Everything began in Denver, Colorado, where Clay Street Unit formed in 2021. Many of the band's members — mandolinist Scottie Bolin, banjo player Jack Cline, pedal steel guitarist Brad Larrison, drummer Brendan Lamb, and singer/guitarist/ringleader Sam Walker — had grown up elsewhere, spending their teenage years in cities like Atlanta, Charlottesville and Montgomery. Coming together in Colorado where they added bassist Jack Kotarba, they mixed the southern soundtrack of their youths with the raw, rugged spirit of the West. After building an audience at local venues like Cervantes, the guys hit the road, where the very thing that once made their music so difficult to categorize — the sheer diversity of their sound — became one of their calling cards.Call it folk-country. Call it western Americana. Call it Rocky Mountain Newgrass with southern soul. Clay Street Unit aren't concerned about the various definitions; they're just happy that more and more people are listening. With Sin & Squalor, they stake their claim as torchbearers of something both fresh and familiar, nodding to the traditions of American roots music while sharpening their own modern edge.