Telluride Bluegrass Festival

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival has got to be the granddaddy of all bluegrass festivals west of Rosine, Kentucky. With upwards of 10,000 festivarians, and a lineup that gives you little time to eat dinner for fear of missing a "happening", there is no shortage of good times to be had.


Crooked Still laying it down

Telluride Bluegrass Festival is not strictly for bluegrass music. In fact, it was here that I saw my first Ani Di Franco show and discovered Xavier Rudd. This year is no exception with David Byrne and Elvis Costello some of the biggest names. But, for me, first and foremost, it's the bluegrass-style of music that gets my attention.

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Crooked Still is a band I'm diggin a lot lately and they laid down a sweet set on Friday. They are not your typical bluegrass band. Plus, there is no "star". Each member adds an integral 1/5 to the overall uniquely-their-own sound. Aoife (uh, could I buy a consonant?) has a voice that is tough to describe and easy to love. For me it's a cross between raspy, soft and soulfully sexy. And her delivery of the song is the other half of why it works so well . Her interpretation of even classics, like Darling Corey, make the song new and fresh. Tristin Clarridge plays the cello, you can see him up there on the left. I think this unique addition of the cello, playing leads, bassy stuff and chops, is really what gives Crooked Still that high-energy edge and different sound that so many are in love with. In fact it wasn't until I saw them on Friday, that it dawned on me, "Hey!, they don't have a guitarist!" Hell, that's like having a polka band without an accordion! (NB: Aoife does plays guitar on a couple tunes). Check them out here singing my favorite song of theirs, Hop High.

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So David Byrne. What can one say? I went into the show with little expectations. No actually I guess I expected him to do something weird that I probably wasn't going to be into. (I grew up loving the Talking Heads, but never went to a concert). Well, I was wrong. David has innovated again. What they are doing in a nutshell is mixing music with contemporary dance. Click on this for an example. I was thoroughly entertained. And by the time he busted into "Burning Down the House", I was us screaming along to every lyric that defined my early 80's youth. This set gets my vote for "Best Set of the Festival"

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One of the very best moments for me was during Sam Bush's set. He and John Cowan did a duet with Sam on acoustic guitar and sang Spider John. They really put their hearts into it and I was getting those familiar chills I get when the music gets infused with feeling and emotion. (See photo at the top of this entry).

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Every Telluride I discover new bands (for me) that become favorites. This year it has been Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis and the Zac Brown Band. Zac did a awesome cover of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic", that had everyone captivated.