Bluegrass has become big business. The rise of Billy Strings is making pickers a hot commodity. But beyond the bright lights of the theaters and arenas there are the diligent musicians still out there creating fine music across this great land every night.

The Brothers Comatose have been honing their craft for audiences since 2009. Their style of string music is bubbling with energy and authenticity. The band is built on the foundation of brothers Ben and Alex Morrison whose family life and upbringing tend to find a way into the music. Over the years they have added a few more brothers with Greg Fleischut on violin, Steve Height on bass and Philip Brezina on fiddle.

The show began with The Rainbow Girls who burst onto the scene five years ago with their viral video covering the Alvin Robinson blues classic made famous by The Rolling Stones, “Down Home Girl.” Since then they’ve been working their way from busking on street corners to sharing the stage with Ani DiFranco. They have a dedicated following online who join for weekly streams, but their live performances are truly stunning. They currently have four studio albums out and have a new record, Welcome to Whatever set to be released in early December. They have a delicate picking style with beautiful harmonies and together their whispers into the mic become a roar. They performed “American Dream” along with a slew of new originals. Their set was short but oh so sweet. The next time they come to Fort Collins they will be headlining.

The theme song for Monday Night Football rang through the PA as The Brothers Comatose walked on stage. They took the cue and ripped right into a fiery “Pie For Breakfast.” During “Brothers” Phil who is rocking a walking cast got up and danced through his solo much to the delight of his bandmates. “Doing Things My Way” was written by Alex about a shitty boss named Ron. The lights built nicely but nothing crazy until they just blasted the room with white during “The Way the West Was Won.” Not sure why, but it was fun to see the room lit up a few times throughout the evening. They proceeded with into a moody rendition of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence.” The most striking thing about a Brothers Comatose show is how much fun they seem to be having on stage. It’s all smiles as they pass solos around like a football on a Sunday afternoon.

Ben informed us that “Trippin’ on Down” was about an LSD fueled experience in Telluride. Stay safe out there, those campgrounds are precarious at night. “The IPA Song’ is a brand new track about breaking up with powerful pale ales that have become too prominent on tour. They stripped it down to just the two brothers on Led Zeppelin’s “Going To California.” They seemed to pluck a singer out of the audience for “Morning Time.” Carol informed us she was from Atlanta, Georgia before giving us a heartfelt and genuine performance on the mic. Greg on mandolin kept it traditional with his version of Ralph Stanley’s “Little Maggie.” They just kept the vibe rolling all night with fans dancing feverishly throughout. They treated us to “Steel Driver” about both working hard and playing hard before they tapped the brakes with a sugary version of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.” It’s originally by The Zutons… the more you know. They closed their chunky set with a ripper entitled “The Scout.”

The Brothers Comatose returned for a three song encore starting heavy with The Ballad of Tommy Decker. Fingers sliding on electric strings acted as an alarm clock for the crowd that time was running out. They went into the outlaw tune “Top of the Trees,” before the Rainbow Girls reappeared to close the show down with Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” It was a sublime end to a stellar night of acoustic music.

Both The Rainbow Girls and The Brothers Comatose are both capable of mesmerizing a crowd. Beyond that they work hard and they care about the music they are putting out in the world. It’s no accident that these two groups are sharing a bill. It won’t be long before their accolades matches their work ethic. Until then I’m having pie for breakfast.

Live Recording – https://archive.org/details/bc2023-11-02.m60.flac16/broco2023-11-02t03.flac