With guys like Jack Bruce and Jack Casady, and before Geddy Lee and Les Claypool, Phil Lesh helped pioneer the bass as more than just a rhythm instrument in rock n’ roll. Phil Lesh was far from a backline character.
Noam Pikelny—the banjo maestro and member of both The Punch Brothers and Mighty Polar—he said it best in his always humorous statements from the stage. “Telluride is like ‘Lord of the Flies’ meets the Grand Ole Opry.”
Molly Tuttle and her magnificent band Golden Highway played the penultimate set at the 51st Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, leaving it all out on the stage, and in the case of Molly Tuttle, bearing more than just her soul.
The world is a better place because the music of Sierra Ferrell. Country music is better because Sierra Ferrell plays and performs. You are a better person if you partake in the music of Sierra Ferrell.
Charley Crockett made his Telluride Bluegrass Festival debut at the 51st gathering Thursday night (6-20), and left a massive impression, putting on what might be the most animated and impassioned set of his career.
Billy Strings and Chris Thile opened the 51st annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival Thursday (6-20), and they didn’t have a “performance,” they had a conversation in a language that only these two maestros could possibly comprehend.
There are few experiences like the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in picturesque Telluride, Colorado. Simply stepping foot into town is like entering a real life fairytale village, not to mention the world class music you’ll experience.
It’s all happening for Charley Crockett. And you’ve been warned for years to see the Texas native in small venues while you still can. Some fans may have their last opportunity to do so in 2024. For others it’s too late.
The only way the original roots of American country music have been able to endure in popular culture throughout all of these years is by finding willing hosts that allow the music to exist in their hearts.
Like some sort of woodland creature captured in a folk story that’s more myth and legend than physical manifestation, Sierra Ferrell dazzles the mind and imagination, and arrests you in a spell of charisma.”
You don’t make it 50 years unless you’re doing something right. 30 years ago the Telluride Bluegrass Festival was already considered legendary from the careers launched, the friendships forged.
The Punch Brothers were born at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2006, and the original lineup of The Punch Brothers officially played their final show at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2023.
The Telluride Bluegrass Festival has been around for 50 years, and turned in some legendary moments over that time. Sierra Ferrell’s set June 17th feels like one that will be entered into those annals of legendary festival moments.
Godwin was one of the artists chosen to help open the legendary Telluride Bluegrass Festival on its 50th Anniversary—a bucket list moment for any artist who cites bluegrass as an influence.
Dierks Bentley took the stage at the 50th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival with his new bluegrass band Long Jon.
There are bigger festivals, and maybe in someone’s opinion, better festivals. But few festivals in the roots space are as prestigious as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in beautiful Telluride, Colorado. Celebrating its 50th year in 2023 of hosting bluegrass and bluegrass-adjacent music in the beautiful mountains…
Certain events and venues take on an exceptional status in music, simply from the moments that happened there, the memories made, and the artists discovered. Such is the case for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which celebrated its 49th Anniversary in 2022.
“I’m not sure what a bar band from Oklahoma is doing here, but we’re sure glad to be here,” Evan Felker said from the stage. And after witnessing the set Evan and the rest of the boys from Oklahoma turned in, it wasn’t just one of those things you say to butter up the crowd.
It was a fiery set of music from Childers, who played some of his most-requested songs that he hasn’t been playing live recently. Tyler Childers also introduced a new member into his backing band, the Food Stamps, and it’s a familiar face.
The enthusiasm Molly Tuttle has rekindled for bluegrass is conferred to the crowd, and has helped light a spark under the entire genre. This was in top form when she took the stage for the 49th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado on Friday, June 17th.
Apparently Tyler Childers and his band were just down the road in Huntington, West Virginia practicing when they caught wind of the cancellation. Some calls were placed, and next thing you know, the roughly 200 people in attendance got a two-hour show from Tyler.
On Saturday, Senora May played the Mountain Mushroom Festival in Irvine, KY in her home region of Estill County. While performing, she announced that she is expecting, and then the assembled crowd got a rare treat as Senora handed off the guitar and mic to her “baby daddy.”
Tyler Childers might not be going bluegrass, but he is going to Telluride as one of the headliners of the 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Festival in beautiful Colorado. Along with Molly Tuttle, Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi, and others.
Bentley’s new record The Mountain is not some dramatic return to his bluegrass roots, and it’s probably not even fair to call it rootsy aside from a few songs. But it is a return to Dierks Bentley doing what he does best, which is putting out good, quality, often inspiring songs that are raised in importance since they’re something you enjoy with others.