Fort Collins-based folk and bluegrass group Friendly Reminders stopped by the KGNU studio for a live session and conversation with Dave McIntyre. The band shared stories about their songwriting influences, their self-titled debut album, and their blend of bluegrass, folk, punk, and indie inspirations before performing several original songs live in studio such as “Fruit Song,” “Rabbit’s Pace,” and “Cockroach.”.
Friendly Reminders will perform at Swallow Hill Music in Denver on Saturday, May 30th, and they’re also slated to appear at SnowyGrass in July, 2026 — a festival proudly sponsored by KGNU (Air Date 5/29/2026).
Listen to the studio session here:
Transcript:
Dave McInytre: Our option, we have some guests in the studio with us this morning, Friendly Reminders. I’m sure there’s a story behind that name, Tyler.
Friendly Reminders: Yeah, definitely. John Magney is my neighbor across the alley behind me, and we actually played with The Grocery Store at Washington’s. We played a Hank Williams song with John Magney, and it was just great. That night was so fun.
Dave McInytre: John’s a great player. Great guy.
Friendly Reminders: He is. He’s a force to be reckoned with. Friendly Reminders is a bit of a nod to my intention in songwriting and the artists who influenced me to write in service to the listener.
Dave McInytre: You’ve just put out an album, is that right?
Friendly Reminders: Yeah, a little while ago. It’s a self-titled album. We’ve got a website, friendlyremindersmusic.com, where people can find it.
Dave McInytre: Probably where your upcoming shows are listed too?
Friendly Reminders: Yes, sir. One of them is tomorrow at Swallow Hill Music in Denver. It’ll be a sensory-friendly event at 11:00 AM with lower PA volume and softer lighting for folks who are more sensitive to loud environments. There’ll be a big dancing circle, and we’ll play some bluegrass.
Dave McInytre: Tell us more about the sensory-friendly aspect. Is that mostly younger kids with autism?
Friendly Reminders: I imagine there’ll be a variety of folks from the community — definitely people with autism, probably older folks too. At this point, I sometimes find myself at concerts thinking, “Can we turn this down?” So I think it’ll just be a more relaxed environment. The lights won’t be intense, probably just the house lights on, and it’ll be a chill morning. We love playing right after people have had coffee.
Dave McInytre: What time and where again?
Friendly Reminders: 11:00 AM at Swallow Hill Music in Denver. The link’s on our website too. We’re really excited about it.
Dave McInytre: I noticed you recorded your CD at Swingfingers Studio.
Friendly Reminders: We sure did, with Aaron Youngberg. Eric Smith handled engineering and mixing, and it was a great experience.
Dave McInytre: Aaron’s got a great studio up there.
Friendly Reminders: He definitely does. It’s like a spaceship in the mountains.
Dave McInytre: He’s done a lot of great work out of there. What are you going to play for us?
Friendly Reminders: We’ve got some original tunes. We’ll start with a song from the album. It’s about traveling overseas seven years ago. I was doing a work-share program, staying at someone’s house and helping pick fruit. The song is called “Fruit Song.” It’s about longing for a love you haven’t met yet. Now I’m on the other side of it — I’m engaged to that lady, and she’ll actually be playing with us tomorrow at Swallow Hill.
Dave McInytre: Great.
Friendly Reminders: This song is called “Fruit Song.”
Dave McInytre: Nice. Very nice. Friendly Reminders from Fort Collins. Fort Collins is becoming quite a music town, isn’t it?
Friendly Reminders: It really is. There’s an intention behind that. Big shout out to Pat Stryker. I’ve heard she’s intentionally trying to make Fort Collins like Austin in its heyday. It’s such a cool place to live as a musician. For a lot of my life playing punk rock, the energy was often, “Take that somewhere else.” Fort Collins is the opposite of that feeling.
Dave McInytre: She’s been donating money to music for a long time.
Friendly Reminders: She has, and it’s really cool.
Dave McInytre: What do you listen to when you’re listening to music?
Friendly Reminders: A big range for both of us. We listen to a lot of bluegrass and enjoy playing it too. There’s also a strong folk influence.
Friendly Reminders: I spend a lot of time listening to old bluegrass music, but this band also draws influence from artists like Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens, and Adrianne Lenker. Bluegrass adds this tactile movement and communal language to folk music. I’ve also always listened to rap, punk rock, and ska.
Dave McInytre: What changed your listening habits when you moved toward acoustic music?
Friendly Reminders: There’s something about the gallop rhythm in punk rock that I’ve always been addicted to, and that same feeling exists in bluegrass. Without drums, everyone’s right hand has to create the rhythm while also playing melodies. There’s something ancient and addictive about that syncopated engine sound. I’m originally a drummer, so I love drums, but I became fascinated with figuring out how to create that energy without them.
Dave McInytre: Well, that’s bluegrass.
Friendly Reminders: Yes, sir.
Dave McInytre: Some bands bring percussion into it, but not many.
Friendly Reminders: Some bands pull it off really well. Our friends Tonewood do a great job with that. Their cajón player has amazing technique and an incredible voice. It creates infrastructure without overpowering the mandolin chop.
Dave McInytre: Got another song for us?
Friendly Reminders: Yeah. We’re going to play a song about traveling from North Carolina to Colorado. It’s called “Rabbit’s Pace.” Again, all our music and show dates are at friendlyremindersmusic.com.
Dave McInytre: So are you from North Carolina?
Friendly Reminders: No, I’m actually from Wisconsin, but I did live in North Carolina for a little bit.
Dave McInytre: Meg, where are you from?
Meg: I’m from Denver. I grew up there, lived in Fort Collins for a long time, and now I’m back in Denver. We’ve got a good spot there, and my family’s there, but I still love coming up to Fort Collins and Boulder.
Dave McInytre: Do you ever come to the bluegrass jam in Lyons?
Meg: Yeah, our buddy Tom Knowlton hosts one up there.
Dave McInytre: That’s different from the one at Oskar Blues. That’s been running for 25 years.
Meg: Wow.
Dave McInytre: Tuesday nights, 6:00 to 8:00.
Friendly Reminders: I didn’t know that. We’ve got to get up there for that one.
Meg: Tuesdays are usually free for me.
Friendly Reminders: That’s a good day to pick.
Dave McInytre: Again, Friendly Reminders, folks. Friendlyremindersmusic.com.
Meg: We’re also excited about a festival near Estes called SnowyGrass. I believe it’s July 17th.
Friendly Reminders: It’s put together by Nadine, and there are going to be awesome bands there — Silas Herman, The Gasoline Lollipops, and many more. It’s a really fun growing festival.
Dave McInytre: How about one more short one?
Friendly Reminders: Sounds good. This is a bluegrass tune called “Cockroach.” I wrote it while living in North Carolina and working at a lumberyard. Thank you so much for having us.
Dave McInytre: We’re moving downtown Boulder soon.
Friendly Reminders: Nice. Congrats on the move.
Dave McInytre: Thanks.
Friendly Reminders: All right. One, two, three, four.
Dave McInytre: All right. That’s fun.
Friendly Reminders: Thank you, sir.
Dave McInytre: “No stinking roach can play like me.” I like that.
Friendly Reminders: But we’re both still going to kick the bucket eventually, so we’re the same that way.
Dave McInytre: Yep. Friendly Reminders from Fort Collins. Check them out at friendlyremindersmusic.com and support live music. Thanks, you guys.
Friendly Reminders: Thank you so much for having us.
Dave McInytre: Thanks for being here. Have a great rest of the day.
