Photos by JohnRyan Lockman
Words by Chris Lewarchik
The Summer Solstice has always been a significant time of year for celebration in many cultures and that holds true for Bluegrass “festivarians” as well. Each year, more than 10,000 music lovers, many of them repeat offenders, congregate in one of the most picturesque box canyons known to man, Telluride Colorado. This unique town has been host to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival since its inception in 1974. That’s 45 years of perfecting a balance of bluegrass, hippies, outdoor enthusiasts, and an inviting town that has allowed it all to flow, essentially making you feel like you are truly at the Disneyworld of music festivals: “The Greatest Place on Earth.” The Festival is run by Planet Bluegrass, made up of music fans/festival pros who work hard to achieve the perfect environment for a family festival that knows how to enjoy music and party, but handles themselves with pride and respect. Planet Bluegrass has always strived to, and succeeded in offering the best concert atmosphere with the music lover, town and environment always held in high accord. The thing that separates Telluride Bluegrass from other festivals is that it’s based in an outdoor enthusiast’s town which happens to have a festival problem – and that’s a good thing. Whether you are lucky enough to camp in Town Park with the picking parties raging dusk to dawn, or you are a condo warrior marching towards your home away from home with creature comforts galore, you start to realize how lucky you are to be in this town, at this time, for this festival. You’ve earned it, now go and show why people yearn for it. You have the mainstage acts, firstgrass, nightgrass, Elks Park workshops, and even special pop-up shows like Leftover Salmon’s living room set on Sunday. There is far more music that happens than any sleep-deprived festivarian could ever see. All in all, Telluride is the bluegrass festival that other festivals look up to because they have always been able to change with the times. Just ask some of the unsuspecting bluegrass fans how Sturgill Simpson blew many people’s minds on Sunday night as he closed out the festival.
On Wednesday the festival kicked off on top of Mountain Village, a gondola ride away, to see Firstgrass premier two upstarts in bluegrass, Billy Strings and The Lil Smokies. Billy is a new-comer to Telluride while The Lil Smokies won the Telluride Band Competition in 2015, but with a retooled lineup and new album they are making waves the likes of past winners Greensky Bluegrass. As for Billy Strings, the words phenom, prodigy, and Doc Watson’s reincarnation all run true but with a passion like no other, this kid is not to be missed. Some highlights from Billy’s cover heavy set were “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and a crowd pleasing “Black Clouds” by Telluride veterans String Cheese Incident. The Smokies had everyone moving to the eloquent and edgy violin work of Jake Simpson and finesse of Andy Dunnigan’s dobro licks. Some stayed on the mountain for a Nightgrass treat of The Travelin’ McCourys and Dierks Bentley while others braved the gondola ride down to town. The one thing that was evident, everyone was ready for the bluegrass days and nights ahead.
The sound of the bag pipes on Thursday morning signified the first tarp run of the festival. Watching the tradition “unfold” is a sight for the ages and truly one of summer’s pure joys. The last few years the festival has begun with some sort of Chris Thile incarnation and this year was no different. Chris came out of the gates with a stirring rendition of “Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground” and the festival was off and running like a festivarian locking down tarp space. Next up: Boulder, CO upstarts The Railsplitters delivered a solid performance. Next up, everyone congregated for a momentous occasion as Billy Strings got his shot at the Telluride mainstage and he did not disappoint. He even gave us our first Sam Bush appearance on a thrilling version of Tony Rice’s “Freeborn Man.” Billy and his fierce picking compadres took a bow and as he walked off you couldn’t help but think that was the first of many times the Telluride faithful would see him grace the mainstage. The illustrious Wood Brothers were next and did not disappoint, including a once in a lifetime “Midnight Rider” with the power slide of Derek Trucks sitting in. This was a sure highlight of the fest for many. The next act to grace the stage was the amazing all female folk super group I’m With Her. Sara, Sarah and Aoife are truly the leaders in female acoustic music and seeing this act for the first time was eye-opening to say the least. As the sun was giving way to a beautiful sunset, everyone’s favorite bluegrass family came to stage. The Del McCoury Band is a culmination of old and new as you watch Del and his sons weave through classics from the man himself. “Nashville Cats” is always a treat and there is nothing like the humorous banter of Del himself consistently taking requests and still playing what he wants to anyway. That’s why we love you, Del. The mainstage closer was the highly anticipated Tedeschi Trucks Band. They did not disappoint by any means. From the talented horn section, to the soulful sounds of Mike Mattison, TTB laid down an incredible set which included an appearance by Del and the boys. Then came some amazing dual slide work with Derek and Sam Bush in the latter moments of the set. This set will be one that will be talked about for years. Everyone walked away from Thursday night with smiles upon smiles, knowing the first night was over, but the fest had just begun.
