Americana Roots: Trout Steak Revival

Americana Roots highlights the freshest and most original Americana and bluegrass from across the pond in the US.  It covers everything from brand-new, just out of the box bands, to cult favourites, to established acts who have yet to reach the UK’s shores.  If the sound of the open highway, of a road-trip through the mountains with the windows down, with the wind blowing in your face, with the sun-shining on your hood was turned into a band it would sound like Trout Steak Revival.

Name: Trout Steak Revival.

For Fans Of: Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band, Infamous Stringdusters.

Hometown: Denver, Colorado, USA.

Band Members: Bevin Foley (Fiddle), Casey Houlihan (Upright Bass), William Koster (Guitar, Dobro), Travis McNamara (Banjo).

Website: https://troutsteak.com/

Discography: ‘Trout Steak Revival’ (2010), ‘Flight’ (2012), ‘Brighter Every Day’ (2015), ‘Spirit to the Sea’ (2017), ‘The Light We Bring’ (2020)

Background:  Since a bunch of hippies first came together in 1974 and started the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Colorado had proved to be a fertile breeding ground for progressive-bluegrass bands, as a multitude of forward thinking-groups including Hot Rize, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band, Elephant Revival, and countless others have emerged from the Rocky Mountains.  Trout Steak Revival’s win at the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival band contest in 2014 announced their arrival and secured their standing in Colorado’s long progressive-bluegrass legacy.

Trout Steak Revival formed when Casey Houlihan, Will Koster, and Travis McNamara first met at a summer camp in Michigan.  Shortly after the trio moved to Colorado and added Bevin Foley after opening for her band.  The addition of Foley helped solidify the band’s lineup and provided them a unique female voice in the often male dominated jamgrass scene.

Following the band’s win at the Telluride band contest, Trout Steak Revival has released five albums, including 2020’s stunning ‘The Light We Bring’ which was released in the midst of the pandemic of 2020.  In the middle of a year full of doom and gloom there was a brightness that emanated from the appropriately titled album, which was a beacon of joy with its infectious, lilting harmonies, and jaunty rhythms that bound through the darkness of the crazy year.

The strength of the band is their four songwriters who all contribute, allowing the their sound and music to truly reflect the band’s group personality.  Their songwriting features the group’s almost telepathic interplay, with lines and melodies weaving together with a powerful, beautiful, poise that is reflective of a band who is known for their impassioned live shows.

What They Do Live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ctbcKD5GQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZkQ5cq9ha8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcww58F0wX8

About Tim Newby 59 Articles
Author of books, writer of words, enjoyer of good times. Often found with a beer in hand and barefoot at a festival somewhere. Author of 'Bluegrass in Baltimore: The Hard Drivin' Sound & Its Legacy' (2015), 'Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! (2019). New book 'Pete Browning: The Life & Troubled Times of a Forgotten Legend' due out in 2023. Follow him on twitter @Tim_Newby9 .
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