MicroGrass Band

MicroGrass Band is a handcrafted, Denver-based traditional American music band. We play a tasty blend of Americana and bluegrass music, infused with sweet soaring harmonies, all distilled to their high-energy, foot-stomping best.

Come experience MicroGrass!  We’ll get you shaking it up, tapping your toes and singing along. You know you wanna!

Catherine Teutsch

From childhood, Catherine played the family piano, located in a nice warm living room...an instrument choice she made after seeing her sister's violin practice banished to a dusty, dark storeroom.  In addition to playing piano, she took up accordion and melodeon as an adult and has lived under the threat of eviction ever since, both from home and from MicroGrass.  She shared the stage with Good Company Band at the Cove, a club at which Joe Walsh frequently performed during his Kent State days.  On multiple occasions, Catherine has enjoyed the stage with Harry Tuft, father of folk music in Denver and founder of Swallow Hill Music and the Denver Folklore Center, as well as local favorites, Rocky Mountain Jewgrass and the Penguin Rodeo Band.

With Violent Femmes at Rocky Mountain Folks Festival

Tom Connole

Tom started playing banjo in college but switched to guitar when, like Catherine, his roommates threatened to evict him.  He's been jamming with local folk, bluegrass, and Irish groups and is well known as the "Jam Master" of Denver.  Tom  leads twice-weekly Denver Retrograss jam sessions at the historic Cameron Church and other locations around town.  He also plays with and arranges music for the Celtic band, Lots O' Irish.

In the Studio

Paul Marino

Paul Marino played guitar and banjo back east with Desperado and shared the stage with Country Cooking back in the day when Pete Wernick and Tony Trishka still lived in Ithaca.  Desperado went on to play the college circuit and performed with Commander Cody, Orleans, Aztec Two Step, the Outlaws, Livingston Taylor, and Pure Prairie League, among others.  He continued to play with Lone Rangers and Blue Skies, and was a sometime studio bassist at Fingerlakes Recording before moving to Denver.  Paul still dabbles in guitar, banjo, and blues harp when the mood strikes, although he is, at heart, a bassman.

At Swallow Hill Music

Gordon Gano

Besides playing banjo & fiddle with MicroGrass (as schedule allows) Gordon plays in a free improvised music group, Animal/object.  He has recorded and played often with Grammy Award winners Lost Bayou Ramblers, as well as co-produced France's all-time biggest selling album of a French band, Louise Attaque.  In 2018, Gordon was feature vocalist in the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Australia.

Jeff Bird

Jeff took organ lessions as a kid but didn't discover his passion for performing music unitl he picked up guitar and harmonica. The guitar didn't stick, but the harmonica did.  Jeff's early playing was influenced by Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and he soon turned to blues harp through the inspirations of Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Reed, and other blues greats.  He has continued to refine his skills while working with the renowned Clay Kirkland,  and adds the sweet sounds of the harp to the MicroGrass Band fabric.

At Denver Botanic Gardens

Outdoor show at The Breck

Andrew Torres

Andrew " mountain music man" Torres picked up the banjo shortly after college. Unlike Catherine and Tom, Andrew's roommates were more tolerant of the stringed instrument, yet Andrew still tested their limits. Growing up in a musical family, he took piano lessons and played guitar. These instruments took an immediate backseat following a Craigslist banjo purchase.. Upon learning the banjo, Andrew fell in love with it's sound, and has been part of a weekly bluegrass pickin' scene ever since. Andrew, who also teaches physics, is a true Renaissance man.

Out and About