Mountain Standard Time is not your average small-town band.
The Colorado-based band is not bound to a specific genre, though they build their music off a bluegrass style. Instead, Mountain Standard Time coins the term “Rocky Mountain Free Grass” to best describe their music.
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“A typical Mountain Standard Time show starts at an upbeat tempo and stays that way the entire show,” said Fallon Anderson, a fan who has followed the band for about five years. “They really define their own genre, so you can’t call it bluegrass really.”
The band is a blend of jazz, latin, funk and electric bass. They build off the traditional bluegrass sound and add their own style to it.
According to band member Nick Dunbar, their music is influenced from living up in the mountains and from traveling. Several members, including Nick, play the mandolin and guitar.
“It comes from the show, comes from the heart. Music chooses you. I feel like it’s a part of me,” Dunbar said. “We are all very emotional players. We like to feed off the crowd.”
Mountain Standard Time officially formed as a band nearly a year and a half ago and have played at Hodi’s Half Note many times.
According to Fallon, sometimes the band mixes things up by trading instruments. Each show is a little different from the last.
“Music brings people together,” Fallon said. “Mountain Standard Time is a local band … it makes you feel proud a little bit. I think that the fan base is really supportive.”
Mountain Standard Time originates from Nederland, a Front Range town. The group has done extensive travel, performing in the midwest and the southeast. Wherever they go, there is a strong community to support them.
“The people that have followed this band is a family,” Fallon said. “I’ve seen them thousands of times.”
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In the words of Stanton Sutton, another band member, the fans played a key role in picking out the band’s name.
“We early-on put a recording up on the discussion board,” Sutton said. “Mountain Standard Time was one of the suggestions. We put [the names] on a board and circled the ones we liked. The fans pretty much handed it to us.”
The group is excited to have Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth to join them for the “Mardi Grass” performance.
Mountain Standard Time hits Hodi’s Half Note Sunday at 8:00 p.m., promising a show that isn’t to be missed.
“Tons of great energy, always packed,” Dunbar said. “Fort Collins has its fair share of great ragers, that’s for sure.”
Pre-sale tickets are $12 and $15 on the day of the show (+$5 if under 21).
Collegian Entertainment Reporter Anna Groeling can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.
