saturday, Aug. 30, the Stranahan’s Free Summer Concert Series will feature Magoo at Steamboat Square at Steamboat Resort, with the Jay Roemer Trio opening at 6 p.m. and Magoo taking the stage at 7:30 p.m. 

The following evening, Sunday, Aug. 31, Howelsen Hill will open its gates at 5:30 p.m. for the final Steamboat Free Summer Concerts show of the season featuring The Brothers Comatose. Steamboat-based The Little Moon Travelers will open at 6 p.m., with The Brothers Comatose taking the stage at 7:30 p.m.

A shift in musical direction

For guitarist Erik Hill, Magoo represents a shift in musical direction that began when he moved to Colorado in 2017. After years of playing electric blues and rock, he dove headfirst into flatpicking.

“I grew up playing electric guitar since I was about 9 or 10 years old. When I moved to Colorado in 2017, that’s when I was introduced to bluegrass for the first time,” Hill said. “It wasn’t until COVID when I started to learn flatpicking and studying Tony Rice, Billy Strings and Norman Blake. That led me down the path to meeting the guys in Magoo and wanting to focus solely on bluegrass.”

Magoo first formed in late-2022 as a trio with Hill, dobro player Dylan Flynn and Flynn’s uncle Paul on bass. The lineup grew to include Courtlyn Bills after a chance meeting at Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

“We had such a good connection and had such a great time with him jamming that he basically said, ‘If you guys want me to join your band, I’ll move from Texas to Colorado right now,'” Hill said.

Magoo also features bassist Denton Turner, a Steamboat local who joined in January 2024. This isn’t their first foray in Steamboat, as they have played at WinterWonderGrass.

The group is also in the process of recording a new album.

Their blend of genres has helped Magoo connect with their fans easily, as Hill pointed out.

“We’re always making direct eye contact with folks,” he said. “People who are front and center, dancing or jumping up and down, that gives us life and feeds the energy right back into the band. There definitely is that circular motion of energy where if the band gets hot, the crowd gets hot as well. When the crowd’s hot, then it comes right back to us.”

The Brothers Comatose: From family beginnings to ‘golden grass’

The Brothers Comatose formed nearly two decades ago in California out of informal living room jams hosted by brothers Ben and Alex Morrison and inspired by their mother’s band rehearsals.

“It was inspirational to sit and watch them when they were doing harmonies and all kinds of cool stuff,” said guitarist and Comatose vocalist Ben Morrison. “Eventually my brother and I just started messing around in the living room, not with any intention of having a band. One day, somebody left a banjo behind at the house and Alex picked it up and started to learn to play. It was a total accident.”

That accident turned into a beloved string band that over the years has seen its lineup evolve to include Ben and Alex Morrison, fiddler Philip Brezina, bassist Steve Height and mandolinist Addie Levy.

Morrison said the group resists easy genre labels. 

“We were always interested in rock and roll and wanted to try to bring some of that into the string band world,” he said. He explained that a fan on social media recently coined the phrase “golden grass” to describe the band’s sound, a term they’ve since embraced as the title of their new album.

With 18 years of touring and festival stages under their belt, The Brothers Comatose brings to Steamboat a mix of new songs, old favorites and covers. 

The band has played Steamboat before, including WinterWonderGrass, and Morrison said the community always stands out.

“It’s special out there. People are joyful, they let loose and can really enjoy the music. It’s such a collaborative, symbiotic experience,” he said.

Both Hill and Morrison pointed to the unique role free community concerts play in bringing people together. 

“Tickets for shows are expensive, so people can be hesitant to jump into something they’re not familiar with,” Morrison said. “Any community that provides free music, no matter what it is, I think it’s awesome. It’s great for the community, it’s great for the band. If the crowd is stoked, the band is stoked, and it just kind of pumps the whole thing up.”

For Hill, the chance to play at Steamboat Square feels like a continuation of the warm reception Magoo received at WinterWonderGrass.

“We were blown away. The folks in Steamboat welcomed us with open arms,” he said.

For more information on the Stranahan’s Summer Concert Series, visit Steamboat.com/things-to-do/events/stranahans-free-summer-concert-series-august-30. Additional details on the Steamboat Free Summer Concerts can be found at KeepInItFree.com.