Rising Stars: Meet Justin Fountain of Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Fountain.

Hi Justin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Imagine a painfully awkward, self-conscious, gangly little middle schooler… that was me. I couldn’t get the girls, I wasn’t athletic, and I definitely wasn’t the smartest kid in the room. So, I grabbed my dad’s dusty Ovation guitar from the elusive living room closet and decided to give music a shot.

He made me a deal: if I stuck with lessons for a year using that old guitar, he’d give me $300 to buy my own. I held up my end, and that’s how I got my first dreadnought Washburn — which I played nonstop until it literally broke (not that I was super gentle with it). I loved that guitar.

Fast forward a decade or so, and A Brother’s Fountain was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. The goal? Capture the sound rattling around in my head I can only describe as, ‘campfire folk’. We set out to mix indie folk and Americana with the kind of raw, outdoorsy honesty you only get after getting sunburned on a river or freezing your fingers off in the mountains. Our songs run the gamut — from rowdy anthems to quiet, reflective sing-alongs — but they all share a love for nature, friendship, and chasing a little adventure. Essentially, we wanted to create music that makes people feel like they’re sitting around a crackling campfire with old friends.

We’re basically a bunch of best buds and mountain junkies — river guides, backpackers, cyclists, skiers, and occasional mischief-makers — who started out busking in Old Town Fort Collins. These days, you’ll catch us playing music while floating down rivers, camping in the mountains, or hitting venues across the West. It’s messy, it’s fun, and it’s exactly how we like it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? Not even close.

Being a band isn’t just about writing great songs and playing shows — it’s about being an entrepreneur, a band manager, a marketing professional, a sound engineer, a mixer, a producer, an HR department, and everything in between. The logistics, the planning, the constant problem-solving — words really can’t describe how challenging it is to create a successful music group – which is why most musicians desperately avoid the subject at the thanksgiving dinner table.

The truth is, you can’t just be good at one or two things. To make it as a band today, you have to be exceptional at everything. The music industry makes it a painstaking, uphill battle to make money. Plain and simple.

But here’s the thing: when you refuse to take “no” for an answer, keep your head down, and continually hone your craft while searching for ways to improve, you start to see results. I’ve experienced that firsthand, and it keeps me hopeful — not just for A Brother’s Fountain, but for any band out there with good intentions and a deep conviction to share their music with the world.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m proud of a lot of things we’ve accomplished, but one that stands out is our bandmate retention rate. In over ten years, we’ve only parted ways with two members — one was my brother, Josh, in the first year, so it hardly counts (he got busy with work), and the other was Lasha, the mandolin player’s wife, who joined for a couple years but got overwhelmed by the loud, dingy bars and late nights. Aside from that, our eight local bandmates have stuck it out. We’re a relationally oriented band — friendship comes first, and those bonds make the music stronger.

I’m also proud of a project we call ‘Only Music’. The idea is simple: travel from point A to point B with no money or food, just instruments and camping gear. Along the way, we play music and see what people will trade for a song.

Our latest Only Music adventure was rafting 120 miles down the Snake River near Boise. We stopped at every town along the way, sometimes walking into town, sometimes hitchhiking, and often knocking on every open business to trade music for a meal or a drink. More often than not, we ended up at the local watering hole, playing for a couple of hours in exchange for bottomless pitchers and a few cigarettes.

These journeys remind us why we make music: the goodness of people, the power of connection, and the endless inspiration you get when you’re out in the wild with your best friends, making music and chasing adventures.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Sometimes in life, you feel this pull to do something audacious — something that might make you fail, test your guts, and force you to really figure out who you are. For me, that thing is A Brother’s Fountain.

The ride with this band has been (and will be) one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done with my art, my time, my energy. Chasing this dream means that one day I can lie on my deathbed knowing I gave music the ol’ college try. And if it all comes crashing down tomorrow? At least I’ll know I threw myself into it, heart and soul, and I was part of a team that did the same.

And as we go, we try to leave people with a little more love, joy, and perhaps a new friend or two — a few good songs, a few good laughs, maybe a moment that sticks. That, to me, is the point of it all.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abrothersfountain.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/a.brothers.fountain
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abrothersfountain
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ABrothersFountain

Image Credits
All photos credit to: Abigail Fountain.