The longtime friends in Churchill are on a mission

But it was winning the top honors with "Change" — an eerie and ethereal complaint driven by Kelly's haunting vocals, Richmond's explosive drums and Morter's understated mandolin lines — that propelled Churchill to the next level. "After we won," Richmond recalls, "they started testing it on the radio. They put it in rotation in March or April, right after we did our CD-release show at the Bluebird."

The band returns to the Bluebird this weekend for two back-to-back gigs, one of which is already sold out. "We'd had a hold at the Bluebird for the second night, but I don't think any of us expected to actually sell it out [the first night]," Bruns admits. "It happened so much faster than any of us expected before we had to add the second night."

Steve Stanton

Churchill is a band on a mission.

Location Info

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Bluebird Theater

3317 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80218

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Central Denver

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Details

Churchill, with You Me and Apollo and JJ Matott and the Arctic, 8 p.m. Saturday, September 29 (sold out); with Barcelona and Navy, 8 p.m. Sunday, September 30, Bluebird Theater, 3317 East Colfax Avenue, $10-$15, 888-929-7849.

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More About

• Mike Morter
• Tim Bruns
• Joe Richmond
• Tyler Rima
• Bethany Kelly

With any luck, if not this time, then in the not-too-distant future, the group will be able to add two sold-out nights at the Bluebird to its growing list of accomplishments. And while they're at it, a certain bassist has some aspirations of his own that he'd like to see through.

"I've always used the band goal list to get me to new places that I've never been before," Rima explains. "Mine this year was to play a show internationally, play some concerts outside of the United States. There's a desire to grow the band, but from a personal perspective, there's the desire to see new places and experience new cultures."

Before any of that happens, though, there are still some items left on Churchill's initial list of goals — a roster spelled out in marker on a rough sheet of paper — that are unchecked, namely fervent wishes to someday headline a certain hallowed venue in the foothills. The humble ambitions obviously remain.