Down South Steamboat
10/02/2025 01:35PM ● By Sophie Dingle
Photo courtesy of Alan Duty.
It was an early start both literally and figuratively for local band Alan Duty and the Lost Rangers. The first time they played at Schmiggity’s they had to leave by 10 p.m. because they weren’t 21 yet. In 2019, Alan Duty, Ryan Hoffman and Darren Halik were a group of high schoolers from Steamboat Springs who wanted to play music, jam and hang out. That first early night at Schmiggity’s launched them into bigger dreams.
“We were not great,” Alan remembers fondly. “But they gave us a shot, and we loved it and it snowballed from there.” They scored more local gigs at places like The Press, Old Town Pub, and got a big break performing at the annual Free Summer Concert Series.
“I think for us, the coolest moment was the free concert series,” Alan says. “We all grew up going to that and when they asked us to open, it was pretty amazing. We knew so many people in the crowd, and we were one of the first bands created in Steamboat to ever play it.”
Another perk was opening for Cody Canada and The Departed, formerly known as Cross Canadian Ragweed. It was a band that Alan Duty and his lost rangers had all grown up listening to.
When the boys went off to separate colleges, they were undeterred by distance. They played at each other’s schools, making long road trips across the country. Alan attended Auburn University, where he picked up a bass player, Drew Turnipseed, for the band. The group wrote songs individually, shared them via zoom and worked on their own parts separately until they could reunite and practice together.
“It’s really fun and really interesting to get a text or email with a guitar riff in it and be like, ‘oh, I’ve got words for that,’ and then put it all together,” Alan says.
Always a writer, Alan finds inspiration in his experiences – like growing up in Steamboat. One of the band’s newer songs, “My Name,” was one that Alan wrote after leaving home for the first time, then returning. “There’s a lot of inspiration from the place I love and the place where I grew up,” he says.
Other times, their songs are rooted in storytelling. “Just Another Southern Heartbreak” tells the story of a man in Louisiana who kills someone over his wife. Woven into the song are Southern images like shrimp boats and swaying cypress trees.
Sometimes, it’s a group effort. Alan and Drew started “Cross Country Love” at Auburn together but couldn’t figure it out. When the band was back together in Steamboat for a show at Old Town Pub, Darren and Ryan worked on it and the song materialized three months after Alan and Drew had started on it.
In 2024, with a handful of gigs and songs under their collective belts, the band recorded their first album. “Nicotine and Daydreams” is nine songs and a mix of Southern rock, traditional jam band sound and acoustic folk songs. “For me, it goes back to the fact that everyone had different inspirations,” Alan says. “We’re working different jobs and going to different colleges, and we brought our experiences together and found common ground.”
But they didn’t do it on their own. Alan credits established Texas musicians like Cory Morrow and Pat Green for helping the band get their foot in the door. “Pat Green is one of the most influential people in my life,” Alan says. Sharing mutual friends in Texas, Alan met Pat in 2019. When Pat and his family started traveling to Steamboat more often, Alan and Pat formed a bond. “One night we ended up playing guitar together and he really liked some of the songs that I had written,” Alan says.
That’s how Alan ended up on the stage with Pat during Texas Music Fest, performing Pat’s song, “Wave on Wave,” with him. “I was so nervous, but it was amazing,” he says.
That moment was the pinnacle of Alan’s music career to date, but he knows there’s more to come. This summer, the band members have graduated from college, secured their first jobs and are setting their sights on album number two. “Our plan is to get settled and then continue to play and record as much as possible because we love it,” Alan says.
Five years ago, those three high schoolers from Steamboat never would have imagined that they’d be recording music. But a mix of determination and drive got them songs, gigs, an album and a future in the music industry.
“I think it all comes down to playing and trying to get your foot in the door,” Alan says. “It’s about being polite, asking for what you want, asking again ... and again and again. Being respectful. And not giving up."
It was an early start both literally and figuratively for local band Alan Duty and the Lost Rangers. The first time they played at Schmiggity’s they had to leave by 10 p.m. because they weren’t 21 yet. In 2019, Alan Duty, Ryan Hoffman and Darren Halik were a group of high schoolers from Steamboat Springs who wanted to play music, jam and hang out. That first early night at Schmiggity’s launched them into bigger dreams.
“We were not great,” Alan remembers fondly. “But they gave us a shot, and we loved it and it snowballed from there.” They scored more local gigs at places like The Press, Old Town Pub, and got a big break performing at the annual Free Summer Concert Series.
“I think for us, the coolest moment was the free concert series,” Alan says. “We all grew up going to that and when they asked us to open, it was pretty amazing. We knew so many people in the crowd, and we were one of the first bands created in Steamboat to ever play it.”
Another perk was opening for Cody Canada and The Departed, formerly known as Cross Canadian Ragweed. It was a band that Alan Duty and his lost rangers had all grown up listening to.
When the boys went off to separate colleges, they were undeterred by distance. They played at each other’s schools, making long road trips across the country. Alan attended Auburn University, where he picked up a bass player, Drew Turnipseed, for the band. The group wrote songs individually, shared them via zoom and worked on their own parts separately until they could reunite and practice together.
“It’s really fun and really interesting to get a text or email with a guitar riff in it and be like, ‘oh, I’ve got words for that,’ and then put it all together,” Alan says.
Always a writer, Alan finds inspiration in his experiences – like growing up in Steamboat. One of the band’s newer songs, “My Name,” was one that Alan wrote after leaving home for the first time, then returning. “There’s a lot of inspiration from the place I love and the place where I grew up,” he says.
Other times, their songs are rooted in storytelling. “Just Another Southern Heartbreak” tells the story of a man in Louisiana who kills someone over his wife. Woven into the song are Southern images like shrimp boats and swaying cypress trees.
Sometimes, it’s a group effort. Alan and Drew started “Cross Country Love” at Auburn together but couldn’t figure it out. When the band was back together in Steamboat for a show at Old Town Pub, Darren and Ryan worked on it and the song materialized three months after Alan and Drew had started on it.
In 2024, with a handful of gigs and songs under their collective belts, the band recorded their first album. “Nicotine and Daydreams” is nine songs and a mix of Southern rock, traditional jam band sound and acoustic folk songs. “For me, it goes back to the fact that everyone had different inspirations,” Alan says. “We’re working different jobs and going to different colleges, and we brought our experiences together and found common ground.”
But they didn’t do it on their own. Alan credits established Texas musicians like Cory Morrow and Pat Green for helping the band get their foot in the door. “Pat Green is one of the most influential people in my life,” Alan says. Sharing mutual friends in Texas, Alan met Pat in 2019. When Pat and his family started traveling to Steamboat more often, Alan and Pat formed a bond. “One night we ended up playing guitar together and he really liked some of the songs that I had written,” Alan says.
That’s how Alan ended up on the stage with Pat during Texas Music Fest, performing Pat’s song, “Wave on Wave,” with him. “I was so nervous, but it was amazing,” he says.
That moment was the pinnacle of Alan’s music career to date, but he knows there’s more to come. This summer, the band members have graduated from college, secured their first jobs and are setting their sights on album number two. “Our plan is to get settled and then continue to play and record as much as possible because we love it,” Alan says.
Five years ago, those three high schoolers from Steamboat never would have imagined that they’d be recording music. But a mix of determination and drive got them songs, gigs, an album and a future in the music industry.
“I think it all comes down to playing and trying to get your foot in the door,” Alan says. “It’s about being polite, asking for what you want, asking again ... and again and again. Being respectful. And not giving up."