Article Photos By: William Woody

“Here we are at Pea Green, where the music’s played just right, with old time songs and melodies, it’s Pea Green Saturday Night!” 

On four winter Saturdays each year, the small community of Pea Green in Montrose County becomes the place to be for live music and a dose of variety-show humor. It’s Pea Green Saturday Night.

The line starts forming outside the Pea Green Community Hall before the doors officially open at 6 p.m., but organizers often begin letting people in just after 5. Beyond the $20 admission, there’s an early-bird “fee:” unfolding chairs and helping set up the room in the century-old building for its transformation into fictional radio station KPEA.

A rotating cast of musicians performs under the "Pea Green Saturday Night" sign each show. Photos by William Woody

 When hosts Dean Rickman and Len Willey step out on stage as the Pea Green Brothers, the hall becomes a studio audience, complete with an “On Air” sign.

The joke is part of the charm: there is no real broadcast signal, no livestream, no slick production—just a night of live music, original material and laughs.

Pea Green Saturday Night runs on the fourth Saturday in January, February, March and April inside the Pea Green Community Hall at the intersection of Colorado Highway 348 and Banner Road in Delta. The first show of its 20th season “aired” last month.

“We had a really good show, a good crowd, good bands,” said Rickman. “We do everything from Cajun music to bluegrass music. It’s quite the potpourri of acoustic bands. We rarely have electric guitars on stage.”

Hosts Dean Rickman, left and Len Willey review notes as they step into character as the Pea Green Brothers Photos by William Woody

 The current format was influenced in part by NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” Rickman said, though he emphasized the Pea Green version is its own thing. The show is friendly and nostalgic, which is why it draws crowds of more than 100 each night. Some fans come from as far as Gunnison and Telluride. Bands travel in too, drawn by what Rickman calls the status of playing Pea Green Saturday Night.

“Most bands are very interested in playing Pea Green,” Rickman said. “It’s been around a long time.”

The bands change with each show, which keeps the night fresh while the format stays familiar. The music is all original or in the public domain.

The show starts promptly at 7 p.m. and follows a steady cadence. The Pea Green Brothers make their entrance and introduce the first band that plays for about 45 minutes. Then the house breaks for a community-style potluck.

“A lot of people look at the potluck as a time they get to visit with their friends and neighbors,” said Rickman. 

After the potluck break, the Pea Green Brothers launch into the Pea Green Saturday Night theme song, an original tune with lyrics that change from show to show. This year, they added an anniversary verse to mark the 20th season.

Next come lighthearted comedy sketches, followed by the second band.

Everything about the event feels homegrown and authentic, from the setting, the theme song and the music. That authenticity is what drew Rickman to join Willey onstage about six seasons ago.

“I thought ‘this is something that just doesn’t exist anymore—it’s not fake, it wasn’t machined. It was just a guy [Willey] telling some stories,” said Rickman, who began co-hosting around 2019, after years of attending the show as a fan and performing there with his band, Bone Tree.

"Everything about the event feels homegrown and authentic, fromt he setting, the theme song and the music. 

The laughs are real, too, including those that come from the
Can-O-Peas contest, which turns an ordinary 89-cent grocery item into a prized souvenir.

“And these people go crazy over it,” Rickman said.

The winner takes home a small can of peas, rewrapped with a Pea Green label. Some past winners, Rickman said, have displayed their can on a mantle at home. 

“Why they want this thing is beyond me,” he said. “They’re just canned peas.”

Arrive early because seats sell out fast. Parking is free. Bring a seat cushion for the community hall chairs, and if you can, bring something for the potluck, but don’t worry if you show up empty-handed.

If a signed souvenir is more your style than a can of peas, the Pea Green Brothers still have 8-by-10 photos available for autographs.

For show information, visit Facebook.com/PeaGreenSN or email
[email protected] 

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