Festival Friday was in full effect with some newer acts from overseas. The morning started with The Maes; two sisters from Australia who put a contemporary twist on folk and were quite enjoyable. The other overseas act was Frigg. A string heavy band who call themselves Nordgrass, were stellar. Phoebe Hunt and the Gatherers were rousing as she played some of her new album, Shanti’s Shadow, with her husband Dominick Leslie who is no slouch on Mandolin. Telluride regular Jerry Douglas Band put an interesting twist on the Hendrix classic, “Hey Joe.” The Infamous Stringdusters graced the stage for the first time after their Grammy win and didn’t disappoint. They even did a sweet twist on the Phish classic “Possum.” Nightfall brought out some heavy hitters, with Emmylou Harris followed by the Telluride House Band who are essentially an all-star band of the best in acoustic music today. Greensky Bluegrass brought the heat to close out the mainstage, including a crowd singalong of “Into the Mystic” that did not disappoint. The festival was full speed ahead and barely halfway through. That’s why 4 day festivals are a marathon not a horse race.
The campgrounds awoke to stories galore Saturday, one of which included Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon parading with a large contingency through town singing Christmas carols from the Palm Theater late night to Camp Howdy for an intimate pick with his son Silas. The buzz of Friday quickly spilled into the band contest on main stage with Wood Belly out of Boulder taking the honors. A nice afternoon set by Bela Fleck and Brooklyn Rider spilled into another legendary Peter Rowan set. Everyone’s anticipation was building for Live From Here hosted by Chris Thile. This is the spinoff of Prairie Home Companion and pulling it off at Telluride will go down in history. To see a live radio broadcast was a feat in itself, and the execution was perfect. Truly a Telluride treat. Next St. Paul and The Broken Bones was quite the spectacle. So much soul in the performance that the lead singer threw his sole (shoe) against the stage backdrop very emphatically immediately after destroying a bouquet of flowers on the stage lip. The Sam Bush Band took the stage next and played some Telluride classics and some reggae grooves that got the crowd moving before Leftover Salmon brought Saturday night to a close showcasing lots of new material from their album Something Higher to the crowd’s delight.
When you wake up Sunday in Telluride it’s a moment of sadness and joy as you reflect on what has happened but crave to make a few more memories before it’s over. Memories were definitely made Sunday. From a beautiful War & Treaty set, to the intimate Edgar Meyer and Christian McBride duo. The crowd was just getting in the groove when Yonder Mountain String Band pulled off a timely classic “Don’t Fear the Reaper” with Sam Bush on cowbell. Oh Telluride you didn’t just do that, as if the marshmallows weren’t enough! If you were fortunate enough to catch the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band put together an intricate display of historic musicianship, you were one of the lucky ones. As everyone stood anticipating a rocking performance from neo-country legend Sturgill Simpson, we hardly knew what we were in for or what was about to hit us. Sturgill left the crowd in a sense of shock and disbelief that one man, his guitar and his band could leave us that mind-blown from a festival closing set. It reminded some of Robert Plant closing out the mainstage in 2011 to snow falling on the red rock rim of the canyon. Either way his performance was an exclamation point on what Telluride Bluegrass festival is. The same but different. There may be other festivals but there is, was and only will be one Telluride. So next time a friend says “You’re going to a bluegrass fest?” shake your head and know “if you have to ask….you will never understand.” Thanks Telluride.
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