Introducing Magoo: Colorado’s Rising Jamgrass Sensation

Unable to participate in a phone interview, the band corresponded via email.

If jamming bluegrass fires you up, What a Life—Magoo’s debut album—will catch your ear. Based in Colorado, Dylin Flynn (dobro), Erik Hill (guitar, lead vocal), Courtlyn Bills (mandolin), and Denton Turner (bass) stretch tradition beyond its boundaries.

Magoo says the album represents the payoff of relentless effort, often recording into the early morning hours at Courtlyn’s home studio in Rollinsville, Colorado. “Releasing this album has been a rewarding experience for us… it feels like the culmination of a lot of hard work.”

Recalling their early days, bluegrass musicians Erik Hill, Dylan Flynn, and Paul Flynn (Erik’s uncle) formed as a trio in the Centennial State’s jamgrass circuit.

Bringing onboard mandolin player Courtlyn Bills was a “game changer”—the band adds.

Bassist Denton Turner replaced Paul Flynn. “We played our first show together at a small Halloween party, and the rest was history!”

Each musician brings a distinct background to Magoo’s sound, blending jam-band sensibilities with bluegrass roots. “Erik has played in jam bands since he was 13 years old,” the band shares. “Courtlyn and Denton have been in bands that improvised as well, and they both love a variety of jam bands and bluegrass.”

Magoo says about their dobro player, “Dylan… grew up going to bluegrass festivals. He only recently started playing the more progressive, improvisational side of bluegrass—collectively, all of our backgrounds come together nicely for Magoo,” the band agrees.

“At our core, we are a bluegrass band,” Magoo points out. “We always strive to work on our arrangements. We don’t want to play songs just for the sake of a jam—we all love traditional bluegrass and do our best to honor it in our own way.

Going on, “The improvisational jams are something we love to do. We might play a traditional tune like ‘Ain’t Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone’ and then throw a jam in the middle,” adding that, “We don’t always do this, but it’s fun to be able to do it when the moment strikes.”

The title track urges people to keep an open mind. “’What a Life’ talks about a near-death experience and encourages listeners to seize the day and say yes to opportunities that present themselves,” says the band.

“We felt it summed up our experience as a young band—we’re so grateful to be on this journey with everyone, and we can’t thank our community of friends, family, and fans enough for all of the support they’ve given us,” says the quartet, also naming the album What a Life.

A legendary mandolinist appears on the album. “We had Sam Bush sing and play fiddle on the song ‘Angel of Telluride.’” The band hopped a plane. “We flew out to Nashville to record and hang with Sam. It was an incredible experience!”

Bush spoke to the band about Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and David Grisman. “He talked about all of those legends he grew up with.” The band adds, “We could have listened to those stories all day.”

What a Life was recorded in a home studio. “We recorded and engineered this album almost 100% DIY in Courtlyn’s home studio in Rollinsville, CO,” explains Magoo. “We had Eric Wiggs (Vermillion Road Studio) do the mixing and David Glasser (Airshow Mastering) do the mastering. Eric and David’s touch certainly made the songs come to life.”

They have enough material for their next album. “[What a Life] came together effortlessly given we had a pretty solid catalog of original tunes to choose from,” the band adds. “Courtlyn, Erik, and Dylan are all writing songs pretty consistently, so we already have enough work for our next full-length album.”

Spreading positive vibes with their music, Magoo says, “We hope listeners enjoy our songs and feel good while listening to them! We love how our community of family, friends, and fans prioritizes love and care for one another. We want to pay it forward. We hope listeners can feel just how much love we have for them and what we’re building together.”

https://www.magootheband.com/