The indie-folk band that now calls itself Distance Walk started as a one-time group. The musicians came together to back singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjoist Barry Osborne when he was scheduled to play his cycle of folk songs based on the poetry of Depression-era writer Lorine Niedecker in fall of 2019 at Swallow Hill Music.
The gig went well; the musicians sold out the venue. Osborne was joined by Olivia Shaw on fiddle, Yoni Fine on guitar and Niki Tredinnick on vocals, clarinet and percussion. They all got along and started playing shows around the Denver area. During a gig at Mutiny Information Cafe in early 2020, without the time to perform the lengthy Niedecker song cycle, they changed things up and created a more expansive indie-folk sound.