Glenwood Springs-based band, The Know Bodies Band, is a fusion of artistic cultures and influences that’s especially unique on the Western Slope. 

The band’s original songs encompass a diverse range of genres — upbeat reggae, Afrobeat, ska, punk — and every tune is infused with the varying musical styles of each musician. 

“We’re really interested in those pulsing African rhythms, but each of those genres, the blues, reggae, Afrobeat and the punk is a really important element,” bass guitarist and singer Ryan Roberts said, adding that the band also dabbles in Celtic music.

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Songs written by band members and arranged by The Know Bodies Band include “Grandmother Meg,” “West Coast Speed: Mach 5” and “Sunshine” by Roberts and “Mystery Coaster” by keyboard player and vocalist Jesse Turner. Hear the band’s original songs live at youtube.com/@TheKnowBodiesBand.

Although the seven-piece has had many different iterations with a rotating door of curated members, Roberts, who has been in the band since its conception in 2017, thinks this is the most vibrant version yet. 

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“In this iteration, we’re the most exciting that I’ve experienced,” Roberts said. “We’ve got some really, really cool musicians now, and a really clear vision of where we want to go.” 

Each member brings a wealth of talent, infusing their musical identities into the band’s original tunes. 

“I love going to rehearsal because these are such interesting musicians. I can watch any single one of them play their instrument just on their own and it’s like magic,” Roberts said. “They’re exciting, exciting musicians.”

Percussionist and singer Jessie Lehmann was musically trained in West Africa, and her pounding rhythms resonate through The Know Bodies Band’s music with a practiced certainty.

Turner has a degree in performing arts and is an “Old-style blues musician. He can play you anything — Bach, Beethoven, whatever,” Roberts said. “But he’s a bluesy soul (and jazz) musician, if you think of all the great organists and keyboardists of the ’50s, ’60s it’s that sort of thing.”

Curtis Holland covers woodwinds, rotating between saxophone and flute. “He brings all the jazz and all the sophisticated sound,” Roberts said. 

The band’s newest, and youngest, member is guitarist Sam Hunter. Robert describes Hunter as an anomaly — his style is influenced by European jazz guitarist Django Reinhard and Hot Club Jazz, “Which is kind of unusual for a youngster,” Roberts said. “But he can also shred and do all sorts of stuff, so he’s really watchable because he makes some really, really interesting musical decisions.” 

Drummer Joe Mcvicker’s style is reminiscent of rock, psychedelic and reggae while Charlie Wild, also known as “Mr. Hollywood,” the band’s DJ, folds dub sound samples into the mix. 

Roberts’s own musical background is just as interesting. He grew up in Africa before moving to Great Britain in the ’80s, then France and the United States in 2012. His playing mirrors the ’80s punk rock and African influences of his youth. 

“(There was) really exciting music in the ’80s in England and I lived one hour from London, so I used to go (see) all these really seminal bands,” Roberts said. “That’s what inspires me in our musical journey.”

To Roberts, his musical role as bass guitarist is to improve the sound of the other instruments. 

“You don’t always hear everything in the bass, you’re feeling it because it’s part of the drums and that sort of thing, but it’s also linking the guitars and all those instruments,” Roberts said. “But that’s what excites me.”

At 2 p.m. on Saturday, The Know Bodies Band will play a free concert that’s open to the public at Sunlight Ski Resort, 10901 CO Road 117, Glenwood Springs. It’s the band’s second time jamming at the resort. 

“We love (Sunlight) because it’s our local mountain and it embodies the very best of Colorado,” Roberts said. “That’s why we want to go and play up there — because it’s us, and we’re it.”