The 5 Best Local Bands/Musicians Around Summit County

Live music takes on a different character at 9,000 feet. In Summit County, musicians draw from bluegrass, soul, rock, country, funk, classical music and other traditions, performing everywhere from neighborhood bars and ski areas to outdoor amphitheaters and concert halls. The result is a music community shaped by both the Colorado High Country and the varied backgrounds of the people who perform here. Through the Best of Summit, readers recognize the artists and ensembles contributing to the region’s sound on stages large and small.

Risky Strings

Risky Strings grew from late-night jam sessions in the local bluegrass community, turning a group of regular musical collaborators into a band. Guitarist, singer and songwriter Marly Lovett leads the group after years of performing that included winning the South Park Bluegrass Festival Troubadour Contest in 2024 at age 15. The lineup also features Nick Puglisi on five-string banjo, Brian Bala on bass and multi-instrumentalist Nick Beato on mandolin. Their backgrounds bring jazz, rock and other influences into a foundation of traditional and contemporary bluegrass. Since forming, Risky Strings has performed at venues and events that include Dillon Amphitheater and UllrGrass Music & Beer Festival, opened for musicians including Jeremy Garrett, Bill Nershi and Bonnie Sims and traveled on a cross-country tour. Original songs share the set with reworked arrangements, while close harmonies and acoustic picking remain central to the group’s sound.

Moonstone Quill

Moonstone Quill formed in Breckenridge in 2020 and developed a plugged-in Americana sound that crosses bluegrass, rock, jam and country. Mandolinist and vocalist Nate Spencer helped launch the group after using the early months of the pandemic to learn more than 120 songs, eventually picking up the mandolin and playing Moonstone Quill’s first show just five days later. Guitarist, harmonica player and vocalist Dan Shukis brings songwriting experience and influences that range from classic rock to traditional folk, while bassist Nick Beato found a musical home in Colorado’s bluegrass community. Pedal steel guitarist Ian Hunt rounds out the lineup with a background spanning classical guitar and voice as well as rock, funk, jam and jazz. Together, the musicians combine traditional string-band foundations with amplified instrumentation and modern experimentation, performing regularly around Summit County at ski areas, music halls, bars and other venues.

Sugarcane Nellie

Sugarcane Nellie centers its music on bluegrass and swing, two traditions that leave plenty of room for strong instrumental playing and distinctive arrangements. The Breckenridge group’s recorded repertoire reflects those roots through songs such as “Train That Carried My Girl From Town,” “My Window Faces the South” and “Big Black Train,” alongside “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke.” Rather than narrowing its identity to one branch of acoustic music, the band brings bluegrass and swing together as the foundation for its live performances. That approach fits naturally into Summit County’s music scene, where intimate venues and larger stages both give string-driven groups room to connect directly with audiences. Sugarcane Nellie has built its presence around that live experience, carrying an established American musical vocabulary into performances in the Colorado mountains.

Beau Thomas Band

Beau Thomas Band has brought soul to Summit County stages since forming in 2018. Beau Thomas handles lead vocals and guitar alongside bassist and vocalist Max Engelman, lead guitarist and vocalist Joel Lotito and drummer Ian Cummings. Soulful vocals and uptempo arrangements anchor the group, but its influences extend into R&B, underground hip-hop, blues, funk, rock, jam, folk and country. That range allows the musicians to reinterpret classic and contemporary songs while maintaining an original catalog of their own. The band recorded its “Clymo’s House” EP live in May 2020, including original tracks “The Ride,” “Up On You” and “Familiar Surprise.” Its recorded performances also show the breadth of the group’s source material, with interpretations of songs associated with Nina Simone, Amos Lee, Jack Johnson and Citizen Cope. The result is a dance-oriented live sound that draws from several corners of American popular music without abandoning its soul foundation.

National Repertory Orchestra

The National Repertory Orchestra brings 80 young professional musicians to Breckenridge each summer for an intensive eight-week festival that combines performance, training and community engagement. The organization began in Estes Park in 1960 as the Blue Jeans Symphony, moved to Keystone in 1987 under its current name and established its Breckenridge residency in 1993. Today, more than 800 musicians from conservatories, universities and graduate programs apply each year. Those selected receive full tuition, room and board while working through an extensive orchestral and chamber repertoire under Music Director Michael Stern and guest conductors. The musicians also take classical music beyond the concert hall. NRO presents more than 85 free community engagement events each summer in parks, libraries, classrooms, neighborhoods and other public spaces.

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