Split Lip Rayfield

When Split Lip Rayfield played at the Bluebird Theater in September 2006, it was hard to tell that guitarist Kirk Rundstrom had just a few months to live. Despite the fact that the 37-year-old was battling esophageal cancer, he tore through the set with the fervor of a teenager taking a hot rod out for a joyride. Hell, the whole band was on fire that night, dishing out a potent set of high-octane, supercharged bluegrass. About six months later, Rundstrom passed away, but the rest of the guys in the band — gas-tank bassist Jeff Eaton, banjo player Eric Mardis and mandolin player Wayne Gottsine — are keeping his memory alive with another trip through Colorado, a place where the Wichita, Kansas-based act has been countless times over the course of its decade-long run. The group recently released a live DVD that captured the band and Rundstrom in all its glory during a 29-song set at Wichita's Cotillion Ballroom on December 8, 2006.