Hot Rize
Band · Active 1979–present · Boulder, Colorado
Classic Bluegrass
Contemporary Bluegrass
Folk / Americana
Hot Rize is one of the most influential bluegrass bands of the modern era — a Colorado quartet whose crisp harmonies, original songwriting, and relentless showmanship helped define what "progressive traditional" bluegrass could sound like. In 1990 they became the first-ever winners of the IBMA Entertainer of the Year award.
Assisted by AI.
Spot something off? Help us fix it.
- Formed in Boulder, Colorado in January 1978 by banjoist Pete Wernick, multi-instrumentalist Tim O'Brien, guitarist Charles Sawtelle, and originally guitarist Mike Scap; Nick Forster replaced Scap that April, with Sawtelle moving to guitar and Forster taking bass.
- Named after the "secret ingredient" in Martha White Self-Rising Flour, a long-time Flatt & Scruggs sponsor.
- Toured full-time from 1978 to 1990, playing over 1,200 shows across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia, and recording for Flying Fish, Sugar Hill, and Rounder.
- Concerts famously featured a costume change into their honky-tonk alter egos, Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers — a tongue-in-cheek western swing band whose "special guest appearances" became a beloved signature.
- Won the IBMA's inaugural Entertainer of the Year award in 1990; "Colleen Malone" from Take It Home (1990) won IBMA Song of the Year in 1991, and the album earned a Grammy nomination.
- Amicably disbanded as a full-time group in 1990, playing occasional reunion dates through the 1990s.
- Guitarist Charles Sawtelle died of leukemia in 1999; in 2002 the band regrouped with guitarist Bryan Sutton filling the chair.
- Released When I'm Free in 2014 — their first studio album in 24 years — on their own Ten in Hand Records; it debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart.
- Inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2025, becoming the first Colorado band to receive the honor.
-
40th anniversary Bash: An All-Star Night of Live Bluegrass2018 · Ten in Hand THR 9002,3
-
When I’m Free2014 · Ten in Hand THR 9001
-
Take it Home1990 · Sugar Hill SH 3784
-
Shades of the Past (Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers)1988 · Sugar Hill SH 3767
-
Untold Stories1987 · Sugar Hill SH 3756
-
Traditional Ties1985 · Sugar Hill SH 3748
-
Hot Rize in Concert1984 · Flying Fish FF 315
-
Radio Boogie1981 · Flying Fish FF 231
-
Hot Rize1979 · Flying Fish FF 206
-
Nick ForsterPlayed on recordings with Hot Rize
-
Tim O’BrienPlayed on recordings with Hot Rize
-
Pete WernickPlayed on recordings with Hot Rize
-
Charles SawtellePlayed on recordings with Hot Rize
-
Bryan SuttonPlayed on recordings with Hot Rize
-
H.S. “Buck” WhitePlayed on recording with Hot Rize
-
Jerry DouglasPlayed on recording with Hot Rize
-
Sam BushPlayed on recording with Hot Rize
-
Stuart DuncanPlayed on recording with Hot Rize
