STEAMBOAT SPRINGS – Bevin Foley’s musical journey began at 7 ½ years old, when she first began practicing classical violin. “Performing with the violin is about reading sheet music people have written and playing in an orchestra – it’s very structured,” Foley says. “The fiddle is more of an oral tradition; there is a lot more room for improvisation and creativity with the fiddle.”

Foley is one of five members of Trout Steak Revival, a band composed of acoustic instruments; banjo, guitar, fiddle, bass and dobro create the sounds she describes as “a backyard campfire pick.”  “Our songs are quintessentially Americana; we are just writing stuff about our experiences,” Foley says.

Steve Foltz on mandolin and guitar, Casey Houlihan on bass, Will Koster on the dobro and guitar and Travis McNamara on the banjo join Foley and her fiddle in this energetic Colorado string band. 

“They’re a special group of guys – I’m not sure I could spend that much time with anyone else,” Foley says. “The best thing about our group is all five of us write the songs. If one of us gets writer’s block, there is a good chance someone else is working on a song. Having it be so collaborative helps out a lot.”

“A couple of us are reading ‘The Artist’s Way,’ which is all about cultivating your creativity and not allowing ourselves to get blocked,” Foley says. 

“We’re all thankful to be where we are right now. We are working to be creative individuals; our real responsibility is writing better songs and pushing ourselves.”

The band is touring full-time and accelerating. They won the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition and an Emmy Award for a soundtrack which they contributed to Rocky Mountain PBS. “We had some friends who started a new format of web series called ‘Great Ingredients,’” Foley says. “They put together all of these amazing 2 ½ minute episodes about organic food processes and farming in Colorado. They asked if they could use our music, and we said yeah! It was kind of a surprise; we were grateful to be lucky enough to be part of the series.”

Trout Steak Revival are no strangers to giving back to the community, spending some of their free time working with children in 303 Choir in Denver. “Their director, Travis, tries to bring professional musicians and bands that live locally in to work with his kids to help arrange songs, and the choir performs our songs with us in a concert. It is a really cool experience.”

Trout Steak Revival has performed in Steamboat Springs a number of times but this is the first time they’re playing WinterWonderGrass Steamboat. “Steamboat is kind of like a second home; we have so many friends there,” Foley says. “It’s like a family gathering when we go there. We can’t wait to see all of our friends, from the musicians that will be there that we’ve hung out with, gotten to know and played festivals with to the people of Steamboat and the WinterWonderGrass Festival staff who we have gotten to know and have grown close to. We’re excited to be a part of it.”

Trout Steak Revival will be playing the whole weekend of the sold out WinterWonderGrass Steamboat. For more information on the festival, "Grass After Dark" late night shows, lodging and ski passes, visit www.winterwondergrass.com

For more information on Trout Steak Revival visit www.troutsteak.com