Joanne Cole welcomes members of Colorado’s Groove Goddesses into the KGNU studio for a lively conversation about the band’s history, musical influences, and upcoming performances. The all-women ensemble shares how the group has evolved since its founding in 2005, blending blues, funk, soul, rock, R&B, and original music into a dynamic live show.
The band discusses its appearance at the Boulder Roots Music Project festival, highlights the creative work of its members both within and outside the group, and reflects on the collaborative spirit that has kept the Groove Goddesses going for two decades. Along the way, Joanne features music that has inspired the band, including selections from Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Sarah Vaughan, the Neville Brothers, Sam & Dave, and Louis Jordan (Air Date 7/17/26).
Listen to the interview here:
Transcript:
Joanne Cole: I have a gaggle of women in here, and one person transitioning through the room, so we’re taking pictures. These are the Groove Goddesses. I’d like everyone to introduce themselves, starting from my right.
Groove Goddess: I’m Jessica Rogalski.
Joanne Cole: Jessica, what instrument do you play?
Groove Goddess: I’m a vocalist.
Joanne Cole: There you go. You play the human voice.
Groove Goddess: That’s exactly right.
Groove Goddess: I’m Miranda Schreiber, and I tickle the ivories.
Groove Goddess: I’m Michelle Castillo. I sing and play guitar.
Groove Goddess: I’m Shonda Fry, and I’m a vocalist with the Groove Goddesses.
Joanne Cole: Before we go any farther, I’ll say this in front of everyone: no profanity. You can allude to anything you want, but no profanity.
Groove Goddess: Absolutely.
Joanne Cole: Miss Eve, how are you? Long time no see.
Groove Goddess: Good to see you again. I’m Eve. I play guitar, sing, and write songs.
Joanne Cole: Wonderful. And in the corner, Miss Kim.
Groove Goddess: My name is Kim Leonard. I play the Mississippi sax, formerly known as the harmonica.
Joanne Cole: The Mississippi sax, is it? And then the instigator.
Groove Goddess: The troublemaker. I’m Jodi Woodward on bass. We’re missing Cass Clayton tonight, and Shannon Spencer on drums, so we wanted to give them a shout-out. Seven out of nine isn’t bad. Thanks, everyone, for listening.
Joanne Cole: Keeping the testosterone down.
Groove Goddess: That’s right.
Joanne Cole: Have you all heard about Pete Hegseth’s newest idea?
Groove Goddess: Oh…
Joanne Cole: Maybe we can talk about that a little later.
Groove Goddess: I’m Alan Knight, and my pronoun is “these ones.” I’ve run sound for these guys a couple of times.
Joanne Cole: Collectively, here we have the Groove Goddesses. Thanks so much for coming in. Let’s talk about your upcoming show.
Groove Goddess: The upcoming show is at the Boulder Roots Music Project festival, which is really exciting. This is the second year of the event, August 27–29. They’re bringing in about 400 bands and some big headliners. The Groove Goddesses perform on Friday, August 28.
Joanne Cole: Great. People can find information online. They’re changing the name, aren’t they?
Groove Goddess: Yes, now it’s Boulder Roots.
Joanne Cole: That’s a whole other story. The venue has been around a long time on Pearl Street and brings in great music. I’m thrilled you’re playing there.
This is an all-female band, right?
Groove Goddess: One hundred percent.
Joanne Cole: Except for…
Groove Goddess: Alan does sound.
Joanne Cole: He married into the family.
Besides this show, I saw you have a website and perform around Colorado. Whose idea was it to start this group?
Groove Goddess: I may have started it, but many of us have been together for years. We started around 2005. At one point there were as many as 30 women playing together, and now we’ve settled into a fabulous group of nine. It’s been a great project that keeps growing through collaboration. It takes all of us to make it work.
Joanne Cole: It also takes the audience. I’m going to assume you mostly play blues?
Groove Goddess: No. We’re a real mix.
Groove Goddess: We play rock and roll, ’70s rock, funk, blues, and even a couple of country songs. It’s a mixed bag because we’re all very different personalities, and that comes across on stage.
Joanne Cole: So it’s an ensemble of nine.
Groove Goddess: Yes.
Joanne Cole: You’ll be at the festival on August 28. Earlier I asked you all about your musical influences, so I’m going to play some of those.
After the music break
Joanne Cole: We just heard a sampling of your influences. We started with Bonnie Raitt’s Love Me Like a Man, then Sam & Dave’s I Thank You, Susan Tedeschi’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, the Neville Brothers’ Voodoo, Louis Jordan’s Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens, and finally Sarah Vaughan’s version of Inner City Blues.
Michelle, Susan Tedeschi was your suggestion.
Groove Goddess: She combines two huge influences for me: Bob Dylan’s songwriting and Susan Tedeschi’s soulful voice.
Joanne Cole: Beautiful.
Kim, Sarah Vaughan was your choice. Why?
Groove Goddess: I heard her when I was very young. My dad is 99, so I grew up listening to older music. Horns were a big influence in my life. Her melodic voice and the way she blended jazz and blues really spoke to me. It still does.
Joanne Cole: And you perform Inner City Blues.
Groove Goddess: We do.
Joanne Cole: You won’t want to miss this group.
Happy anniversary to Jodi and Alan.
Groove Goddess: Thank you.
Joanne Cole: Miranda, were you classically trained, or did you jump straight into blues and pop?
Groove Goddess: I grew up studying both classical piano and jazz. I earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music composition, with my bachelor’s from Illinois State University and my master’s from the University of Illinois. Along the way I played in jazz bands and studied jazz piano, so I’ve had experience in both worlds.
Joanne Cole: Besides the Groove Goddesses, who else are you playing with?
Groove Goddess: I recently joined another band called Polyfang, although we’re changing the name. We’re recording an album of original music. I’ve also been writing my own material outside both groups.
Joanne Cole: As perhaps the youngest member of the band, what do you think of Denver’s music scene?
Groove Goddess: I think there’s still a lot for me to explore. I’m continuing to learn about the community, the culture, and the musicians here.
Joanne Cole: How can people find you?
Groove Goddess: Visit groovegoddesscolorado.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram as Groove Goddess Colorado.
Joanne Cole: Let’s go around one more time with names.
Groove Goddess: Jessica Rogalski.
Groove Goddess: Michelle Castillo.
Groove Goddess: Shonda Fry.
Groove Goddess: Kim Leonard.
Groove Goddess: I’m Jodi Woodward. We also have a show on November 1 at Nici’s.
I’d also like to point out that most of us have been nominated for or have won Colorado Blues Society awards. Shonda serves on the board of the Mile High Blues Society, and Kim serves with the Colorado Blues Society. Both organizations do a lot for musicians and always appreciate volunteers.
We also want to say hi to Cass Clayton and Shannon Spencer, who couldn’t be here today.
Most of us have our own musical projects as well, so check them out through our website.
Joanne Cole: It’s been wonderful meeting all of you. Thank you so much for coming in.
Groove Goddess: Thanks for having us.
Joanne Cole: Thank you for keeping the music alive. Thank you for being strong women and leading the way.
Don’t forget to catch the Groove Goddesses at the Boulder Roots Music Project festival at the end of August.
Groove Goddess: Thank you.
