JAMIE LAMMERS
ROLLINSVILLE — Guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist Keith Murdock has experienced first-hand the close-knit community of the Colorado music scene. He cites it as a large motivator for new projects.
“There’s a lot of jams in Boulder and Boulder County, so you meet people,” says Murdock of the area, “and I think that’s how every bluegrass band around here starts. They meet at a bluegrass jam and get to know each other over a few weeks, and then they start a band.”
That’s how Murdock, Jon Sherman, and Jay Allen created the Orchard Creek Band. The group feels just as comfortable performing in private events as they do performing in local festivals and jams.
Murdock’s previous ensembles include the punk group Transistors, which opened for groups such as Talking Heads during its run, and multiple country units in Denver, particularly Steel Pennies. He embraced bluegrass for the first time after volunteering to play bluegrass guitar for an episcopal evening service.
“I was looking for gospel-ish songs,” recalls Murdock, “and I found all these bluegrass songs that are gospel, because bluegrass comes out of the Baptist tradition, and they have all these awesome songs.”
Learning more about bluegrass, his evening repertoire included The Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, The Louvin Brothers, and gospel-leaning material from Johnny Cash. He became so enamored with the style that he decided to start a full bluegrass band.
Jon Sherman has performed for over 40 years, embracing mandolin, guitar, and tenor banjo. He’s performed with artists including Big Paddy, Doug Kershaw, and The Zydeco Playboys, studied under Alan Munde and Joe Carr, and shared the stage with Natalie Maines and multiple original members of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
Initially learning in-the-moment at a jam in Lyons, Jay Allen quickly learned the upright bass, and he frequently plays fiddle tunes on the charango (Bolivian mandolin). He plays frequently with David Coile and with his wife Michelle, and currently also performs in the group Ragged Union.
Ultimately, the group’s shared passion for traditional bluegrass and country has become the foundation for their musical and personal connection. Murdock has seen that in his audiences, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Murdock recalls the reaction to one of his originals selling merch after a Steel Pennies performance in Keystone. “People came up and said, ‘Oh, we loved your song about South Dakota.’ Well, the song was about North Dakota, but I didn’t mind.
“I enjoyed the fact that it hadn’t just gone in one ear and out the other,” he continues. “If something made a big enough impact on them that they remember it… if it can be remembered and noted, that’s great.”
Orchard Creek Band will be performing at Howlin Wind Brewing and Blending, located at 51 A Main Street in Rollinsville, on Saturday, March 28th, 2026, starting at 4 p.m.