The Rifters

The Rifters formed in 2002 in the fertile and creative music scene of Taos, New Mexico from members of two popular bands already active in the area. Jim Bradley and Don Richmond of Hired Hands, and Rod Taylor of the Rounders, who had all known one another for years playing in the acoustic dance-oriented Americana music scene of northern New Mexico, decided to join forces to form The Rifters.

Putting out more music than it seems should be right for three guys on stage, the Rifters employ a wide range of acoustic and electric instruments, combined with soaring three-part harmonies, to provide a mesmerizing variety of music from driving blue-grama-grass to ethereal desert beauty. The years of playing to the dance crowds in their northern New Mexico homeland has given their music a toe-tapping rhythm that is engaging and undeniable. With a pedigree of bands like Hired Hands, the Rounders, and South by Southwest among them, the Rifters are truly a musical voice of their region of high desert vistas and mountain majesty.

The Rifters are:

Rod Taylor on guitar, mandolin, and vocals. Rod lives in Cimarron, New Mexico and is also head of cattle operations at Philmont Ranch. In other words, he doesnt just look like a cowboy. Although Rod is well known nationally for playing traditional cowboy music at cowboy poetry gatherings and festivals, his musical influences run from The Beatles to The Allman Brothers to old blues to Willis Alan Ramsey and back again. Rods rich lead vocals provide one of the most immediately recognizable elements of The Rifters distinctive sound.

Jim Bradley on bass and vocals. Jim is a long-time Taos resident and is a native New Mexican, born in Las Cruces. Jims powerful rhythmic and percussive playing provide the pulse for The Rifters energetic acoustic rhythms. He has played his Fender bass from Alaska to Manhattan and many places in between, from the mountain bars to the big festival stages with touring national acts. Jim holds down many of the high harmony vocals in the Rifters rich vocal arrangements.

Don Richmond on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, dobro, pedal steel guitar, harmonica and vocals. Don was a founding member of the near-legendary Colorado band Tumbleweed (1973 1990) and the Colorado-New Mexico band Hired Hands (1992 - 2002). Don lives in Alamosa, Colorado and also owns and operates Howlin Dog Recording, one of the most respected acoustic-oriented recording studios in the region, and has appeared on dozens of recordings by many of the regions top artists, as well as numerous projects under his own name and with his former bands. Dons multi-instrumental skills help provide the variety and excitement audiences enjoy in a Rifters performance. He also covers lead and harmony vocals.

The Rifters are at home at a barn dance with the hay and the horses, in a mountain town bar or honky-tonk, or on a festival or concert stage. Their choice of moving and powerful material, both original and by others, their impeccable musicianship, and their strong three and four part vocal arrangements combine to make The Rifters a crowd-pleasing musical experience.