I know I sound like a broken record sometimes, but I just feel so freakin’ lucky to be a part of the Colorado music scene and to have the opportunity to meet and get to know people like Michelle Flower Olson. It’s so incredible to watch my community members absolutely killing the game and self actualizing themselves through it - and it’s incredibly empowering to see that so many of them are badass females. I’ve been wanting to get to know Michelle, or Flower as she likes to be called, for quite a while. Luckily, after months of talking online and coordinating through the pandemic, we got to meet in person at Moe’s BBQ in Englewood at a show with The Buzz, Profetic Calaveras, and Matt Weiman Band last month. Flower is an inspiration to me, and she represents everything I strive for in the scene - to be a light guiding the way and elevating the entire community, to connect the human in each and every one of us, and to spill over with passion for the Colorado scene. Since then, I’ve been lucky to continue the conversation with Flower, and I’m beyond humbled to get to share this interview with her. Enjoy!

New Years Eve is going to look much different from normal this year - but there are forces at work on the quest to ring in 2021 with as much joy, excitement, and yes, music, as ever. One of those forces is ARISE Music Festival, who is throwing an online bash, complete with performances from Desert Dwellers, Magic Beans, Spectacle, and Melody Lines, live painting with Laura McGowan, poetry, interviews, and more. Meant as a global celebration of the things that bring us together as a community, the night will also serve as a means to raise money for the performers and for all artists affected by the Covid-19 pandemic through donations to Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. It has been such a gift to work with ARISE Music Festival as partners to Rocky Mountain Virtual during these past 9 months, and I can’t imagine a better way to end 2020 and look toward a brighter future. I had the extreme honor of interviewing ARISE’s Executive Producer, Luke Comer, and its Marketing Director, Shannon Bock - the two people responsible for creating the magic that is ARISE Music Festival.