How Clay Street Unit Became One of Colorado’s Top Newgrass Groups

It was a big win for the local scene last January when Clay Street Unit was signed to Monument Records, the Nashville label that was revived in 2017 and whose halcyon days included such signed artists as Dolly Parton and Kris Kristofferson. We even referenced the news in a Best of Denver award for the group last year. But then the label folded last April.

“It was kind of a shock…the balloon was a little deflated,” says Sam Walker (vocalist/guitarist). “I think being signed was great, but we were excited to release the record more than anything.”

Now that record is finally about to drop. Sin & Squalor will release on all platforms February 13 via LEO33, but Denver fans can check it out early at a listening party and show at Cervantes’ Other Side on Wednesday, January 28.

The band, which includes Scottie Bolin (mandolin/vocals), Jack Cline (banjo), Brad Larrison (pedal steel), Brendan Lamb (drums) and Jack Kotarba (bass), already had the tracks recorded for Sin & Squalor before signing to Monument. “We did it all on our own terms,” says Walker, “which is really cool and how we wanted to go about it for our first record. Our dear friend and mentor, the producer on this record, Chris Pandolfi, who plays banjo with the Infamous Stringdusters, he was the one who really worked one-to-one with us on that record.”

Walker, who was born in Montgomery, Alabama, only got into traditional bluegrass after moving to Denver about ten years ago. In 2020, he met Cline at Zuni Street Brewing, known for its live-bluegrass action, and the newfound friends jammed at Walker’s house on Clay Street before deciding to start the band. “I listened to bands like Greensky Bluegrass and the Stringdusters that were a little more modern takes on the classic stuff,” Walker recalls, “but when I met our banjo player, Jack Cline, who founded the band with me, he was really into all of that old-school bluegrass — Bill Monroe and Doc Watson. It opened a whole new world.”

Since Clay Street Unit formed, the members have worked tirelessly, touring and performing at breweries and venues, and their shows are only getting bigger: The band’s performed at Mission Ballroom, Red Rocks and more. In turn, it’s earned a large swath of faithful fans. “I think my favorite part about going to shows is seeing just how many different little pockets of people are there,” Walker says. “And it’s not just all bluegrass fans. They’re country fans, jam fans, a hodgepodge of people looking to have a good time.”

The band has also received acknowledgment from leaders in the bluegrass/newgrass movement, opening for Leftover Salmon and Kitchen Dwellers at Red Rocks last year. “It was a big moment for everybody,” Walker recalls, “to just feel the gravity of having the opportunity to get to play music on that stage, and all the more reason I want to work hard and get to come back. So we can’t wait to have the opportunity again this summer.”

You heard that right: This year, Clay Street Unit will be opening for the String Cheese Incident at the legendary venue on July 17. “They’re just such a killer band, a bunch of good dudes,” Walker says. Another milestone will be performing at the mainstage of WinterWonderGrass this year.

Bluegrass has a time-honored dichotomy between lyricism and sonics, in which uplifting rhythms contrast with introspective, lonesome poetry. And while you can’t technically call Clay Street Unit’s music pure bluegrass, it definitely strikes that same balance while looping in Americana, jam, rock and Appalachian folk influences. Sin & Squalor serves as a showcase for all of the above, with such singles as “Rollin'” referencing feelings of isolation and wide-open spaces before coming to a heightened crescendo.

“My grandparents grew up in Clay County, Alabama, and I grew up spending a lot of time right in that neck of the woods,” Walker says, adding that the geography inspired the country-tinged lyrics. “I was thinking about all the time I spent there, and I was going through a horrible breakup, and it was a way to express the way that life goes on, the seasons change. And you can really feel that out in the country; it’s not the same hustle and bustle every day. And you just realize that time goes on and people move on, and your life goes on.”

Each instrument shines through on the singles released so far, including a scintillating mandolin solo on “Drive.” The song stemmed from a jam session in Walker’s basement, where the band often rehearses. “I’d written this chorus, and we wanted something that was just simple and wasn’t overthought and made you listen too hard,” he says. “We kept coming back to ‘drive,’ and how simple and universal it is, and we started chiseling away at what we felt about it. We’d been on the road for a while before that song, and we were talking about the helplessness of not being able to be there with the person who supports you, but there’s also that element that you’re doing it for yourself and your bandmates. It’s that balance of that moment of urgency.”

Fans will be able to hear those songs and more live at Cervantes’ Other Side. “We couldn’t be more grateful that people care enough to buy our tickets,” Walker concludes. “It’s so much fun getting to play these amazing rooms all over Colorado, and we couldn’t do it if people didn’t care enough to show up. And we really appreciate them more than they know.”

Clay Street Unit, 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 28, Cervantes’ Other Side, 2637 Welton Street. Tickets are available at cervantesmasterpiece.com.