When:November 16, 2018
Time:6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Cost: $20 // $25 DOS Plus Applicable Service Fees

Purchase Tickets


Join us at eTown Hall for an intimate evening of music with Ryan Montbleau!

Unlike eTown's Live Radio Show Tapings, our 'Homevibe & eTown present' series are uninterrupted full concerts that take place in eTown's solar-powered home in Boulder, CO, eTown Hall.


Doors at 6:00pm
Show at 6:30pm


Ryan Montbleau

Ryan Montbleau - eTown

Ryan Montbleau has been an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and bandleader for more than a decade, but with his new album I WAS JUST LEAVING, the New England-based artist has truly arrived. Contemplative and richly emotive, the album offers a glimpse into the often-lonesome life of the relentlessly traveling troubadour, a strikingly single-minded existence too often clouded by the blur of constant motion. Recorded at New Orleans’ Esplanade Studios over four days in January 2016 with producer Anders Osborne and engineer/mixer Mark Howard (known for his work with such icons as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Neil Young, and U2), the album marks Montbleau’s first full length release in the wake of a series of seismic personal shifts. Songs like “Bright Side” and the touching title track reveal a uniquely blessed artist who has truly found his voice, his gift for melody and craft fused with vision and a remarkably open-armed approach.

“There’s no part of this record that I am unsure of,” Montbleau says. “All the juice of the last fifteen years is in there. My humanity and my heart are on this record.”

Montbleau has been among America’s finest songwriters and performers, earning national attention and a fervent fan following with songs like “75 and Sunny” and his breakthrough cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” the latter a Spotify smash with total streams now in excess of 28 million.

After twelve years on the road Montbleau found himself at a crossroads in 2016. “Within a very short time, my world got flipped around. My partner was gone, my band of ten years was gone, my friends were all far away. The one thing I had was a career, because it turns out that was all I had worked on. When the dust settled, I realized I didn’t really have much of a home life.”

“I thought all along that I had been building a home but it turned out I was just leaving. That’s where the title of the song and the record came from. So many raw feelings were just aching through me at that point Eventually they vibrated out through the guitar, through singing. I had to sing these songs.”

An artist’s artist, Montbleau has collaborated with such diverse performers as Martin Sexton, Trombone Shorty, and Galactic. His association with Anders Osborne extends back to 2012 when the New Orleans-based singer/songwriter/guitarist played on Ryan’s Ben Ellman-produced FOR HIGHER alongside such fellow Big Easy icons as Ivan Neville and The Meters’ George Porter, Jr. Two years later, Anders and Ryan reconnected on the road backstage at a festival. The seeds were planted for a collaboration.

Montbleau’s guitar playing and vocals are both front and center on I WAS JUST LEAVING, with Osborne accompanying on drums, percussion, bass, guitar, and harmonica, each used simply and sparsely for maximum effect. Osborne and Howard built upon that same goal, creating space and capturing rawness by utilizing as many early takes as possible.

“Bright Side,” the album’s first single, is perhaps the song most emblematic of Montbleau’s growth as both a human being and artist. At once finely etched and strikingly direct, “Bright Side” is an ideal distillation of his approach to songwriting, balancing multiple shades of emotional nuance with a fearless, unfettered sentimentality that ultimately leads to a greater truth.

I WAS JUST LEAVING marks a singular milestone for Ryan Montbleau, the moment in which this exceptional singer, songwriter, and performer has blossomed into a fully matured artist.

“I’ve been planting these seeds for so long and it has all led up to this moment. It feels like finally the fruits of all my efforts are coming out. I’m still working hard but there’s an ease to what’s happening. I have a career that I’ve built, that I’ve earned. Now what’s fun is putting out the best music I can and seeing what happens.”



Andrew Sturtz

Andrew Sturtz - eTown

When singer/songwriter Andrew Sturtz isn’t playing folk, jazz and soul in local Boulder venues, he’s out on the festival circuit, bringing his potent voice to stages like the Riverlights Festival in South Bend, IN; The Traverse City Microbrew & Music Festival in Traverse City, MI; and ARISE Festival in Loveland, CO.

Since his first gigs at only 12 years old and recording an EP as a teenager, Andrew has captured audiences with his ability to shift seamlessly between soulful acoustic music and fronting bands from multiple genres. He often plays throughout Boulder, Colorado, at venues like eTown and the Laughing Goat and has also played notable venues in Denver like The Walnut Room and Swallow Hill where he opened for the Grammy nominated group, The Secret Sisters. His precise guitar grooves and seemingly limitless voice inspire comparisons to scene favorites such as Martin Sexton and Amos Lee, among others.

In addition to appearances and collaborations around the Boulder area, Andrew has an album in the works, due Spring 2019. You can find videos of his performances at www.sturtzmusic.com and samples of his recorded songs at www.soundcloud.com/sturtzmusic.


Dechen Hawk

Dechen Hawk - eTown

"Like Stevie Wonder and Jeff Buckley thrown in a blender." - Bryan Beller, Dethklok

Rocked to sleep as a child to Stevie Wonder, Dechen Hawk's music ranges from beautiful ballads to serious backbeat funk. Hawk's sound is a refreshing new addition to the Neo-Soul movement. Though musical his whole life, it wasn't until the death of his father at age 14, and the search for a way to express that loss, that Hawk found his calling as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. It was also at this time the Hawk was introduces to the music of Jeff Buckley, which influenced him heavily during this time of grief and musical exploration. Hawk's desire to create and express the joy and fragility of life has kept him busy for the past 24 years performing locally and internationally, sharing billings with such legends as Martin Sexton, Bruce Hornsby, Leon Russell, and the Fun Lovin' Criminals, as well as sharing the stage with members of The Motet, Big Gigantic, Juno What, Kyle Hollingsworth Band, The New Mastersounds, Euforquestra, Analog Sun, The pimps of Joytime, Punch Drunk Monkey Funk, Ty Burhoe, and Ron Miles. During this time Hawk has written hundreds of songs, released 7 albums, been in numerous bands, played the role of talent buyer for various venues. A 2009 graduate of Naropa University, Hawk studied with Bill Douglas, Art Lande, and Janet Feder.

"One impression you get from Hawk is that generosity is not just a courtesy; It's a business plan." P.J. Nutting - Boulder Weekly