Spring Creek: rising band from Colorado

Spring Creek: Alex Johnstone (mandolin), Jessica Smith (bass), Taylor Sims (guitar), Chris Elliott (banjo)

This summer we'll welcome back the Bluegrass Patriots, the doyens of traditional bluegrass in Colorado, whose place in the favour of Irish fans dates from their appearance at the first Dunmore East festival in 1995 (thanks again, Gerry Madden). Colorado has continued to produce powerful and influential bands, and Spring Creek, formed five years ago, made a national name for themselves in 2007 by winning the band competitions at the Telluride and RockyGrass Festivals - the only group to win both in the same year. At present they have no firm plans to visit this side of the Atlantic...

After bringing out two independent albums, Rural & cosmic bluegrass and Lonesome way to go, Spring Creek signed with Rebel Records in 2008; their first CD on Rebel, Way up on a mountain, was released yesterday (5 May), and they are touring extensively in 2009 to promote it. The album blends traditional and innovative original material, and features award-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland on several tracks. In addition to their website, the band are on ReverbNation, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube.