YOUR AD HERE »

Strolling Scones plan to ‘rock the Radio Room’ in Grand Junction June 7

Sharon Sullivan
ssullivan@gjfreepress.com
Courtesy Photo
Staff Photo |

GO&DO

WHAT: The Strolling Scones with guest David Snider on keyboards

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Fri., June 7

WHERE: The Radio Room, 1310 Ute Ave.

COST: $15

INFO: 970-241-8801, ext. 223, or http://www.kafmradio.org

Imagine a band reminiscent of the late 1960s singing original lyrics written for today’s era.

“Our sound is contemporary, but has a ’60s sort of melody, harmony and psychedelic tone,” said Helen Highwater, co-founder of the Strolling Scones.

In 2005, Highwater, who sings and plays bass, formed the Strolling Scones with fellow musician Rick Stockton, who plays both guitar and banjo and also sings. Since then, the group has performed regularly throughout Colorado and neighboring states, as well as a Texas tour. They’ve opened for legendary ’60s rocker Joe Cocker.



Harry Knipe plays drums, and for an upcoming Grand Junction show, special guest keyboard player David Snider will join the band.

The Strolling Scones are set to perform Friday, June 7, in the Radio Room, 1310 Ute Ave.



While the group records and performs mostly original material, one of their CDs “2 Vegans” is a 2009 recording of covers of songs that were played on the radio in 1967.

“It’s a tribute to the year 1967,” Highwater said. “Some (songs) are well-known, some obscure. It’s a lot of great songs.”

The name “2 Vegans” is kind of a spoof on the title “Two Virgins” — the first album Yoko Ono and John Lennon put out in 1968, Highwater said. “2 Vegans” features songs from that album, she added.

“We record all on analog, so we can do things you can’t do on digital — it gives it a vintage sound,” Highwater said.

They’ve recorded five CDs with their newest titled “Ripples Across the Pond,” an album of all original tunes, except for one Paul Simon song.

Highwater and Stockton were originally part of a trio called “Three in the Morning.” The Blue Sage Center for the Arts in Paonia hired the band to play a New Year’s Eve gig and requested a ’60s-type show.

“They wanted a fictitious British band,” and thus, the Strolling Scones was born.

For the New Year’s show, the band wore wigs and costumes and created a story about a band that became accidentally frozen during a 1969 American tour, then cryogenically comes back to today’s world.

“It went so well, we kept doing it,” for awhile, Highwater said.

New York playwright L.E. McCullough discovered the group’s website and said, “This has to be a play,” Highwater said.

“We said, ‘Sure.’ He wrote the script and Rick wrote the music.”

“It’s great; it’s funny,” Highwater said. “It starts when the band is thawed and follows them as they adjust to the new millennium.”

The musical, “Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s the Strolling Scones!,” is set for production in 2014.

The Strolling Scones are no longer a fictitious British band — members play as themselves.

Although they’ve performed at the former Boomers and in the Roper Music Ballroom, it will be the first time the band has played in the Radio Room.

“We plan to rock it,” Highwater said. “We usually have people dancing. We take our music seriously, but not ourselves.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.