ROLLINSVILLE -- In 2011, Connor Dady moved away from his roots in Rochester, New York, and settled down in Denver, Colorado. Around the same time, Dan Williams moved to Denver from Austin, Texas, and both he and Dady happened to land a job as arborists for the same company.
As they talked, they realized they shared a similar interest in music, both performing occasionally in local open mics on their own time. Getting to know each other more, they started performing together through open mics and jams among friends, sharing their music tastes with each other.
Their chemistry continued to develop as they kept performing together. Around 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the two decided to look for other musicians to flesh out their sound and book more gigs. By the end of 2020, the group had acquired an upright bass player, a fiddle player, and a dobro player, booking gig opportunities in Denver.
Since 2021, the band, now named Cottonwood Drifters, has cycled through various lineups to find a group of people who could share their artistic talents individually while also working towards common goals together.
Dady and Williams are the consistent core members and songwriters, with Dady playing acoustic guitar, Williams playing mandolin (which he learned online during COVID) and occasionally Irish tenor banjo, and both singing lead vocals.
The current lineup consists of full-time fiddle and dobro player John Bush, upright bass player Stacy Liles, and acoustic guitarist John Sudekum, who also occasionally contributes five-string banjo. Dady credits previous lineups with building the sound and direction of the band now, but feels this lineup is the best and most connected so far.
Dady found his musical beginnings as a roadie for his father John and uncle Joe, who played traditional Irish, Americana, and folk music across the East Coast as The Dady Brothers for over 40 years. Through this experience, Connor directly experienced the musical influences of his family, and he also made connections with the music scene and industry.
Dan Williams’ father also grew up playing music, and John Dady still plays music. Now, Connor and Dan have incorporated songs written by their fathers into their shows, often performing them back-to-back.
When he was younger, Connor especially distanced himself from John and Joe’s music, as he connected more to punk and metal music at the time and found it almost embarrassing for his father to be so well-known in their area.
However, as Cottonwood Drifters took shape, those songs trickled into Connor and Dan’s setlist. Despite the stylistic differences of the songs, Connor and Dan have found surprising correlations in the stories of both.
Connor doesn’t consider Cottonwood Drifters’ music fully bluegrass, nor does he completely subscribe (or object) to the classification of newgrass. Rather, he considers it “bluegrass-adjacent,” developed more with an Americana background and sprinkled with traditional Irish folk and blues influences.
While Connor and Dan are the primary songwriters, they usually write ideas separately and come together later to flesh out full songs. Once they finish the songs, the rest of the band contributes ideas to make the song rehearsal-ready.
Connor compares his connection with Dan to the connection of The Dady Brothers, who kept a tight-knit connection personally and in performances despite not always agreeing with each other logistically.
Joe Dady passed away in May 2019 from leukemia, and the last thing that he told Connor was to keep pursuing music because he had a good thing going. That became the primary motivator for Connor’s performances since.
Now, Connor hopes that people can have fun and dance to their music. When the group performs covers, they want to give each other their due respect, but they also hope that the spin they give each song resonates with their audiences as something special and unique.
Cottonwood Drifters will be performing at Howlin Wind Brewing and Blending, located at 51 A Main Street in Rollinsville, on Saturday, July 12, 2025, starting at 5 p.m. You can keep up with the band on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
