Clay Street Unit

americana · bluegrass · folk

Clay Street Unit is a Denver, Colorado band formed in 2021 that blends bluegrass, folk, Americana and country into what it calls Rocky Mountain newgrass with southern soul. The six-piece features Sam Walker on vocals and guitar, Scottie Bolin on mandolin and vocals, Jack Cline on banjo, Brad Larrison on pedal steel, Brendan Lamb on drums and Jack Kotarba on bass, with fiddler Dan Andree touring alongside them. The members converged on Denver from Alabama, Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Illinois, and the band describes its music as Appalachian and southern string-band tradition rerouted through a western sensibility. Its first release, the EP A Mighty Fine Evening, was recorded in roughly three hours and issued in 2022, and the group built an audience through Denver rooms including Cervantes before moving out to bluegrass and folk festivals and country venues nationally. Its full-length debut, Sin & Squalor, was produced and recorded by Chris Pandolfi of the Infamous Stringdusters and released on 17 February 2026 through Leo33. The eleven songs were written to capture the band's live set, leaning on mandolin, pedal steel and banjo behind Walker's unpolished lead vocal, and the album drew reviews from Rolling Stone, Americana UK and the Bluegrass Situation among others. Release week paired a sold-out show at the Basement East in Nashville on 14 February 2026 with the band's Grand Ole Opry debut on release day. Onstage the group runs loud for an acoustic-leaning band, with Walker describing the aim simply as throwing a party, and the pedal steel and drums push the sound further toward honky-tonk than a conventional bluegrass lineup would allow.

Subscribe to this calendar

Upcoming shows in Tennessee

Where they play in Tennessee

Shared bills in Tennessee

Past shows in Colorado

Where they play in Colorado

Shared bills in Colorado