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The River Arkansas

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Our Story

 
In the winter of 2014, Mike Clark penned a collection of songs about heartbreak, love, and escaping the clutches of day-to-day society. The following spring, Clark decided to make that collection into a record.  By good fortune Macon Terry, a bass player and former member of the band Paper Bird, happened to be in the neighborhood the day the studio was booked for recording. Though Terry arrived not knowing any of the songs, what they captured was the beginning of something great.  Later they would add Robin Chestnut on drums, Rachel Sliker on violin, and Benjamin Gallagher on piano. With the release their third studio album "Any Kind of Weather" the band has hit their stride, traveling the mid-west, south, and western United States as well as playing festivals all across Colorado, delivering their distinctive mixture of Country, Blues, Folk and Americana.  
 

 

Mike Clark

Songwriter

Mike Clark is a Calhan, CO native now residing on the banks of the Arkansas River in Pueblo, CO where he is dominating the music scene and has heralded many “Best Of” awards for his uncanny musical abilities.  With The River Arkansas, Mike (a self-taught natural) composes, sings, plays guitar, banjo, and harmonica. In other musical endeavors, The haunted Wind Chimes and Sugar Sounds, Mike has been known to play mandolin, violin, and piano.  Mike brings a strong sense of cohesiveness to the band when writing new tunes by creating parts that are well thought out for each member and their individual talents.

Rachel Sliker

Violinist

Rachel is also a Colorado native hailing from Colorado Springs and now resides in Boulder.  Rachel trained classically on violin from ages 5 to 22 and her chops on the violin transcend from symphony stage performance to bluegrass festivals.  With The River Arkansas, Rachel brings the down-home Americana flavor with her fiddle and soft, melodic vocal harmonies.  On occasion Rachel switches out the violin for guitar for when the element of rock is needed. Rachel plays another essential role in the band as “The Food Boss”, keeping the group well sated as band chef.  

Macon Terry

Upright Bassist

Macon grew up in the big ol' mess of Houston, TX and moved to Boulder, CO to study Environmental Design. After living along Colorado's front range for over a decade he traded in the busy city life for a calm existence in the San Luis Valley. Macon started playing guitar and electric bass soon after going to see Guns n' Roses and Sound Garden at the age of 11. Prior to playing music Macon was a professional ventriloquist and puppeteer from the age of 8 to 14. He began playing upright bass when he was 24, and it has been his primary instrument ever since. The thing Macon is most proud of: praying consistently for three years, out loud to God for a baby sister until his dad got a reversal vasectomy, and thus Macon became a big brother! 

Robin Chestnut

Percussion

Robin Chestnut is originally from Mountainview, CA and now calls Boulder, CO his home.  Robin is a Stanford Band Camp alum from 7th and 8th grades where he performed the trumpet. Since then, Robin has mastered the drums and now lays it down for The River Arkansas.  Not only is Robin a bad-ass percussionist, he also is quite the numeric genius that has a PhD in math from CU Boulder.  One would never find Robin lounging around staring at a phone as he has never owned a phone (or a car) and has never indulged in using social media.  Instead, Robin can usually be found squatting somewhere reading a book and enjoying a cup of coffee.

Ben Gallagher

Keys

Ben hails from the burbs of Chicago and now calls Trinidad, CO his home. Ben has been playing piano since his youth, mostly self taught in his adult life.  He has sought explorations in a wide range of genres from folk, honky-tonk, country to progressive rock, jazz, experimental improvisation, and theatrical sound design. As a songwriter, composer, and side man, Ben has been playing music in Colorado for over 15 years. 

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