​Weld County Ramblers
Sorta Mostly Bluegrass
& a wildly good time
​
The Weld County Ramblers formed as a group in the summer of 2013. Jam group friends and bluegrass beginners, we originally got together to play a 45 minute set of Gospel tunes on a Sunday morning for two little Methodist Churches in Weld County ten miles apart. We were to play for one church at 9am and the other at 11am. That morning was a great exercise in coordinated pandemonium.
The name, “Weld County Ramblers,” was an off-the cuff name for a band we expected to last for only one day, but people liked what we did and we started getting requests to play. Playing picnics, a flood relief benefit, street fairs, retirement homes, and even a memorial service helped us to gel as a group. As our repertoire expanded and we started taking the music more seriously, we started playing brewpubs, private parties, weddings, the MidWinter Bluegrass Festival, the National Western Stock Show, the Greeley Stampede, Nissi's Night Club, Erie Biscuit Day, the Boulder County Fair, the Bluegrass on the Arkansas Festival in Salida, and other venues.
Today our music is an eclectic collection of classic and contemporary bluegrass. We organize our musical sets around the audience we expect to play for. Three part harmonies, combined with our classic acoustic sound (and off-beat humor) create a complete entertainment/ music package!
On bass is Chuck Keim. Chuck and his wife Kitty live high on a mountain top near Lyons, Colorado. Chuck is a Civil Engineer by trade and has developed two companies over the years. He has been playing bluegrass bass since 1984. He has played in two other bluegrass bands, is a regular at an invitational jam, and plays on-call as time permits. Chuck is a Civil Engineer, president of Redstone Associates Management, and sits on the Town of Lyons Utility and Engineering Board. His hobbies include Photography, travel, camping, and hiking. He enjoys Bluegrass, early rock, Motown, and Classical music. His favorite is Beethoven. Chuck plays bass, guitar, piano, and ukulele
Our guitar player is Kevin Reinschmidt. Kevin and his wife Shelly live in Mead Colorado. He is the only member of the band that lives in Weld County. Kevin has worked as a Building Automation Engineer for 33 years. He likes to fish, hike, snowshoe, camp, travel, ties flies, builds fishing rods, and in general has fun with his six grand kids. He grew up playing his father’s 1946 Martin D-18, He now owns a few old Martins of his own.
Mark Heiss plays the mandolin. Mark and his wife Heidi, live with two horses, Maggie the mule, and two dogs, near Niwot, Colorado. Mark has his “Boulder Mandolin” shop in his garage where he builds part time. Mark started playing mandolin in High School, inspired by the sounds of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Fairport Convention, and the Faces tune, “Maggie May.” He has only recently become a bluegrass player after attending a Wernick jam camp 2012. Mark is a retired United Methodist Minister, enjoys mountain biking, tele skiing, reading, camping, and time at the beach in Mexico.
​
​
​
​
​
​
Playing Fiddle is Karen Truesdell. She joined the band in 2017. Karen comes from Iowa where she raised four children and worked as a Pharmacist. After retiring and moving to Boulder with her husband Doug, she became passionate for Bluegrass music. Karen studied violin in high school and college, and now is playing bluegrass fiddle. Her favorite other activities are spending time with grandchildren, garden design, reading, playing bridge and participating in a women's educational group.
​