Show Review

Folks regularly journey into the heart of the Rocky Mountains, where the little Switzerland of Telluride, CO resides, for powder runs, but in the summer this ski and board resort jams when it hosts the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival (TBF). This year marked the 30th anniversary of the festival, which was made possible with the help of about 400 volunteers, a year round staff of 8, and Planet Bluegrass.

Festival director, Craig Ferguson said, "we all enjoy working together like a family in a town that gives us complete support. Festival founder, Kooster McAllister recalls the first festival as a simple time when "we were all still hippies, but we went to town council to ask for the weekend and the date stuck...I think about 500 people showed up." In fact, TBF was the first bluegrass festival to create an unprecedented gathering. Over the years the festival progressed into a collection of up-and-coming and well-known talent that now draws a crowd of about 11,000.

Pictures of legendary artists hung on tree trunks, strategically placed for commemorative viewing along the line to the festival grounds. Amongst sun hats, shoes tied to backpacks, flying fruit, and clowns on stilts, a variety of talent including accredited Grammy winners spanning America and Australia performed. Although generally termed a bluegrass festival, the sign on stage read "Bluegrass and Country."

In actuality, artists come to Telluride spanning a diverse collection of genres for an overall healthy dose of fun in the sun. Artists who play at TBF are breaking the boundaries of defined music styles by simply playing what they enjoy. This sort of freethinking makes TBF a liberal event geared toward creating a widespread happy-go-lucky atmosphere through music.

Renowned for his dobro picking, Jerry Douglas best summarized the event when he said, "Playing Telluride Bluegrass, you have to stretch, the caliber of talent is so high. The place brings out the best in all of us, because it is also the most beautiful place to hold a festival in the world. The Bluegrass Festival is definitely the crown jewel." To keep the creative juices flowing, the TBF family augmented artists with other artists, and the results were astounding.

Best New Band Winners

Winners of Best New Band at the 2002 TBF began the festivities. Well known to many Texans, the South Austin Jug Band (SAJB) opened strong with their contagious energy. Dennis Ludiker’s fiddle and Willie Pipkin’s lead guitar soloed into their stylish riffs, while Matt Slusher on mandolin peaked into climactic solos until all instruments merged as one. James Hyland on rhythm guitar thanked the crowd and introduced a song off their special addition album specifically for Telluride. He humorously explained, "we enjoy songs about women and food, but this is not one of them." The upbeat instrumental incorporated tunes from many famous songs, and when one tune seemed to come to an end, Will Dupuy on stand-up bass transitioned the group into yet another. And the songs were far from typical parings, as they covered the King of the Hill soundtrack and then moved into Deep Purple' s "Smoke on The Water." After a brief rest, they picked it up again with Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing."

Pipkin defined the most infamous haircut for the next comical song. The colorful lyrics told the story of two 17-year-old trouble-making brothers with, of course, mullets, running from the police. As the crowd cheered them on, Pipkin welcomed fiddle player Warren Hood, who helped them earn the TBF award, to play some Django Reinhardt. Following up, Pipkin announced "My Baby and the Sunshine." With home on the range lyrics such as, "If you ever get cold, I got the wood, if you got the stove," the song earned an enthusiastic response. Before closing with "Old Fiddlers Breakdown" Pipkin proclaimed, "God bless music outside...that is where it belongs."

Speaking to the Heart

Next on stage came Mountain Heart. From within grass-rooted tones emerged the fiddle of Jim Van Cleve, known as an architect of fiddle playing, and the banjo of Barry Abernathy. Performing a song about John the Baptist, they declared, "it is straight out of the bible." As the set moved on, newest member, guitarist Clay Jones projected a combined vocal and instrumental solo, and eventually the harmonica sounded the beginning of their "soul train," which started the train theme for the day. Singing train songs is common in bluegrass performances, and it often becomes a "train chain" amongst other artists. By harmonizing gospel voices, they evoked the labored sounds of tired men working the rails. Adam Steffey, who won Bluegrass Mandolin Player of the Year, shone, while Cleve’s fiddle almost became a tearjerker. Referring to the mountains of North Georgia, Abernathy proclaimed, "The mountain man is here to stay," and their furious hands strummed onward. They closed with a "real time" ho down and a "thank you."

During intermission, a lady on stage sang, "rise up and recycle...be good to the Earth and she will be good to you." This open-minded respect for the environment was emphasized throughout the day through Earth friendly folks whom relayed a "leave no trace" message. The concept contributed to the ever-present "greening" mentality, as frequent acts of environmental kindness occurred. The strategy to keeping the festival clean was a simple endeavor. Ferguson explained, "...the fact that many of our guests park in town and ride the Gondola means less traffic, fumes, and emissions. The bulk of the crowd is now on foot. All of our major sponsors were chosen, not for fat checks, but because they are environmentally sensitive...Gibson Guitar made donations to help replenish forests."

One-Electro-Jam Orchestra

The sky spit rain until former festivarian Keller Williams graced the stage. He played TBF seven years ago and asked back this year, he graciously explained, "it is a complete honor to play here." He got the crowd moving with "Love Handles," singing to the Telluride folks about his abundance of love. "Kidney in a Cooler" morphed into a description of a dream, a double-decker-double-wide, and the crowd yelled and cheered. "Sunny Rain," showcased Williams beat box rhythms as well as his irregular bass lines. Then, with his trademark "mouth flugle," he performed his air guitar act as the crowd hollered in admiration. Williams introduced his next song, "in the memory of Michael Hedges," a musical revolutionist who Williams looked up to. In this song Williams explains how Hedges’ music took him to higher levels of musical understanding. As a philosopher teaches student philosophers, guru Hedges allowed Williams to take his musical ideas further. This song earned Williams swarms of cheers and smiles. Williams dedicated "Celebrate Your Youth" "to all the freaky people on the sides." To connect with the audience he reached out to the crowds near the speakers by alternating the raise of his arm to each side of the stage.

In a quirky, carefree attitude he conveyed that music is more important than lyrics in "Novelty Song," A funk rendition of "Johnny B Goode" and smooth transitions into an electronic train came raising from the stage as his voice echoed. Then, while cupping his hand to the mic to sing, and continuing the electronic sound with the re-looping process of his voice, he produced a locomotion sound. Following the train, Williams introduced friends Mike Kang on fiddle and Keith Moseley on bass guitar to the stage for "Portapotty." While Williams sang, the fiddle chimed in and he moved into a true Rastafarian feel. Later, he intuitively said, "this is the biggest open air room." In "Freaker by the Speaker" he gave a "fiddle" cue, and Kang performed an epic, emotional solo. The set concluded, and Williams walked off stage only to be beckoned back treating the crowd to Bob Marley’s "Redemption Song."

Waifs of Sweetness

From down under came the Waifs. The Australian band which features Josh Cunningham, along with sisters Donna and Vikki Simpson, recently toured with Bob Dylan and Kasey Chambers. Vikki Simpson, adamant about the soon to perform artist said, "Kasey Chambers is a wonderful representation of Australian music." The intriguing "Bridal Train" seemed to be their addition to the train theme of the day. A song of history, it told the heart warming story of the sister’s grandmother, who traveled by train across Australia and then to the U.S. with other Australian women to be brides for American sailors during a time of war. Vikki Simpson explained, "My grandmother used to say that American sailors are irresistible."

At one point, Donna chimed in with Vikki a bit off key, threw her arms in the air, and laughed. "Three months on the road, but I still got five more to go," she wailed. Continuing on, she proclaimed, "being in a band is a marriage. Three is an odd number and independent means hard work, but to have the freedom to go where you want, with your closest friends and play music to anyone who chooses to listen, it is just the best thing."

A Douglas Moment

The Jerry Douglas band came on stage accompanied by Bela Fleck. Unexpectedly, while Douglas introduced his band, a man ran the length of the crowd in front of the stage with a Canadian flag. Douglas commented, "I saw a Canadian flag on TV this morning. I don’t know what that means." So he asked if the audience was having a good time, and they responded with hollers. Douglas proclaimed, "We have just barely scratched the surface," and moved into "Hide and Seek." As stage lights glistened on his flat top guitar and he moved the slide across the dobro, Douglas performed with such an intense focus that he rocked back and forward in a trance. Fleck’s melodic banjo sounded and Witcher’s progressive fiddle joined him. Fleck raged on the banjo as the fiddle’s fluid sound took flight. The two talked to each other in a classic tale of inner struggle. The bass of Dan Jones molded modern bluegrass into concentrated tones. Fleck energetically picked while drummer Larry Atamanuik anchored the rhythm. This song won the love of the crowd, and Douglas explained, "sometimes we hide from ourselves."

In the following selection Douglas imagined Terry Parker, a hillbilly musician of the 1930’s and cartoon Fred Flintstone meeting for the first time. He started with a fast melody, then, Fleck slowed it down before the fiddle and bass conversed with each other until they twanged into a spat. The banjo and dobro jammed, and the bass and fiddle infused together, as the song concluded in an instrumental clash. After this musical journey of nonstop showmanship, Douglas asked, "Still with us?" The crowd hooted and whistled in response and the band played on.

Music Chamber

Aussie grown talent, Kasey Chambers received standing ovations in anticipation of her performance. Dressed in a cowboy hat and black garments, she played a song concerning a broken heart and the rain. Afterwards, as the crowd cheered, she introduced her father, Bill Chambers on dobro sitting to her right. Her other family members are also involved in aspects of her career and many travel with her. She said, "I'm glad my family is still a part of my act. Having them around is my security blanket."

Chambers explained that she once had a hankering to listen to Hank Williams for a week. The crowd identified with her and hollered. She sang with her blunt lyrics about a man in contempt declaring, "I'm a little bit lonesome, and it is all your fault." In "Barricades" Chambers sang, "we'll I'll be damned if your not my man before the sun goes down." In even another song, she sings she can "drink a man away."

Bela Fleck and The Flecktones

Premiere banjo player, Bela Fleck and the non-traditional Flecktones came on stage to a roaring crowd. The group playfully tuned their instruments, and then Victor Wooten began plucking the bass. Jeff Coffin’s sax danced with the bass into a crescendo then Future Man, playing his innovative synth-axe drumitar, a hybrid keyboard that is styled after the table of the periodic elements and involves guitar, synth, and drum machine percussion, created a funky groove in a 1700’s pirate outfit. The group’s lone horn section, Coffin, also played the flute. Thrilling notes flowed through Coffin’s flute, as his windpipes never gave up. Next, they performed a jazzy skat-styled song. The crowd grooved and howled in praise, as artists frequently try to get people to howl at bluegrass events.

A slower, bluesy 1930's era song eventually transitioned into the Beatles "All we Need is Love." Fleck hyped the crowd by playing a heart felt instrumental portion while the crowd sang a mantra. Then, Coffin broke into his dual alto and tenor sax jam, while Victor Wooten got crazy on the bass guitar adding several impressive kung fu swings of the guitar over his back and to the front. With a sound analyzer program the group often uses, Future Man produced occasional astral undertones that tugged at the soul. Then he played the drums while playing the drumitar on his chest. Wooten got the funk going with swift slaps of the bass, and the audience gave their utmost approval, and the group tossed stuffed animals into the crowd.

The evening brought an atmosphere of exhilaration. Stage lights reflected off the trees of the mountainsides surrounding the valley of the festival. These trees appeared as another audience watching the performance from various upper levels. The natural grandiose theater resembled Shakespeare’s Globe theater. In many ways, the artists on stage showed a creative talent as breathtaking as a Shakespeare play.

Salmon for the Main Course

Leftover Salmon graced the stage with Vince Herman’s fierce "ye ha!" Drew Emmitt’s fast pace mandolin licks and Jose Martinez’s drums flowed into keyboardist Bill McKay’s orgasmic organ accompaniment. Introducing "Gold Hill Lyon, about a town near Boulder, CO guitarist Herman admits, "they got one of them gold hills here too, I broke my head on it one time." The group’s synergy incorporated an array of vibrant energies. Emmitt’s hands blazed on the electric guitar while five-string banjoist, Noam Pikelny soloed. Next, Herman announced "Everything’s Round," a remake on their soon to be new release. This song contains grassy tunes grounded in simple feel-good lyrics. Herman sings, "You talk about the mother earth, learn what a circle is worth, return to the place of birth."

The following "Lincoln at Nevada," composed by Pikelny, concerned an intersection in Champaign, IL and hence received several hoots from the Illinois locals. Then, on a 4-piece custom-built drum set by Tribes Drums of Boulder, CO, drummer Jose Martinez helped transition into McKay’s boogie piano, which was delicately supported with the banjo. In an easy street beat, the bass of Greg Garrison and sax chimed their addition to the train chain. The group transitioned from city life to rural boonies, as the chorus alternated from "Railroad" to "Highway" and Herman described each in different phrases. Later, Emmitt’s magical backup vocal climaxed into various instrumental solos. The crowd’s active response was invigorating. A cosmic echo sounded as Emmitt’s fiddle exasperated the crowd’s attention.

Later, they switched back into what seemed to be an addition to their first song, as Herman sang, "I am going home." Greg Garrison’s bass tones playfully mingled in this slow arrangement. Herman announced, "There is nothing bigger to happen in the mind of a bluegrass boy then to get to pick on stage with Sam Bush," who frequently collaborates with Jerry Douglas, "and John Calvin at the same time," Together, they covered a John Hartford tune.

Following this, Herman introduced "Whispering Waters" by explaining: "there have been some fine nights here in Telluride, and even finer mornings when your down there next to the San Miguel River, everyone is singing Christmas carols, the suns coming up, and a bunch of wild freaks are walking up Bear Creek Valley near the waterfall, but there is nothing better then sitting next to that river." In response, the crowd cheered. This tribute to Telluride was a dazzling instrumental tale, and Herman yelled, "Festival... Happy 30th Birthday!" He thanked the audience, and told them he would see them in the campground.