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The following is sponsored content by AEG Presents Rocky Mountains.
Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners relocated to Seattle when they started touring a few years ago, but the Colorado Springs-born band still carries the spirit of its home state everywhere it goes.
Formed a decade ago by friends Mitchell Cutts, Nic Haughn and Jakob Ervin during their high school years in the Springs, the group rose to newfound fame in 2024 when the song “Evergreen” went viral on TikTok. Although originally released seven years ago, the track cracked the Billboard Hot 100, racked up nearly half a billion Spotify streams and drew praise from artists like Caamp, who was featured on a re-recorded version.
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Propelled by the more recent momentum, Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners (now including bassist and synth player Dylan Schneider and lead guitarist Jack Shields) have released two albums this year — Colorado’s On Fire Again and No Silent Monks — and are currently on the North American leg of their Colorado’s On Fire Again Tour.
On Thursday, November 20, they’ll come home to play Mission Ballroom with Field Medic and The 502s, then host an after-party at Globe Hall. Says Cutts, the group’s lead singer, rhythm guitarist and pianist: “We have lived all around the world, but Colorado is our home, and we find that none of us can stay away from it for too long.”
Since the beginning, Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners have been inspired by their mountain roots. Their debut album, Rmcm, recorded in a closet under the stairs in Haughn’s home, was written by Cutts while on a cross-state backpacking trip.
“Our Colorado upbringing influences everything about our music. From writing the majority of the first album on a 300-mile hike along the Colorado Trail to creating Colorado’s On Fire Again, an album about the communities we grew up in and the wildfires that shaped them, you can find Colorado in every aspect of our discography,” confirms Cutts.
“Our proudest accomplishment as a band is actually about making an impact in our home state. Using Colorado’s On Fire Again as a fundraising platform, we donated all of our initial streaming and rollout proceeds from the record to raise over $30,000 total for six different wildfire councils across Colorado, and partnered with the National Forest Foundation to raise awareness on how important stewardship is in our state and our life.”
Cutts still visits family in Colorado often, but returning as an internationally touring band is a different story.
“Coming back as a touring band is kind of crazy. I was pretty involved in the Denver music scene in college, so to come and headline venues that I probably sent twenty cold emails to back in the day is surreal,” he admits. “It’s actually so trippy to tour the back rooms of these venues and see the inner workings, and to include people that I have seen countless shows at these venues with in doing so.”
Photo by Alex Berger
Beachy “folk orchestra” The 502s and emo-folk act Field Medic (the stage name of indie darling Kevin Patrick Sullivan) will open for Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners at their Mission Ballroom show. Cutts is a big fan of Field Medic, whom he started listening to during his “COVID year” of college.
“It was a very somber part of my life, and just the perfect time for me to connect with Kevin’s art and lyrics,” he recalls. “He is a huge inspiration to me as a songwriter and an absolute pleasure to have along for the entirety of our tour. What a dude!” The Coal Miners got acquainted with The 502s after appearing on several of the same festival lineups and were drawn to the Florida-based act’s infectious energy, he adds: “I’d say where RMCM gets a bit emo and ethereal, The 502s are joyful and triumphant. I think between these three bands, we really got most of the indie spectrum covered.”
Fans attending the Denver show can expect to hear old favorites like “Evergreen” in between selections from the band’s two 2025 projects.
“We can’t play Colorado without including songs from our first three albums we made in closets in Colorado Springs,” says Cutts. “That said, we’ve got some great material in our new records that we have sprinkled in to make this set really feel like our best work as a live band yet.”
Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners headline Mission Ballroom Thursday, November 20, at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $55 for the show and $13.75 for the Globe Hall after-party with DJ Willy Sunshine.
