Dopapod drummer Neal “Fro” Evans will celebrate his 40th birthday in grand style with FroDown featuring a superjam of members from The Nth Power, ODESZA, Cool Cool Cool, and more. The birthday bash is set for March 13th at Cervantes’ Other Side in Denver.
On tap for FroDown are The Nth Power bassist Nate Edgar, ODESZA trombonist Scott Flynn, Cool Cool Cool/The Horn Section trumpeter Chris Brouwers, Off The Cuff guitarist Emmanuel Alexander, Vibe Quintet vibraphonist Greg Harris, and Photon keyboardist Jimmy Dunstan, plus Fro himself on drums. As if that wasn’t enough, FroDown will feature special guest singer Brittany Beckett and guitarist Sasha Brown with support from Colorado alt-fusion quartet Banshee Tree.
“The Frodown is my version of the typical festival scene supergroup,” Evans told Live For Live Music via email. “But I like to choose tunes that are often from artists that people know but probably haven’t heard this particular track. Also, each tune is gonna have something a little sideways about it. I’m not one for straightforward music. This particular lineup contains a bunch of local friends with whom I share other projects, and of course they’re a bunch of my best friends so we are gonna have a really good time on stage, and I know it will translate to the audience! Also, be prepared for some really different and interesting stuff from this crew, we have some stuff up our sleeves.”
Tickets for Neal Evans’ 40th birthday FroDown at Cervantes are on sale here.
In the early morning hours of January 1st, 2025, Evans took his final bows with Dopapod for the foreseeable future. After 16 years of prodigious touring and nine ambitious studio albums, the longtime music festival favorite went on an indefinite hiatus. This by no means spelled the end for Evans, keyboardist Eli Winderman, bassist Chuck Jones, and guitarist Rob Compa, with Fro remarking to Live For Live Music ahead of the final shows, “We’re always gonna be doing music things, and [we’ll] see whatever’s next.”
So far, Compa has joined newly reactivated Rochester, NY jam band The Niche. Winderman just announced sets by three different projects at this year’s Domefest. Jones continues to salvage what he can from his family’s home which was sadly destroyed by the devastating Altadena fires, while also pursuing his other passion of cycling. Meanwhile, in Denver, Fro keeps up a healthy schedule with myriad side projects including Photon, Elephant Wrecking Ball, and the occasional birthday superjam.
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