Easy Jim opens its late-fall run with a Dead night at Belly Up, Nov. 6

The Gunnison–Crested Butte six-piece, two drummers and all, brings the Grateful Dead songbook back to Galena Street next Friday.

Lifts aren't turning yet, the town is in its quiet weeks, and the people still around want something to do on a Friday. Easy Jim has you covered. An Evening with Easy Jim is at Belly Up Aspen on Friday, Nov. 6, with doors at 8 p.m. and music at 9, according to the venue's event page. It's a 21-and-over show, so bring a valid photo ID. Tickets are through Belly Up Ticketing.

"An evening with" means no opener: it's Easy Jim from the first song to the last, which is how a Dead band should be heard. The Grateful Dead built its shows around two sets and long, open-ended stretches between songs, and you can't get that from a 45-minute slot.

Belly Up describes Easy Jim as a laid-back group of musicians from Gunnison and Crested Butte. They're a six-piece with the same instrumentation as the Grateful Dead: two drummers and four-part vocal harmonies. That second drummer is the giveaway. A lot of tribute bands skip it. The ones that keep it are after the rolling, layered rhythm that made "Drums" and the jams around it work.

They've also become a regular part of the Roaring Fork calendar. Community listings from Aspen Public Radio and KDNK show a string of Belly Up dates over the past year: a Celebration of Bobby Weir night in January, spring shows in March and May, a Jerry Garcia birthday celebration on Aug. 1, plus an outdoor date at Two Rivers Park in Glenwood. A band that keeps coming back to the same room is a band that room keeps selling.

That second drummer is the giveaway.

Nov. 6 also opens the band's next run. The next night, Nov. 7, they play Grand Junction, then go quiet until two Telluride dates on Dec. 11 and Jan. 16. For Aspen, that makes next Friday the only local show on the books before the holidays.

The room helps. Belly Up Aspen is a 450-capacity club at 450 S. Galena St., near the base of Aspen Mountain. It's small enough to feel crowded in a good way, and it's the same stage where national acts on the calendar this season, like LCD Soundsystem, will play. For a hometown-adjacent Dead band, that's a nice place to be.

What to know before you go. The doors-to-music gap is an hour, so 8:30 is a good time to arrive. It's 21-plus with ID checked at the door. Shoulder season means parking downtown is easier than it'll be in a month.

Wear something tie-dyed, bring a friend who swears they don't like the Dead, and see how long they hold out.

Sources: An Evening with Easy Jim — Belly Up Aspen (bellyupaspen.com); Belly Up Aspen — Calendar (bellyupaspen.com); Belly Up Aspen (bellyupaspen.com); An Evening with Easy Jim tickets — Belly Up Ticketing (tickets.bellyupaspen.com); Easy Jim Presents a Celebration of Bobby Weir — Aspen Public Radio (aspenpublicradio.org); Easy Jim, Music of the Grateful Dead, live at the Belly Up — KDNK (kdnk.org); Easy Jim at Two Rivers Park, Glenwood — KDNK (kdnk.org)