Lettuce Brings Funk and Food to Aspen's Belly Up on June 18

Who is playing Belly Up on June 18, and why should a local care about a band that calls itself Lettuce?

It’s not just another generic concert. It’s a chance to see Grammy-nominated Lettuce support their latest album, “Cook,” which dropped last December. The band is six strong, forged in Boston but deeply rooted in the kind of organic, unpolished sound that doesn’t rely on chasing radio hits. They’re playing the venue. You’re buying the ticket. That’s the transaction.

Let’s look at the lineup. We’re talking funk, hip-hop, rock, jazz, soul, jam, avant-garde, and go-go all mashed together with a side of psychedelia. It’s a lot of genres for one stage, but these guys have been doing it since 1992. Six Berklee College of Music alumni joined up back then, and they’ve been fusing those styles ever since. They didn’t just study music; they played hip-hop all their lives. The name? A joke. They’d show up at college parties and ask to “let us play.” Friends shortened it. The rest is history.

The album “Cook” is their ninth studio release. They put it out on their own label, Colorado Sound, located just outside Denver. Why keep it private? Drummer Adam Deitch says it’s about control. “That was the goal from the beginning, was to never have anyone say, ‘What you guys need to do is (this).’ There will be none of that.” They aren’t chasing a hit. They’re making music the way they feel it. They recorded it on 2-inch tape. They played live in a room together. No AI. No trickery. Just six friends making noise.

Deitch, who’s also on percussion, notes that the new record feels different. It’s more three-dimensional. It’s deeper. That’s partly because they just finished touring with GZA of Wu-Tang Clan and reggae legend Ziggy Marley. They also released “Lettuce with the Colorado Symphony” last year. The result? A richer sound. Ryan Zoidis, the saxophonist, mixed the record alongside Grammy-nominated engineer Jesse O’Brien.

Here’s the weird part that might actually make you buy the album: it comes with six recipes. Yes, recipes. Because Zoidis is a great chef and trumpeter Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom is a sous chef. They’re both intense foodies. Deitch argues that certain music pairs well with food. “When you’re eating a really good meal that someone took time to cook, you should put on Lettuce because it took us time to cook up that record, and it’s all organic ingredients.”

The title track itself started at a party in Denver. Deitch picked up the guitar — a rare move for him, since he’s usually on drums — and jammed. Someone else took the drums. The top of the song emerged right there. It wasn’t planned. It just happened.

So, what’s the practical takeaway for you in Aspen? You’re paying for an experience. You’re paying for a band that refuses to let a producer tell them how to sound. You’re footing the bill for the chance to see a group that treats their music like a home-cooked meal, organic, deliberate, and free of filler. The ticket price gets you into a room where the music is being made live, not played back from a computer. It’s a specific vibe. It’s a specific sound. It’s Lettuce.