Swamp boys gonna do swamp things—even when you take ‘em to a city one thousand miles from home and a mile in the sky. So it goes with Rootbeer Richie and the Reveille, the most soulful rhythm & blue rockers west of the Mississippi. How far west of the Mississippi? As far as you can go without hitting the Rocky Mountains. Denver, Colorado, to be exact. If that seems like a funny birthplace for an eight-piece swamp-pop band soaked to the bone with bayou spirit, well, it’s not.

“I’ve always written songs in my head as rhythm & blues and soul music,” says frontman Rootbeer Richie, a Louisiana native and seasoned veteran of garage and rock & roll bands across the country. “With the Reveille, I’m finally letting those songs come out in their natural form.”

And what a fine natural form that is—especially when brought to life by some of the hardest hitters in Denver’s diamond-in-the-rough rock & roll scene. The Reveille is a who’s who of Mile-High all-stars, each adding their own flavor to Rootbeer’s long, tall drink of soul-infused pop. Together, the Reveille brings decades of experience across bands and genres to the band’s signature sound, inspired but never derived from legends like Ray Charles, Lee Dorsey, Fats Domino, and Sam Cooke.

It all adds up to something irresistibly individual, just like the city it was brewed in. “I’ve played in so many different music scenes, but I’ve never been a part of one of that felt like Denver,” says Rootbeer. “Everyone lifts each other up, and the level of love and support can’t be beat.”

The same could be said for The Reveille’s live shows, which have quickly gained a reputation as some of the most raucous and soul-shaking occasions in Denver. “The point of the music is to help you feel whatever it is you need to feel,” says Rootbeer. Those who’ve been converted, though, know he’s being modest. After just one spiritual awakening at a Reveille live show, it’s damn near impossible to feel anything other than the unbridled joy of being alive.