ROll CAll!
Stacy Heikes
Stacy grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado. She sang in a trio with her sisters from the age of 8, and picked up the violin in junior high school. She played classical music in orchestras and string quartets for the first half of her life, then turned to the "dark" side -- bluegrass, and she ain't goin' back! Stacy is a wife of 42 years, a mother of 3, and an RN by career. She's addicted to volleyball, racquetball, and cycling, but would save her fiddle first from a burning building. She can't seem to hold still while making music....it's just inside her. She has found her joy!
Those who wish to sing always find a song. ~Swedish proverb
Dave Jensen
Born in Blytheville, Arkansas and raised in southeastern Virginia, David Jensen is the epitome of southern class. His fiery flatpickinging is heavily influenced by Clarence White, Tony Rice, and Doc Watson. You will rarely see him play without his lucky tortoise shell pick. He cut his teeth in the Washington D.C. bluegrass community. His high-energy playing and strong vocals add a layer of depth and technical expertise. David received a guitar performance degree from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
He enjoys collecting vintage jazz and bluegrass records and has an aptitude for ethnomusicology. His knowledge of folk music is extensive: at jam sessions it is clear that he knows virtually every tune, and when he doesn’t, you still can’t tell.
Dave pic here
Mike Smith
Mike is a Colorado native who has always lived in the northern Front Range area. He began playing guitar in 4th grade, and got his first mandolin at age 18 when his 3 siblings pooled their money for a birthday gift. He played only for his own enjoyment until a neighbor suggested he share his talent at church. That's where he began to bump elbows with other musicians. He started playing outside of church with friends around 2010. He likes to ride bicycles and grow Brobdingnagian tomatoes. Mike and his wife of 26 years have 2 children.
Derek Crane
Derek grew up in North Lake Tahoe and then spent his teen years in the central coast of California. Growing up with five siblings was chaotic--he preferred to keep it low key and decided to pick up the bass guitar. It wasn’t until Derek got bit by a shark that he realized the circle of fifths was his calling. Soon enough, Derek began grabbing life by the gills and found solace in the jazz community where he was drawn to the double bass. Derek received his Bachelor of Physics degree at UC Santa Cruz. In his senior year he was able to blend his passions for music and the natural world to write his thesis on physical room acoustics. In 2018 Derek moved to Fort Collins seeking world-class rock climbing and a new music community. He found himself loving the bluegrass spirit of the front range and the Rocky Mountains. When he is not playing music or climbing, he is either cranking away on the tiny gears at Vortic Watch company as a watchmaker or wrenching away on his classic Firebird.
Wes Tucker
Wes is "just a boy from Oklahoma" whose life's journey has taken him many places. Colorado has been his home base since 1968 but his career as a missionary has taken him to live and work in Mexico, Germany and France for a total of 23 years. At age 19, he found a banjo left in a closet by an uncle and first learned to play. Wherever he went, the banjo went with him, and though most of the places he travelled had no real bluegrass scene, Wes continued to find people to pick with and kept his ear to Bluegrass CDs. Returning to Colorado permanently in 2004 provided a chance to find others with bluegrass in their blood and eventually led to the formation of Rusty 44. Wes married his German sweetheart, Gerti; they have two adult children from Mexico and Jamaica.