Courtesy Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard
Audio By Carbonatix
When Nitty Gritty Dirt Band plays its last shows of its final run in Colorado this month, the Americana legends will have come full circle after sixty years.
“We call it our ancestral home. In our hearts, Colorado is our home,” says longtime keys player Bob Carpenter.
Carpenter caught on with the Dirt Band in the 1970s while living in Aspen, where he met bandmates Jeff Hanna and Jimmie Fadden, who had moved from Southern California to the Rockies in the early ’70s after starting the group in 1966.
“We lived in Colorado for, like, eight, nine years,” Carpenter continues. “At that time, Colorado, and especially Aspen, which was like a little tiny ski town and didn’t have all the wealth that it has now, had great places to play music.”
Nightlife back then often included impromptu sets or runs-in with the likes of regular visitors the Eagles; Dan Fogelberg, who lived down in Pagosa Springs; or Aspen’s John Denver.
Run-ins with Hunter S. Thompson
MCA Nashville
“People would just go out at night, walk around the clubs and play with each other. It was absolutely Camelot,” Carpenter shares. “Then you’d go out afterwards and sit in a hot tub or have a drink, get up the next morning and ski, then you’d rinse and repeat every day. It was just an unbelievable place to play music. It was just totally beautiful and insane. ”
Sometimes then-bassist Jimmy Ibbotson’s next-door neighbor in Woody Creek, gonzo journalist and failed Pitkin County sheriff Hunter S. Thompson, would wake them up earlier than expected.
“He was crazy. He used to show up at Ibbie’s house when the sun was coming up at 6 a.m. with two naked girls in the back of his convertible car with his shotgun in the front seat,” Carpenter recalls with a laugh, confirming all the stories about Thompson’s Aspen shenanigans. “They’re all totally true.”
At home in Colorado
That’s what immediately comes to mind when he thinks of Colorado now, but the Dirt Band made a name for itself out here, too, recording in Nederland and finding inspiration in its adopted digs. “Ripplin’ Waters” and “Sarah In The Summer” are two such songs. Plus, they’ve played all over the state several times over in the past six decades, including headlining Red Rocks and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
Courtesy Madison Thorn
“Our roots are really, really deep probably more in Colorado than anywhere else because that was our formative years of doing some really good work musically,” Carpenter says.
But the next two concerts — Tues., June 16, at Dillon Amphitheater and Thur., June 18, at Mission Ballroom — are set to be the last visit, as the Dirt Band announced a proper farewell tour and taking a break from the rigors of the road. Molly Tuttle is supporting both nights; Alison Brown will also be at the Mission .
“We deserve a break and we’re going to take one right now,” Carpenter explains. “We’re just trying to enjoy it as much as we can. We’re making jokes now about how this is the last time we’re going to be delayed and this the last free piece of cheesecake backstage.”
Photo by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard
“It’s time”
While the setlist incorporates its genre-defining, award-winning career, there’s also some new material from the last year’s EP, “Night After Night.”
“Who do you know that does a farewell tour and does a brand-new song? Nobody. That’s us because we do stuff that nobody else does. It makes no sense,” Carpenter says.
But that’s been the charm of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band all these years — it didn’t matter what they were playing — Americana, country, folk, rock — it resonated. Carpenter, Hanna and Fadden are good for one more run now. Guitarist Jaime Hanna (Jeff’s son), bassist Jim Photoglo and fiddler Ross Holmes are joining them, too. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be hearing or seeing the last of the Dirt Band.
“It’s time. Who does this for sixty years? Nobody. We’ve left no money on the table, and we’ve been so fortunate and it’s just time to step back,” Carpenter concludes. “It’s a strange mindset, we don’t look too far ahead, we’ve never had. We’ll see what happens in the future, but I’m not saying we’re never going to appear together and play.”
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with Molly Tuttle, 7p.m. Tuesday, June 16, Dillon Amphitheater, 135 West Lodgepole St., and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18, Mission Ballroom 4242 Wynkoop St. Tickets are $48-$100.
