Drunken Hearts play a blend of super-melodic country and roots-rock that seems to soar. It lands Sunday, Sept. 1, at Worthy Brewing in Bend.

The Colorado band Drunken Hearts feel like a cosmic match for a whole bunch of music lovers in Bend. There are a few different reasons for this:

Andrew McConathy started the band in 2010 while working as a ski instructor in Vail, Colorado. Sounds Bend-y!

“We were ski bums with an affection for music (especially bluegrass),” McConathy said in an interview. Hey … Bend loves bluegrass!

McConathy shares a birthday, Aug. 1, with Jerry Garcia, the legendary frontman of the Grateful Dead. This really isn’t that pertinent, but it leads us to …

The Grateful Dead famously picked their name out of the dictionary, and so did McConathy: “(We) came up with the name late one night by pointing at random words in a dictionary and making a list of things that sounded cool.” If it’s good enough for the Dead, it’s good enough for Bend!

Drunken Hearts’ 2023 album “Reckless Ways of Living” features guest performances by a bunch of musicians who should be familiar to Bendites, including Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon), Jason Carter (Del McCoury Band), Lindsay Lou and national banjo champion Kyle Tuttle (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway).

In a roundabout way, here’s the point: Drunken Hearts are an excellent band that plays a blend of super-melodic country and roots-rock that seems to soar on the wings of McConathy’s big, sturdy voice. And on Sunday, Sept. 1, they’ll play a free show at Worthy Brewing in Bend. (That’s the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, it should be noted!)

Recently, I sent McConathy a few questions and he was kind enough to answer them. Here’s that exchange, edited for space and clarity.

Ben Salmon: Your website talks about a new beginning for the band, a second chance to make things right and a renewed sense of faith in your abilities since 2020. Can you explain in a little more detail what all of that means?

Andrew McConathy: When COVID-19 hit it really shook things up in my little music world.

Going into March of 2020 the band was already taking some time off the road and looking for a new electric guitar player while re-tooling our sound when the world shut down.

Our pedal steel guitar player quit in May of that year, so I began the task of looking to fill both of those roles, which felt pretty daunting at the time having already been through several lineup changes. (By June of 2022) I was the only one left.

My agent at the time, Derek Smith, hooked me up with his old band mate from high school, a songwriter by the name of Dave Pahanish who has written several no. 1 hits for the likes of Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban. He agreed to do a songwriting session with me in Nashville. Dave’s song “Without You” — recorded by Keith Urban — was based on his wife’s family, so I came up with a concept and storyline about my wife’s family, plus I had an intro and about half of a verse … and we ended up writing “Falling Stars” in about two hours.

Three hours and four or five trips to Nashville later, “Reckless Ways of Living” was complete.

BS: The lyrics on “Reckless Ways” feel intensely personal in places. Was that a conscious choice you made going into the writing process, or did the songs just spill out that way?

AM: I was definitely trying to have more intention with this record and writing with Dave was just so easy. I also wanted it to be a country record and a departure from our previous sound. A lot had happened in a very short time and the message needed to be crystal clear: I am committed to this musical life and the only way forward is, well, forward! We’ll get there eventually.

BS: Who are some of your favorite songwriters (or bands) that you hear echoing in the music you make?

AM: I have a relatively obscure background in outlaw country music that began when my brother gave me a DVD of “Heartworn Highways” for Christmas when I was 18.

That documentary completely changed my life. In the movie, there is a scene where Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and others are sitting around a dinner table at Guy Clark’s house, pickin’, drinkin’ and smokin’ on Christmas Eve. I remember thinking to myself, “I want to do this! This is what Christmas should look like!” It kinda flipped everything upside down for me.

BS: You’ve been forthright about how difficult it is to make a career — or even to make ends meet — through music. Why do you keep pushing forward in pursuit of that dream?

AM: At this junction I don’t really know what else I would do with my life. I’m a writer, so I write. I studied creative writing, but I don’t have a college degree or a real job. This is what I know and what I love. I love to travel and I love the open road. I love meeting new people and playing music for them. Why? I have no idea. But I know that the response to “Reckless Ways of Living” has been a testament to the path I’m on. We’ve found new management and a new agent, both of which are promising and bearing fruit. The future looks bright, but something tells me it won’t be easy.

If You Go

Who: Drunken Hearts

When: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1

Where: Worthy Brewing, 495 NE Bellevue Drive, Bend

Cost: Free

Contact: worthybrewing.com.