Two Colorado-based, un-pigeonhole-able groups play a double bill offering borderless inspiration, positive vibes, and contemporary reimaginings of tradition.

The members of Elephant Revival—multi-instrumentalists Bonnie Paine, Sage Cook, Dango Rose, Daniel Rodriguez, and Bridget Law—call themselves neo-acoustic transcendental folk troubadours. With an all-encompassing approach to musical genres, the band creates a unique sound that is both unmistakably modern and soaked in all manner of tradition. Featuring selections from their new release, Break in the Clouds, the group threads together dynamic instrumentation, harmonious vocals, and a diverse rhythmic sound. Celtic fiddle tunes, original folk pieces, traditional ballads, psychedelic country, indie rock, reggae grooves, jazz standards, and an occasional hip-hop beat are harmoniously blended with lush vocals and thoughtful lyrics.

The merry band of acoustic explorers known as Taarka marries the new millennial, sonic adventures of David Tiller, Enion Pelta-Tiller, and Troy Robey. While the word "Taarka" means many things in many tongues to many peoples (from the word used in India for roast spices to the term from physics' Grand Unified Theory describing the vibration of strings of energy), the musical version Taarka refers to something allied with all of them: a vibrant, blended evolution of Western and Eastern folk traditions with jazz, rock, bluegrass, old-time, gypsy, Indian, and Celtic music. You can hear this on CDs like the recent Seed Gathering for a Winter Garden, but much better to see them live!

Visit Elephant Revival's website

Visit Taarka's website

Listen to tracks from Elephant Revival and Taarka: