Northern Colorado Rules!

More specifically Boulder area Colorado Rules, and pretty much only in bluegrass music competitions. They announced the winners of both the band and troubadour competitions this morning. I missed all of the troubadour finals, but I managed to see the final band competition on the main stage. Four bands played three songs apiece.

The bands: Green Mountain Grass, Daybreak Express, Lonesome Traveler Bluegrass Band, and Spring Creek Bluegrass Band.


Green Mountain Grass / Daybreak Express

Lonesome Traveller / Spring Creek

In the end...

Spring Creek took first and Lonesome Traveler took second! Both bands have been on Live @ Lunch in the past year.

The troubadour winner is none other than Gregory Alan Isakov who I hosted on Live @ Lunch just a few weeks ago! He's also from the Boulder area. I'm going of to see his set right now. Pictures will most certainly follow.

In other news, I'm starting to become quiet disgusting. Luckily the anti-bacterial qualities of KRFC's new bamboo t-shirts are working much better than expected. Despite my failure to shower for the past few days and my forgetting to bring any deodorant with me, I don't seem to be smelling too bad. Here's a picture so you can judge for yourselves how much in need of grooming I am.

Crooked Still

There were lots of great performances yesterday: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Chris Thile and How to Grow a Band, Guster... But the best by far was Crooked Still

I got in to town too late to see their set on the main stage, but luckily they played another set on a small stage in town. I love going into a show expecting something amazing and I'm blown away. These guys don't disappoint! First off, the music is better than it is on CD. They have an energy that just can't be captured by audio alone. Next, they're all amazing players. Greg, the banjo player, is almost as fast as Bela, and I've never seen anyone literally attack a cello the way Rushad does. Add to those the fact that they play the music I love and that Aoife is beautiful, and you've got me absolutely defeated. Oh yeah, and Cassey Driessen showed up and played most of the set with them too.

I took many pictures and got an audio recording of most of the show. The pictures, as usual, are pretty craptastic, and I'm not sure how well the audio came out, but Ill have lots to share when I get home. For now, here's a couple pictures from yesterday's bands:

Day One: Arrivals and Close Encounters

My first day in Telluride was an exciting one!

I got in to town about 2:30, just in time to miss Crooked Still, but in time to listen to the Avett Brothers while I set up my tent!

A little bit about the place I'm staying:

I'm camping in the yard of the neighbor of station manager of KOTO fm in Telluride. Carole hooked me up with his name and number and he's been graciously letting me mooch off his neighbors for the whole festival. I'm in a very small tent that my mother loaned me, and my car is park quiet precariously in the driveway. Without a permit, you're not allowed to park anywhere in the city on the street. Luckily, there was just enough room in the drive for me to squeeze in. The house is about a block away from the festival entrance as well. I can hear the main stage audio quiet clearly from my tent.

I got my press pass at the "special" will call tent and made my way inside. The festival grounds are beautiful! Beer is plentiful and not too expensive (if you keep your cup) and most people are friendly. The press pass allows me access not only to the backstage press area, but also to the prime seating right in front of the stage. That's why I'm able to take such close up pictures.

I've been rubbing elbows with artists and their families. I sat next to Abigail Washburn for a few hours yesterday and didn't realize it was her till after she'd left. I almost ran into Casey Driessen, and saw half of the members of Crooked Still a few rows over.

The best set I've seen so far was the Telluride House band, but it was fun to catch Emmilou and the Counting Crows. I left their set early, but I listened to them from the comfort of my tent as a fell asleep. It got pretty cold last night. Good thing my sleeping bag is rated for cold weather!

Internet service is spottier than expected, but it looks like I've got power close by to keep the posts coming! Expect more soon!

How Did I End Up Here?

So, through a rather bizarre series of events, I now find myself at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. I've been gone from Fort Collins for just over 24 hours now, and I've already had some crazy adventures on the Western Slope. I don't want to go into too much detail right now because I want to get back to the festival. I just want my friends and family to know that I am alive and well, I have a place to stay, my car appears to be safe and I am having a blast!

Press passes rule, by the way. Not only do I have backstage access, I also have a great seat right up front.!Here's a picture I took of the Telluride House Band:

(Darol Anger, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Bryan Sutton)

I'll try to keep posting throughout the festival until my laptop batteries die. I may be able to scare up some power from an old friend... more on that later!

I want to get back now to eat and catch a bit of Emmlou Harris. Look for new posts soon!