Mountain Rock
I always say that things like food, beer and music are better when you’re in the place where they belong. Sipping on a Mexican lager tastes way better when you’re on a beach in Baja than when you’re shivering on the shores of Lake Tahoe. And Coburn Station sounds even better when you’re sipping a pale ale listening to them on the deck of Alibi in Downtown Truckee, or when they’re playing in my headphones while I’m skinning up somewhere on the West Shore.
I caught up with my friend Conor McAlindin, drummer for Coburn Station, to get the backstory on one of Tahoe’s longtime local bands.
For the uninitiated, Coburn Station’s name is a nod to Coburn’s Station, the settlement that preceded the modern town of Truckee. Their music is similarly rooted in this place.
The band describes its sound as a mix of rock n’ roll, groove and psychedelia, with a heavy emphasis on live improvisation. You might call them a jam band, but the guys prefer their own term: Mountain Rock.
“Coburn Station is dedicated to filling the mountains with cosmic vibrations via a soulful blend of rock n’ roll, groove, and psychedelia.”
They draw heavily from the classic rockers of the past, while mixing in their own influences and leaving plenty of room for the music to go somewhere unexpected.
If you’re seeing Coburn Station live, don’t expect them to simply reproduce the album. They’ll never play the same setlist twice, or even play the same song the same way you heard it on the album. Expect the music to go unexpected places, and as Conor puts it:
“Hopefully you leave with your face intact…”
How did Coburn Station get started?
The members of Coburn Station didn’t originally set out to create a band. Dan McAlister, Thomas Page and Conor all worked together at the same local company in Truckee, and they’d often get together to jam. Those casual sessions eventually turned into a musical relationship that’s now lasted more than 15 years.
The current lineup came together when Brian Mooney joined on keys in 2016, shortly after the band released its first full-length album, Coming Home.
One thing Conor kept coming back to in our conversation is that there really isn’t a leader.
Conor handles much of the logistical side through McAlindin Music, including booking shows and managing the band’s website, but creatively, Coburn Station operates as a band of equals.
“What makes Coburn Station so special is all four members share the leadership responsibility.”
All four contribute original material, and all four have songwriting credits on their latest record, Tomorrows. Each brings different tastes and influences, which somehow get blended together into the distinctly Coburn Station sound.
“This democratic collaboration constantly inspires me.”
What keeps you doing it after 15+ years?
Conor has been making music since grade school and started writing songs at a pretty young age.
One of the first was written with his childhood friend and former bandmate Anthony Daniels. It was called “Ham Sandwiches,” inspired by what they apparently ate for lunch for much of that particular middle school year.
But it was performing live that really changed things for him.
Once Conor got a taste of playing music in front of a crowd in high school and college, he was hooked. The way he describes it is like a flow state, where everything else disappears and you stop consciously thinking about what you’re doing.
“When it’s all working right, you don’t think about anything, and the music just flows through you. I can’t really identify any other place in my life where I don’t think at all.”
That feeling is still a big part of why he plays.
When I asked what Coburn Station means to him beyond simply being a band, his answer was pretty straightforward.
“The band is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Nothing better than jamming with your buddies!”
That might also explain how a coworker jam session turns into a 15-year band. At its core, they’re still doing basically the same thing they were doing when they started: getting together with their friends and making music.
Conor jokingly calls it his “strongest addiction.”
How has the band evolved?
Coburn Station released its first full-length album, Coming Home, in 2016. Their second, Tomorrows, followed in the summer of 2024 with seven original tracks.
It also feels like the clearest representation of what the band has become. Every member has songwriting credits, and the record moves between different genres and influences without losing the Mountain Rock sound they’ve developed together.
Conor has previously described the record as looking at the pressures and stresses of life while trying to move forward, stay in the present and imagine what’s next.
But where Coburn Station really seems to come alive is when they take those songs onto the stage.
What makes a Coburn Station show different?
No two Coburn Station shows are ever the same.
They mix originals with carefully chosen covers, and setlists are built around the venue and vibe of a particular show. In keeping with the whole band-of-equals thing, different members take turns putting those setlists together.
Even then, they’re more of a suggestion than a strict plan.
“It’s ever-evolving, and never set in stone.”
Conor says they’ve never played the same setlist twice.
Songs themselves can change too. Improvisation is central to the band, and what begins as a fairly straightforward song can stretch out and turn into something completely different depending on what the band is feeling that night.
“We always try to surprise the crowd a few times throughout the show, and keep them on their toes.”
If you’re heading to your first show, Conor’s advice is pretty simple. Be ready to dance, meet some people on the dance floor, and don’t assume you know what’s coming next.
What makes Tahoe such a good place to make music?
Conor is particularly stoked on the local music scene and the opportunities to catch live music around the lake and in Truckee. There is live music everywhere during the summer, much of it free, outdoors and surrounded by places that would be pretty spectacular even without a band playing. Tahoe really seems to punch above its weight when it comes to live music.
But Conor thinks there’s something else going on too.
“I think it has something to do with the types of people that like outdoor recreation, ‘mountain people.’ Those types often breed creativity, and it shows here in Tahoe.”
For a relatively small mountain community, that produces a surprisingly deep pool of musicians.
Some of Conor’s favorite musical memories have happened right in Kings Beach, where he lives, at the Friday night summer concerts.
He also loves the Crystal Bay Club, and the Crown Room, where he’s been able to see bands he loves before they became too big to play such an intimate venue.
“I’ve been so lucky to see some of my favorite bands in the Crown Room before they blew up and were too big for it.”
And lately, one of Coburn Station’s favorite places to play has been River Ranch.
“Besides being an amazing venue right on the Truckee River, the folks that staff the place are amazingly generous, inspiring, and know how to throw a party.”
There’s another upside to making music here too. As Conor puts it, Coburn Station gets to be a bit of a “big fish in a small pond,” rather than trying to fight for attention in a major music market like San Francisco.
Conor beyond Coburn Station
Music is only one piece of Conor’s life in Tahoe.
He lives in Kings Beach and gets involved locally through community cleanups and town meetings around development. He works a regular 9-to-5, coaches his son’s baseball and football teams, bikes and boats through the summer, and skis through the winter.
He also recently beat me in the old guys category at the Hough Enduro, which I’m reluctantly sharing here.
It’s a pretty recognizable Tahoe existence: work, family, community, bikes, skis and trying to find the time to do it all.
For Conor, one of those things will always be making music.
What’s next?
Coburn Station recently wrapped up its summer 2026 shows, with nothing officially on the calendar in the immediate future. But the bigger thing on the horizon is getting back into the studio.
The band is planning to record its next round of original songs in 2027, with the goal of another full-length album. They may head back to 25th Street Recording in Oakland, where they recorded Tomorrows, or they may end up somewhere completely different.
Which feels pretty appropriate for a band that doesn’t even like sticking to a setlist.
“Like everything in Coburn Station, the path isn’t set in stone…”
Wherever that path takes them, Conor says it’ll be an adventure.
And despite two full-length albums, a growing catalog of original music, countless local shows and a loyal group of fans, his explanation for why they’re still doing it is considerably simpler:
“Nothing better than jamming with your buddies!”
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