The Motet perform ‘Keep On Don’t Stoppin’

The Motet perform “Keep On Don’t Stoppin'” at Second Story Garage in Boulder, Colorado.

The Motet has been around for 16 years, but it seems as if they’re just bursting onto the scene. The Boulder funk masters recently released their seventh album. They self-titled it because, for the first time, they wrote it collaboratively and, they say, “The group has finally become what it has striven to be throughout its existence.”

The band performed a triumphant set at a sold-out Red Rocks in July, opening for jam superstars Umphrey’s McGee, and The Motet’s popularity is growing in other cities around the country.

The band is led by drummer Dave Watts, and its sound is led by funky beats. Bassist Garrett Sayers is becoming the Victor Wooten of the Front Range — he makes even non-bass players in the audience go “Wow!” And when he’s not playing with The Motet, Sayers leads his own band, the Garrett Sayers Trio. Keyboardist Joey Porter also leads his own band, Vital Organ. His far-out licks add groovy colors to The Motet’s soundscape. Guitarist Ryan Jalbert’s rhythm playing is the glue that holds it all together. Gabe Mervine and Matt Pitts, on trumpet and tenor sax, give a hair-raising lift to The Motet experience, and the charismatic and soulful vocals of Jans Ingber are the embodiment of the musical whole.

In late October, The Motet starts a four-night Front Range run that includes its famed annual Halloween shows. Catch the “Mixtape 1975”-themed show at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins on Oct. 29, at the Boulder Theater on Oct. 30-31 and the Ogden Theater in Denver on Nov. 1.

In the Garage the band played “The Fountain” and “Keep On Don’t Stoppin’,” then Dave and Jans talked with Quentin and revealed some details about “Mixtape 1975.”

What they brought us: A Motet hat.

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