Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats were the latest band inducted into the Colorado Hall of Fame. It was a joyous occasion during their sold-out holiday show, with special guest Mavis Staples, at Mission Ballroom on Dec. 11.
The band skyrocketed to fame following a breakout album in 2015. But for Rateliff and many of the other musicians, the road to recognition has been a long, slow climb.
Humble beginnings
In 1996, Nathaniel Rateliff made a break for it.
He left his hometown of Hermann, Mo., on an Evangelical mission trip with his best friend, Joseph Pope III. The boys were off to spread the gospel.
But the gospel found them in unexpected ways.
"The first part of missionary school is to work on yourself," Rateliff told The Guardian in 2015, shortly after the release of his breakout album, "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats." "In doing all of that, I realized that I was not a believer."
But it wasn't a crisis of faith — he had music. He had always had music. And Joseph Pope III did, too.
They met when they were 15, working together at a local Subway.
“He played a song on the acoustic (guitar) for me one night, and I just felt this grip,” Pope told Westword in 2015. “You know, like, ‘You need to do this with this guy and help him out along the way.’ We were kids in church, so it felt like a biblical prophecy kind of thing. It felt very fateful.”
Rateliff grew up playing music in church and writing hymns with his mother. So when he and Pope pivoted away from their faith and decided to leave Hermann, they headed to Denver and started the indie rock band, Born in the Flood.
By 2002, five years after Rateliff and Pope moved to Colorado, Born in the Flood was garnering attention. In February 2007, the band released its first full-length album, If This Thing Should Spill, and performed at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. They also opened for major acts, including Kings of Leon and Andrew Bird.
Despite their success, Rateliff turned down an offer from Roadrunner Records, a predominantly heavy metal and hard rock label. He wanted to make softer, more gentle music, choosing instead to focus on his singer-songwriter project, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Wheel.
The Wheel was signed by Rounder Records, a folk music label, in 2008. But Rateliff was dropped in 2012, as sales failed to meet the label's expectations.
At that point, Rateliff and Pope were asking the question many musicians are forced to ask themselves: Is this still worth it?
They had spent over a decade juggling music, side gigs, odd jobs and the tiring pursuit of fame.
"I was ready to give up,” Rateliff told 5280 in November. Pope agreed.
Liven up the band
In 2012, when The Wheel was dropped from Rounder Records, Rateliff hit the road with Chuck Ragan's Revival Tour — a traveling punk-meets-folk showcase started by the frontman of post-punk hardcore band Hot Water Music.
On tour, the ensemble played The Band's "The Shape I'm In." The song inspired Rateliff to sing in a new, gravely R&B register. And he began writing new songs to suit his new sound.
As he was exploring this evolution, he had a chance encounter with The Fray's vocalist and guitarist, Joe King.
They were both hanging out at Sputnik on South Broadway, a couple-block drag that's often a hot spot for local musicians. Rateliff ended up playing a few of his new songs for King, and King, impressed, offered him an opening set at his upcoming show at the Bluebird.
Rateliff started wrangling a band. But the new group only had a few days to rehearse. And they had another problem, too — they didn't have enough material, even for a short set.
It was time for a quintessential fix, Rateliff thought: a sing-along, stomp-clap crowd-pleaser that could be drawn out without losing the audience.
Thus, the iconic Night Sweats hit, "S.O.B.," was born.
The irony, Rateliff has since shared, is that the song always ignites a party in the room. But the lyrics are about his own experience with alcoholism and withdrawal.
It's also the song that put the band on the map, peaking on Billboard's US Adult Alternative Airplay chart at No.1 for four weeks in 2015. (IT also appeared on Canadian and UK charts at the time.)
The band's debut album in 2015, featuring "S.O.B.," was a gold record and sold over a million copies worldwide.
Since that fateful debut at The Bluebird in 2013, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats have released four studio albums, won an Album of the Year Award for "South of Here" (2025) from the Americana Music Association, and toured to over a dozen countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
More than a musician
In 2017, following his breakout success, Nathaniel Rateliff started The Marigold Project, a foundation that funds community and nonprofit organizations addressing issues of economic, racial and social injustice.
Rateliff was also recently appointed as Newport Folk Steward. He's the first artist to be bestowed with the honor since the festival's founding in 1959.
“We spoke to people in and outside the organization about who would be best for the position and there was a clear consensus that Nathaniel should be the first," said Newport Festival's Foundation Executive Producer Jay Sweet. "He truly embodies what it means to be ‘Folk Family’. He has always answered our call to help a cause, played every stage and has been a force behind some of our biggest musical moments, including the 2022 star-studded Paul Simon tribute set."
"If that’s not enough," Sweet added, "he’s also one of the kindest and most considerate people I know."
During his three-year tenure, Rateliff plans to focus on artist advocacy, curation, fellowship and mentorship.
Roll out the red carpet
On Thursday, Dec. 11, the second night of Nathaniell Rateliff & The Night Sweats' Annual Holiday Show, the band was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.
In a brief ceremony between sets, Scott Tobias, owner of Westword, and Don Strasburg, president of AEG's Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions, honored the musicians.
"Your achievements are international and have brought incredible respect to our community," Strasburg said, "and we thank you."
Rateliff, along with the rest of the Night Sweats band, including Pope III (bass), Patrick Meese (drums), Mark Shusterman (keyboards), Luke Mossman (guitar), Andreas Wild (saxophone), Jeff Dazey (saxophone) and Daniel Hardaway (trumpet/horns), will now reside in the CMHOF.
Many of these musicians have been in the Denver scene for decades, with notable previous and ongoing projects, including Patrick Meese's early-aughts indie band, Meese, founded with his brother Nathan Meese; Luke Mossman's former band, Achille Lauro, and his ongoing solo project, Ghost Gnotes.
During the ceremony, all of the musicians were beaming with pride.
"What a blessing, what a surprise," Rateliff said at the induction. "I love you all," he praised the sold-out crowd packing the Mission Ballroom. "You guys are our community. We're here for you, and you've been here for us."
Indie 102.3's Alisha Sweeney contributed to this report.
