Duncan Coker | Spotlight

Boulder-based musician Duncan Coker released his first album in February of this year. Since then, he’s turned his one-man show into the Duncan Coker Band and begun touring around Colorado. We caught up with Coker to learn more about his inspirations, musical past, and where we might catch them live.

Coker was 15 when he got his first guitar, but his attraction to music came at an even younger age, “As a kid, my mom had a really cool vinyl record collection. Vinyl is kind of coming back. But back then, that’s [how you listened to music],” said Coker. He went on to list bands like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel as some artists he’d play on vinyl.

As his interest in music grew, he started playing in a garage band, “We did covers in highschool,” he reflected. Over the years, Coker has drawn inspiration from artists like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Graham Parsons. He grew up in South Carolina and New Jersey, where he absorbed the sounds around him.

“Then midlife kind of happens. Years go by,” he said. Coker’s life as a family man took precedence over music for many years. It wasn’t until he moved to Boulder that he began immersing himself in sound again. “I got exposed to a really welcoming community. There’s a lot of bluegrass here, which is great, but there are also other singer-songwriter circles,” he said.

In addition to finding a musical community, he began exploring educational opportunities at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons. “They have a song school that’s kind of famous. You’re really immersed in music and songwriting and get involved with a local songwriting circle here. All of that kind of got me to where I am now.”

Coker recorded the entire album in 2023, which is atypical for many small artists due to the sheer cost. Price ranges for single song productions can run anywhere from $500 to $5000 each, while a full length album can cost $10,000. This is one reason why many artists develop home recording studios and produce their records on their own. Fortunately, Coker found a supportive producer and recorded each song individually at Broadway Music Studios in Boulder before realizing he had enough content to release a full-length record.

Getting started was the easy part for Coker. He already had a vision. “I wanted to take [my songs] and bring them to life with a full band, including a rhythm section, and steel guitar.” All in all, the process took him about 10 months. Then, Coker decided that the next organic step would be to release the album.

The result is an Americana-style album with a “red dirt” sound. The red dirt sound originated in Oklahoma in the 80s. It blended Americana sounds with folk, country, rock, honky-tonk, and bluegrass, creating a conglomeration of sounds with roots in America’s South. Coker’s own take on the music style is largely upbeat. It seems to follow major chord progressions, and it often incorporates the steel guitar.

While much of Coker’s journey has been a solo one, Coker has always enjoyed working with other people and performing. But it wasn’t until he had an album release party in April this year that he started looking for a band. Eventually, he landed on a band of musicians that he really liked. “So, we just kept going,” he said. “Now we’re gigging in Denver, Boulder, and Longmont. It’s been really fun. I hope to record some more singles with this band in October for release early next year.”

The Duncan Coker Band will be touring locally over the next few months, but the show Coker is most excited about right now will be at Roots Music Project on November 16th.