Big Richard energy: Colorado bluegrass supergroup rides sold-out shows to Gothic Theatre

Colorado quartet Big Richard plays music that sounds at once traditional and fresh, ramming through decades of male-dominated songwriting with aggression and an urgency to smash the patriarchy.

And yet, the veritable supergroup — composed of some of the state’s most accomplished bluegrass and old-time artists — is fundamentally playful. Now, after a string of sold-out Colorado and touring shows, they’re coming to Denver for their first ticketed concert in the Mile High City.

“We wanted to do a Halloween show, so we’re going goth at the Gothic,” said Joy Adams, the group’s cellist who has played with Nathaniel Rateliff, Darol Anger and Half Pelican.

“We like doing dress-up themes,” said mandolinist Bonnie Sims, who has long performed as a duo with husband Taylor, racking up 150 million streams and signing to Columbia Records for the 2020 album “I See Red.”

Big Richard’s Friday, Oct. 28, concert at the Gothic Theatre is just one of many themed shows. Other dress-up concepts include Denim Demons, Stevie Nicks-vibes, Candy Corn Colors and Floral Feelings. Attendees are encouraged to follow suit.

“We did a gig in Cortez, which is quite a conservative town, and the theme was circumcised shorts, not (penises),” Sims said with a laugh.

Along with Adams and Sims, Big Richard boasts bassist and guitarist Emma Rose (Sound of Honey, Daniel Rodriguez, Whippoorwill) and fiddler Eve Panning (Lonesome Days, TEDx). The band’s airtight playing and soulful harmonies exude considerable warmth and wanderlust, but also a grit and confidence.

That passion is an extension of their sisterhood, according to Panning, as well as their dozens of combined side-gigs and decades of experience playing venues ranging from Gold Hill Inn to Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

“We have a lot of shared values,” she said. “We’ve all been playing music in a male-dominated scene for a long time, and we bonded over that. … It feels so special, talking about these experiences and validating them instead of brushing them aside.”

Getting skipped on stage for solos, battling assumptions that they’re a male musician’s girlfriend or wife, and being stopped by skeptical gatekeepers have been common experiences.

“It’s relentless,” Adams said. “I was pulling up to play the Black Mountain Family Reunion festival here in Colorado and was trying to get my artist credentials. The lady at the gate didn’t believe me. She was like, ‘Honey, are you playing in the band or are you just sleeping with someone in the band?’ I just stared at her as she tried to backtrack. ‘Oh, you must be the singer,’ she said. Nope!”

Colorado counts no shortage of nationally known strings players, but Big Richard’s big sounds are something different. Since forming, the neo-acoustic act has played a series of sold-out club shows — whether here or in Montana, Oregon and California — and national festival appearances. That’s due in part to the electrifying musicianship and audience response at their acclaimed set (and now, live album) at the 49th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June.

Telluride was a diverse affair, but not all festivals are so thoughtfully booked.

“Festivals often make their whole lineup and realize later on it’s completely men, so they’re like ‘Oh (crap), we need some women,’ ” Rose said. “That’s why Eve got the call to put together a lady group last year for this festival in Castle Rock, and she decided to make it this power (quartet).”

Big Richard’s days of playing 1,100-capacity Colorado concerts, as they will at Denver’s Gothic, seem numbered; the show was moved there from the 550-capacity Bluebird Theater due to ticket demand, according to the Colorado Sound.

The band will record its first proper studio album in January, adding more originals alongside their phalanx of covers (including, say, Britney Spears and Billie Eilish). Their Telluride set precedes them, but it’s their musical prowess that cements new super-fans.

“It’s exciting to see four women on stage with this kind of aggressive energy,” Rose said. “Someone saw our flier in a coffee shop in Oregon and drove five hours to our Portland show. They bought merch and took pictures with us, so something resonated.”

And the quartet’s stage presence never takes itself too seriously. See the women’s alter egos — Adams as SkiBoi HasBigBallz, Sims as Cowboy Daddy, Panning as Steve, and Rose as King Dreamy.

“Each of us identify with both our masculine and our feminine energy,” Sims said. “Not every man does that, but we found four ladies who are able to lean into those realities and bond over that.”

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