Runaway Grooms Keep the Mountain Vibes Coming on New Release

"We all bring our gifts to the table when we're recording," says Zach Gilliam, bassist of Eagle-based jam band the Runaway Grooms. Gilliam and the rest of the group, who just dropped their third release, This Road, today, February 10, enthusiastically embrace the process of collaboration, making for a diverse sound rooted in funk, Southern rock, blues and other influences.
"We all live in Eagle now, which has a nice local vibe and is a tight-knit community," says Gilliam, who moved to the high country of Colorado from Nashville, Tennessee, in 2019. We moved here about a year ago; it's been great. We all met here in the Vail Valley, but at first we were spread out between Vail, Minturn, Avon and Eagle."

Gilliam says he and keyboardist Cody Scott joined the band in the fall of 2019, although the first iteration of the group had been going for about two or three years at that point.

"I started just before COVID hit," says Gilliam. "The band was a three-piece for a couple years here in the valley, doing a lot of breweries and bar gigs in the mountains. After Cody and I jumped in, we reassessed our goals and intentions as a band. Prior to that point, they had mostly been playing covers and a few originals at local spots, but they hadn't released any music. When we joined, the band started exploring touring, recording and all of that."

Gilliam says the Runaway Grooms had their colorful name right from the start, and that the sound the band makes reflects the moniker's playful nature.

"They were playing music together and just kind of jamming, and when Vail Brewing Company needed a band, Adam [Tobin] had been sitting on the name the Runaway Grooms to use as maybe a backup band [name] for a female vocalist," Gilliam explains. "But they just kind of came up with it so they'd have a name to play with, and then the name stuck. They had made a reputation for themselves in the mountains as a good-time, fun party band, where people could have a blast with small mountain-town vibes."

These days, the Grooms spend most of their gigging time on the road, cruising from the hills of Colorado to various points across the country.

"We play a few gigs from time to time [in Eagle], but primarily our shows are away on the road. We do maybe four gigs a year here. We're doing a tour this month that's mostly in Colorado. We're kicking off our new release with a show at Agave in Avon, then we head down to Denver with the Kyle Hollingsworth Band and Joel Cummins [keyboardist of Umphrey's McGee] at Cervantes' on Feburary 17. In March, we head to the West Coast, and then in April, we take it to the Southeast. We're also heading to Panama for a little bit in February, and we're lining up summer stuff, as well."

The Grooms cover a lot of ground stylistically. Gilliam, who is steeped in country music and the blues, says his bandmates — Scott, Tobin and Justin Bissett — all grew up on the music of the Grateful Dead, with some of their parents having followed the legendary jam band to Europe in 1972 for the Dead's fabled run of shows across the pond.

"I never really got into the jam scene until I started hanging out with these guys," Gilliam says. "One of the things I really appreciate about this project is that we don't restrict ourselves to categories. Good music is good music. As long as we're feeling it, we go for it. The new album is pretty eclectic. We have some blues influence on the title track, and then it drops out into a psychedelic space realm. Songs like 'Jenny' have a roots-rock and Southern-rock feel, but they also blend into a bit of that jam aspect."

The Runaway Grooms, whose members range in age from 29 to 33, played 98 shows in 2021 and ramped up to 120 shows the following year. With three albums of material out now, Gilliam says he and his bandmates aim to play between 80 to 90 percent original material at their live performances.

"We're passionate about the music we create and the community that supports us," Gilliam declares. "We're slowly and surely taking our mountain vibe to the rest of the country."

This Road is available on all major streaming platforms. See Runaway Grooms open for Kyle Hollingsworth and Joel Cummins at 8 p.m. Friday, February 17, Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, 2637 Welton Street. Tickets are $22.