Open Road

Open Road goes for a lucky drive (Jul 2005)

For an up-and-coming young band in any genre of music, the imminent release of a new album is always an exciting time, and when it coincides with the opportunity to appear at a legendary venue, then life is very good indeed. It's a Thursday evening in late June, and Caleb Roberts, co-founder and mandolin player for the high-energy, traditionalist Colorado bluegrass outfit Open Road is speaking from backstage at the Ryman Auditorium, - the "Mother Church" of country music - only moments after their Opry debut and only a few days before the release of their third Rounder effort, "Lucky Drive."  ...

Open Road hits the road with changes (Jun 2004)

A lot has changed for Colorado-based bluegrass band Open Road since its Rounder Records 2002 debut, "Cold Wind." For starters, the response was enthusiastic from critics and public alike to the debut, setting the stage for their new disc "...in the life." And secondly, the quintet experienced a major shake up - three new members surfaced since the debut. Group co-founder and mandolinist Caleb Roberts says in a late May interview from his home in Lyons, Col. that the timing was right for a sophomore effort. "We wanted to have another recording because the time had certainly come since the last one," he says.  ...

A cold wind drives Open Road (Dec 2002)

The words "open road" have long been a metaphor for the promise of adventure just around the next bend, the thrill of new experiences and meeting new people. For Open Road, the latest in a string of top-notch bluegrass bands to come out of Colorado, the summer and fall of 2002 have seen not only their first East Coast tour, where they played to enthusiastic crowds at the major Labor Day festivals in New Jersey and Maine, but also the release of their first nationally distributed recording, "Cold Wind," on Boston-based Rounder Records.  ...