To hear Nick and Helen Forster tell it, etown is a humble extension of their ideals, a socially conscious radio show with an unmistakable message.
To etown’s thousands of fans, it’s a vibrant, powerful and diverse musical community – the progressive heir to “A Prairie Home Companion.” The Boulder-based show, celebrating its 15th year on National Public Radio, has ascended from a modest experiment to one of the country’s premiere broadcast programs.
“I grew up around Pete Seeger and watched him effectively create social and environmental change through music,” said co-founder Nick Forster. “I physically watched him do this from the time I was about 8 to 12 years old. So I believe in the power of music and community.”
The weekly show will continue to mark its 15th year with a taping Sunday at its home base Boulder Theater, featuring Dos Lobos (a rare duo appearance from Louie Pérez and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos) and singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne.
Pérez said etown merits special consideration, otherwise he and Hidalgo would have prefered to head home after their band’s current and lengthy tour.
“I’d much rather go into a mom-and-pop store than a huge corporate monster, where there’s just too much stuff,” said Pérez. “And with etown I think it’s maintained its integrity even though it’s gotten bigger. They were in the trenches talking about environmental and social issues long before everyone else was shouting it from the mountaintop.”
Music legends James Taylor, David Crosby and Emmylou Harris have gone out of their way to appear on the nonprofit show. Big-name political figures like Jimmy Carter and Al Gore feel honored to receive the show’s attention and episode-ending “E-Chievement” awards.
Taped in front of a live audience and broadcast on more than 230 stations nationwide, etown is positioning itself for the 21st century. Podcasts are currently the most popular feature of etown.org, and discussions are underway to join the satellite radio and TV folds.
The blend of music and activism makes it attractive as pure content, let alone an intelligent, hour-long audio respite from the bloated, blaring distractions of most media channels.
“We are constantly looking to create compatible diversity on the show,” said Helen Forster. “We don’t want to just do all bluegrass or pop or jazz. We want to mix it up with musicians from Uganda or Steve Earle with Dar Williams.”
The Forsters not only run etown, they perform in the house band (The etones) and have a storied musical history between them. Nick is best known as a member of Hot Rize, the world-renowned Colorado-based bluegrass band. Helen, an accomplished actress and singer, and former co-owner of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, is the show’s primary writer and editor.
“Anytime anyone gets on a stage they have both a responsibility to their audience but also an opportunity to try to achieve something together,” Nick said. “I was lucky enough to be in a band that played to lots of people. I don’t want to minimize the impact of putting on a great show, but I had a sense that there was potential to have it be somehow more impactful.”
After witnessing the appalling environmental conditions during an Eastern European tour with Hot Rize, Nick was inspired to use music’s shared language to communicate change. Helen, of like mind due to courses she took and books she read on the environment, agreed.
“We just felt there had to be a different approach in the media to talk about challenges and possible solutions without it all being the 10 o’clock news, or who’s been murdered,” Helen said. “We talk about some pretty heavy-hitting subjects, but it’s not Pollyanna and it’s not depressing. We do the show with a lot of humor. It has this crisp aliveness to it.”
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
etown with Dos Lobos and Ray LaMontagne
RADIO SHOW| Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St.; 7 p.m., Sunday| $20, allages 303-786-7030 or boulder theater.com
Musical community
A look at some of etown’s more memorable shows from a list of hundreds.
April 22, 1991: Co-founders Nick and Helen Forster hold their first “global town meeting” with David Wilcox, the Subdudes and Maura O’Connell.
March 2, 1992: Emmylou Harris showed up to help tape an Earth Day broadcast for a sold-out crowd of 800.
May 31, 2000: The 8th “B’Earthday” show welcomed David Crosby, Graham Nash and Randy Newman, and presented an E-Chievement Award to anthropologist Jane Goodall.
Sept. 1, 2003: After 12 years, etown held its first “etown rocks” festival at Red Rocks with Barenaked Ladies, Keller Williams, Michelle Shocked and others.
Aug. 3, 2006: Under the night sky at Red Rocks, David Gray, Aimee Mann and Beth Orton celebrated the show’s 15th anniversary with a phone call from Al Gore.- John Wenzel
7more
STARLIGHT MINTS Bright synth-pop out of Oklahoma, these kids can play – and dance. See for yourself tonight at the Larimer Lounge.
SONYA KITCHELL With the single “Let Me Go,” Kitchell has tapped into that beach-roving Jack Johnson aesthetic. She’ll bring her laid-back vocals to the Walnut Room tonight.
RUSSIAN CIRCLES The hot instrumental trio from Chicago rails at Cervantes on Saturday.
WOLF EYES Wolf Eyes, which plays Saturday at the Hi-Dive, holds a special place in Denver rock history. If you were at the Ogden and/or Monkey Mania the last time they swung through town, you know the monstrous sounds this band can crank.
ALICE IN CHAINS They helped make grunge “grunge.” And they’re playing Monday at the Fillmore Auditorium with singer William DuVall in place of Layne Staley, who died in 2002.
RAY LAMONTAGNE The AAA radio-friendly singer with the velvety voice plays Monday at the Paramount.
VINCE GILL He’s country’s golden boy, again. Gill brings his new four-CD set to the Paramount on Tuesday.
– Ricardo Baca
