How Fort Collins Musicians Association Built a Thriving Scene

Fort Collins is a hotbed for live music with a diverse collection of venues that host national touring acts and local bands. And the key to FoCo's thriving music scene is a unique grassroots music nonprofit that feeds and cultivates the area's love of music: the Fort Collins Musicians Association, or FoCoMA.

The organization officially launched in 2007. It was simply a means of “the right people at the right time,” according to co-founding member and board president Greta Cornett, who is considered the driving force, glue and spirit of FoCoMA. Cornett, a CSU graduate, has been heavily embedded in Fort Collins local music scene since the mid-90s, playing trumpet in the band 12 Cents for Marvin and volunteering as a host of KRFC's Live at Lunch show.

In the early 2000s, numerous Fort Collins music venues had closed for a variety of reasons, and local musicians were struggling for places to play. Many bands were displaced, with national acts often bumping them from the few spots at bars and theaters.

So Cornett, Peggy Lyle, Dennis Bigelow and numerous other local musicians began meeting to discuss how to support each other and the music community. Lyle, who is now FoCoMA’s executive director, was working as the event director for the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association. Bigelow, another co-founder and current board secretary, was the music director at Fort Collins indie radio station KRFC, which is where he met Cornett.

The musicians would have Sunday afternoon hangs at Route 34, a local bar and bike shop founded by two CSU grads. What began as simple conversations sharing knowledge about the industry eventually became more formal education panels, professional development programs that the association continues to this day. At Cornett’s suggestion, the spot added live music to its offerings, becoming a new venue for musicians to gather. Those Sunday afternoons discussing goals for FoCoMA "opened our eyes to so many different scenes,” Cornett reflects. “We have great music up here, but no one knew about it."
FoCoMA “was born out of a critical time in Fort Collins music history," Bigelow adds. With Road 34 as a central location, local musicians, businesses and promoters were quickly creating a blossoming community. "It was great to help musicians recognize each other," he says.

He helped to promote artist showcases and networking events through KRFC, which would air live music from the shows. “A ton of live music, such as an hour of Live at Lunch," he confirms. “It was amazing because people got a lot of exposure [to] local and touring musicians."

In 2008, a year into business, FoCoMA launched the Peer Awards, inspired by events in Denver that championed local artists. The first FoCo Peer Music Awards honored musicians working in various genres, such as Best Blues, Best Reggae/Ska and Best Hip-Hop. But when inaugural feedback showed that most of the voters weren’t aware of all the musicians – "That first year was pure DIY with handmade tickets and paper ballots for voting,” Bigelow recalls with a laugh – the group decided to make an even bigger platform.

"We should do a live music showcase the week before,” Bigelow remembers being told. “And that was the origin of FoCoMX, the Fort Collins Music Experiment."
In 2009, FoCoMA became an official nonprofit and debuted its annual music festival, which has become a major event: More than 400 bands will perform around downtown at this year’s FoCoMX, which happens April 18 to 19. The Peer Awards now take place at a different time; this year's ceremony was at the Armory on January 12. "We've learned so much and grown by being open to change, one of our strong suits,” Cornett says.

But FoCoMA isn’t just focused on its two annual affairs. As Lyle puts it, the organization is all about "caring and being responsive to the needs of the community."

Nearly twenty years after forming, the group is responsible for many happenings that maintain the Fort Collins music community. It hosts music trivia nights at the Lyric, and its 53:14 Music Video Experiment challenges local artists to expand their multimedia creativity. Its website includes a well-developed directory that is a music lover's source for the FoCo scene. There are also support programs such as InTune, which connects musicians with healthcare and mental health support, and Raise the Bar, which promotes safety and well-being training for bar and restaurant staff. Collaborations with CSU further tap into the built-in scene, connecting to the community of young music fans and bands.

All in all, FoCoMA has become “a family of musicians and music lovers,” Lyle says.

"It's a really special vibe in the town which the Association curates,” says J-Rock, a former music promoter who plays in the Rage Against the Machine tribute band Guerilla Radio. “We're all good in our individual talents, but FoCoMA curates a positive working environment where bands can learn about other genres."

Music scenes can be highly specialized and parochial, with many pockets but no cross-genre connections. But J-Rock says that's not the case in Fort Collins, where "we'd have some shows where country music fans hear a metal band, or vice versa, and think, 'Hey, these guys are pretty good.'"

When the pandemic hit, venues began closing again – echoing what prompted FoCoMA in the first place. The Association took the time to reframe and grow its mission. Talking to musicians one-on-one, the group learned many needs were still not being met. "That's when we decided to hire staff," Cornett recalls, "and be what we've always wanted to be, which is a year-round organization that provides services or connects people to services and each other." FoCoMA now holds a town hall every year, and last year, it worked with the city to designate April as Music Appreciation Month in Fort Collins.

“The key is connecting the dots and being in tune with what is happening on a statewide level," Cornett says, noting that there are great scenes across the state. “We all have the same challenges. We all have great musicians, and we should be talking together to create this great corridor for all Colorado musicians to travel up and down the Front Range. So much of what we want to do is not just as FoCo, but as a Colorado music scene. For us to grow, we have to share it, and we want it to be the whole state. That is what will allow this scene to thrive."

The fact that FoCoMA is still thriving off of its roots ethos “tells us our principles are correct,” Lyle adds. “As the ecosystem has changed, people continually step in to leverage new partnerships."

And FoCoMA presents plenty of opportunities for partnerships, fostering a more cohesive and collaborative community between businesses, sponsors, musicians, promoters and more. Lyle stresses that sponsorship is “a big part of” the Association’s events, especially FoCoMX. "We stand on the shoulders of the relationships we built eighteen years ago,” she says. “New Belgium, Odell, Bohemian Foundation, Organic Alternatives, the city of Fort Collins with its Fort Fund grants and more – they all help us grow and thrive. We wouldn't still be here if we didn't have good intentions and good results."

The Aggie Theatre, which hosted the inaugural Peer Awards, has also been a supporter since the beginning. "It's an amazing small grassroots movement,” says owner Scoo Leary of FoCoMA. “Here, it's artists helping artists, and we can foster it in our town."

"It's just special," agrees Lid Dixon, a local singer-songwriter. "Go to Austin or Philly or Chicago, and ask locals about their musicians organization. They'll have no idea what you're talking about."

Dixon, who began recording in the early 2000s, had taken a break from his music career before moving to Fort Collins, whose community he credits with reigniting his passion. "The music scene in Fort Collins has been a real inspiration,” he says. “During FoCoMX in 2022, I was really inspired to do more. FoCoMA is special. It ties us together, and I love it."

Lyle concludes, “What makes it special is not just our musicians. It's all the fans, the volunteers, the venues, the businesses that all work together. Most importantly, it comes from a place of caring and being relevant to the community, honoring ideas that come from our musicians."

Learn more about Fort Collins Music Association at focoma.org.