Two graduates from Roaring Fork High School (RFHS) who have gone on to study and perform music at a professional level return home in the coming weeks for gigs in the Carbondale area.
Zack Ritchie, who graduated from RFHS in 2014, plays drums with the Denver-based jam band River Spell and has a set Aug. 10 at The Black Nugget in Carbondale. The band heads back up the I-70 corridor on Aug. 23 for an appearance at the Down Valley Vibes Festival in Eagle.
Tyler Treadway donned the RFHS cap and gown in 2019 and returns to play a set with the Denver funk/soul/pop band Hand Turkey on Aug. 18 for the Back to School Bike Bash event at Coal Basin Ranch in Redstone.
A third RFHS graduate, Liam Laird, graced Mountain Fair’s main stage this year with a jazz set with his Way Out West jazz quintet. “I grew up going to the fair every summer and am excited for the opportunity to now be on the stage, adding to the atmosphere,” Laird stated on his Instagram feed prior to the performance. Laird graduated from Berklee College of Music and now lives in New York City.
These musicians say it’s special to play for hometown crowds and state they wouldn’t be the people they are today without their Carbondale music education, mentorship and experiences.
Ritchie says music is the means through which he engages with life. “It’s been my vehicle for expression, discovery, healing, connection, travel, joy, sadness, you name it,” he said. “Practicing instruments and performing with other musicians — that’s given me incredible opportunities and experiences that I don’t think I could’ve found any other way.”
Ritchie began playing music in sixth grade band class at Carbondale Middle School (CMS). While studying under CMS band director Mark Gray, whose nickname was Mean Ol’ Mr. Gray or “MOMG,” Ritchie got his first taste of the blues in a band Gray put together for students who wanted to jam after school.
“It was my first introduction to blues as a style and formed a lot of the musical vocabulary I have today. That band eventually led me to my first paid gig at Beer Works in 2012 with Mr. Gray’s band, Electric Lemon,” Ritchie said.
He started with trumpet but “gave up” after three months and switched to drums. Private lessons with Carbondale drummer Chris Goplerud followed and the drum set has been Ritchie’s lead instrument since. He went on to study at the University of Colorado at Boulder, earning a bachelor of music in jazz drum set. Ritchie plays in other Colorado bands, including the new wave rock band VCO; Nostal-jazz, which is a nine-piece jazz ensemble that covers the soundtracks of retro video games, TV theme songs, and blockbuster films; and a jazz quartet doing standards every Wednesday at the Jungle tiki bar in Boulder.
For the Aug. 10 Black Nugget gig, River Spell will perform heartfelt originals with elements of folk, rock, funk, psychedelic and bluegrass music. The set begins at 9pm.
Treadway shares the sentiment that music is a form of expression, commenting that it relieves stress, whether that’s through listening, composing, recording or performing it.
“To be able to perform is a great privilege,” he said. “It’s an escape from stress, an outlet for any excess emotion. Performing offers rare moments when I feel like I can truly focus on one thing. It’s like meditation. It’s been fun and really healthy for me.”
Treadway’s early interest in music led to private piano lessons in first grade with former elementary school teacher Amber Bate and then classical piano studies with Laurel Karlik Sheehan into his early teen years. Like Ritchie, Treadway played trumpet in the jazz band and extracurricular bands at CMS. As he continued into high school, Treadway returned to piano.
He is currently pursuing a degree in jazz and American improvised music with a focus in jazz piano performance at Metropolitan University of Denver. In August 2023, he joined Hand Turkey, a band whose mission is to “bring audiences high-energy, groove-centered tunes to get people movin’!” With backgrounds ranging from jazz composition to musical theater, the band members create a sound they describe as “a fresh take on classic funk, soul and pop.”
In addition to Hand Turkey, Treadway plays in the Stephen Lear blues rock band; the multi-instrumental jazz fusion duo Fats Blend; La Paloma jazz-adjacent quartet; and has booked solo gigs at venues such as Dazzle Denver.
Treadway’s pursuit of music was solidified through extracurricular jazz band, honors bands and opportunities with Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS). A defining moment was when Treadway was a sophomore at RFHS and made the highest band in the JAS District 8 Honor Band. The director was professional drummer Paul Romaine, whose energy, passion and enthusiasm were special, according to Treadway.
“We played the Charles Mingus tune ‘Better Get It In Your Soul,’ and it was a representation of that moment for me,” Treadway said. “That concert was one of those catalyst moments for music and my passion for it. It was that state when you’re performing and you’re in the moment and that’s the only thing that matters. It was the first time I felt something like that.”
JAS continues to support the Valley’s young musicians with school-based music programs, private lessons, instruments and extracurricular programming. Both Treadway and Ritchie acknowledge that JAS provided special experiences they didn’t fully understand the impact of at the time. Treadway recalls sitting in on small-group sessions with Jacob Collier, Jon Batiste and Cory Henry, among other internationally touring artists.
For Ritchie, it was a chance to play jazz and rock with other students and learn what it’d take to gig on a professional level. “Almost every single musical opportunity I’ve had was either directly or indirectly facilitated by the programs and mentorship provided by JAS,” Ritchie said.
