Andy Carlson is one of those happy people whose positivity is contagious. He is a proud Northsider who truly loves and cares for his community. He shares this joy through his music. His love of the jam circle and the old-timey method of using one microphone with various musicians taking turns inspired him to found the “dad-grass” band, The Highland Ramblers. Their fun version of bluegrass and well-composed originals made them a staple in Northwest Denver for 16 years.

Now some of the members of that well-loved band have plugged their instruments in and morphed into a jam band called Highland Electric Co.  Andy shares how that all came to be and how music can cultivate community. Towards the end of our of chat, Andy sings and gives the backstory of the Highland Ramblers song, “Lyons” which has become the theme song for Colorado Soul Stories!

This episode was part of the Sunnyside Music Festival live recording so the audio is a bit inconsistent due to wind and background noise but it is a truly authentic sampling of the festival, with kids playing soccer next to us and little ones experimenting with slide whistles as we chat. At the beginning of this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with my former student and Andy’s daughter, Joy. And that’s what is super fun about the festival, you always run into someone you haven’t seen in awhile. Enjoy!