The Runaway Grooms to kick off The Lincoln's Music Discovery Series

Apr. 18—As its members put it, 2020 was a complete scratch for The Runaway Grooms. Other than a few small, socially distanced shows and some livestreams, the Vail, Colorado-based rock band laid low throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But as venues started to reopen across the Rocky Mountain region at the start of 2021, the band jumped at the chance to play live again. The group's summer tour kicks off in June, but Cheyenne gets to hear the group rock out April 23 at The Lincoln — the first band to play at downtown's newest venue since October.

If you go

What: The Lincoln's Music Discovery Series Presents: The Runaway Grooms

When: Doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Friday, April 23

Where: The Lincoln, 1615 Central Ave.

Cost: $10

Phone: 307-369-6028

Online: www.thelincolncheyenne.com

"With warmer weather and vaccines, we've seen just a massive response across the country in demand for live music," said bassist/vocalist Zach Gilliam. "So there's opportunities that are coming up for us all over."

The bandmates admit it can be a little odd playing in venues with heavy restrictions right now, especially because The Runaway Grooms' sound is best enjoyed while dancing along, but some occasional disconcerting feelings are worth the rush of standing in front of a live audience again.

"They're not able to be as energetic and as vibing with the music as we're used to ... shaking their butts and dancing around freely," said guitarist/vocalist Adam Tobin. "With that said, though, everyone's been doing what they can to keep the vibe up and make lots of noise."

Like pre-pandemic, every venue is different. But what the musicians aren't used to is playing by such different rules on each stage. Some require the performers to wear masks throughout the show, and some don't even require the audience to wear masks.

The performer-audience relationship is symbiotic, Gilliam said. Musicians rely on the people who come to their shows to feed them energy. But he and his bandmates have been impressed by the audiences at several venues who make sure to cheer extra enthusiastically or clap extra loud to show their appreciation (especially while seated).

"It's kind of amazing," said keyboardist Cody Scott. "COVID has been tough. When something you're really passionate about — writing music with some of your best friends and showing that to people — it's exciting to know that this is starting to switch around again. Even though people might not be able to dance and rage, it's really cool showing somebody the art that we've got to create during this crazy time."

Most of the band came together to write as much music as possible in the early months of the shutdown, Tobin added, and in that period, a switch happened in the group's sound. Suddenly, The Runaway Grooms wasn't just a rock band anymore, it was a band with an eclectic festival feel that was begging to be heard.

It's not easy to take that amount of time off as a touring musician, Gilliam continued, but because he and his bandmates were forced to stop performing when it wasn't safe, they're coming out of this period with enough material to fill a sophomore album.

"You know, what does a band do, they gig, they play music for people," Tobin said. "In that regard, it definitely set us back. It's easy to get distracted when you don't have a schedule of gigs lined up. You've really got to be good at time management. But now that the ball is rolling again, it feels like we're back doing what we do."

This April 23 concert will be The Runaway Grooms' Cheyenne debut, though they were introduced to many Cheyenne music fans when they played at Bellvue, Colorado's The Mishawaka in August alongside Patti Fiasco, led by Encampment native (and Rock the Block and Fridays in the Asher veteran) Alysia Kraft.

Kraft is largely responsible for her band's large Cheyenne following, and interacting with some of the crowd at that summer show helped put Wyoming's capital city on the map for The Runaway Grooms as a music destination. Now, the group is pumped for its southeast Wyoming debut.

"They have to bring their dancing pants if they want to get in," percussionist Justin Bissett said of the April 23 show.

"We're definitely bringing our A game," Gilliam added.

Niki Kottmann is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's features editor. She can be reached at nkottmann@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3135. Follow her on Twitter at @niki_mariee.