GREETINGS FESTIVARIANS! GREETINGS FESTIVARIANS!
While the other half of our planet is experiencing the century’s longest lunar eclipse, the full moon over RockyGrass keeps on shining. The bluegrass stars are shining bright, and they whisper from on high: Behold a RockyGrass weekend rarer than the blood moon… Historic reunions, unique collaborations, Hot Rize’s 40th!
Welcome to the center of the bluegrass universe, where acoustic instruments are larger than life and the ancient tones resonate in the currents of the St. Vrain River.
Inspired by a music that honors tradition and reuse, we’re celebrating our third year offering only reusable plates at our food vendors. Thanks to your overwhelming support, this year we’re adding reusable forks and spoons! Help us keep this groundbreaking program completely free by returning all your reusables to the waste stations— staffed by volunteers from the Lyons High School band!
After three years of preparation, we’re excited to debut our new parking and camping at the nearby Planet Bluegrass Farm. We’re also extending the idea of “reuse” to Festivarian transportation, by repurposing Telluride’s retired Galloping Goose buses to provide free rides to the parking area.
We’re excited to introduce our new beer partner Avery Brewing! Fill up one of our new reusable cups with the Lyons debut of their Festival Lager. Be sure to visit their
partner booth for beer tastings every day at Noon and 4pm. While you’re in the partner area, pick a ddle tune on one of the contest instruments or visit with one of our local non-pro ts— including Protect Our Winters and KGNU (who are streaming the entire festival for the 11th year!).
Dance, pick and sing. Find a spot on an open tarp up front. Drink lots of water, use sunscreen often, and cherish this magical time together. We’re so glad you’re here.
Shine on! planet bluegrass
FESTIVAL PARTNERS FESTIVAL PARTNERS
A FEW FESTIVAL GUIDELINES A FEW FESTIVAL GUIDELINES
Feel free to sit on any open tarp (especially up front) until its owners return.
Climbing the hillsides or cliffs is strictly prohibited.
There is no lifeguard watching your kids in the river. Please monitor your children carefully.
Please do not smoke in the audience. Wander over to the smoking tent near the river, and deposit your butts in the proper receptacles.
Once placed on, wristbands are nonrefundable and non-transferable.
If you remove, tear, damage, or lose your wristband, we will not replace it.
Please use only low-backed chairs in designated areas. If we can roll a basketball under your chair, we will ask you to move it behind the sound booth. Umbrellas, shade tents, and other view-obstructing items are allowed only along the river & back perimeter.
Please be respectful of others, and do not stand in the Festival seat ing areas.
No dogs are allowed at the Festival, in the campground, or in the park ing lots. If you leave your dog in your car, we will call Animal Control to safely remove your dog from the car.
Lost and found is located at the Festival box of ce.
SUSTAINABLE FESTIVATION SUSTAINABLE FESTIVATION
With your help, the Planet Bluegrass festivals continue to be models of Sustainable Festivation. As we continue to broaden the scope of our efforts, here are a few of our recent achievements.
WASTE STREAM
All offerings from our food vendors must be either reusable, compostable, or recyclable. So for the past 7 years, we have removed landfill containers inside the festival grounds in an effort to raise awareness of the land ll items brought in by Festivarians.
To help improve our waste practices, we have been auditing our waste stream in detail since 2009. When we removed compostable plates from our waste stream in 2015, “diversion rate” became a less useful metric. Instead, we now aim to reduce the overall waste the festival generates.
The power is in your hands, Festivarians. Let’s bring our collective attention to avoiding single-use items and make reusable cups, bottles, plates, and utensils our Festivarian Toolkit of choice.
CARBON FOOTPRINT
Since 2007, Planet Bluegrass has been neutralizing the festival’s travel and energy emissions by investing in carbon reduction projects. Thanks to our 15-year partnership with Renewable Choice Energy (now Schneider Electric), Planet Bluegrass has offset 25,630 metric tons of carbon and purchased 5,402 megawatt hours of renewable electricity. That’s the equivalent of not burning 32 million pounds of coal or taking 6,350 vehicles off the road for an entire year!
This year we again partnered with Pinhead Climate Institute to purchase Colorado-based agricultural carbon offsets generated by the May Ranch, a 16,480acre parcel of Colorado shortgrass prairie. Through this “regenerative agriculture” project, the May family is paid to leave its soil forever intact and untilled, where it can remove planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere, store it, and help address global climate change.
OUR COMMUNITY
Each year, your generous tips at the beverage booth help fund local organizations including Lyons Fire Protection District, Habitat for Humanity, Lyons Community Foundation, and the St. Vrain Creek Coalition. This weekend’s daily tips will go directly to Leave No Trace, the Lyons Regional Library District Foundation, and Protect Our Winters. Thank you, Festivarians!
PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION
This Spring we took the next major step in committing to higher standards of purpose, accountability and transparency—in perpetuity. Since 2015, Planet Bluegrass has been a Certified B Corporation™. This voluntary certification required a rigorous examination of our business, environmental and community practices.
In 2017, we donated 1,100 pounds of leftover food (from our Lyons festivals’ vendors and catering) to local
But as a company, we wanted to make a more long-lasting commitment. Thanks to the advocacy of B Lab (the nonpro t entity responsible for certifying B Corps) more than 30 US states now offer a framework for responsible business: the Bene t Corporation. Last April we made the legal changes to become Planet Bluegrass, PBC—one of a growing number of Public Bene t Corporations in Colorado. To learn more, visit with B Corp in the partner area during the Festival.
In 2016, we traded single-use compostable plates and bowls for 4,000 sturdy reusable ones made from a sustainable mixture of bamboo, sugarcane, and corn. This program makes our Lyons festivals the rst and only special events in Colorado to offer a Reusable Plate Program—all at no additional cost to Festivarians!
Last year’s program was our most successful: we diverted 29,480 single-use compostable plates from the waste stream (nearly double 2016!), while dramatically reducing overall waste! Plate loss dwindled from 31% in 2016 to 13% at RockyGrass 2017, to only 5% at Folks Fest 2017. Thanks to our amazing food vendors, volunteers, and Festivarians for making this program a success!
This year, with assistance from Boulder County’s 2018 Zero Waste Funding Program, we are introducing 6,000 reusable forks and spoons. At RockyGrass alone, we expect to divert 30,000 single-use compostable utensils from our waste
stream! Please return all reusable utensils to the “Plates” bin in the waste stations.
Want to start a reusables program at your event? We’re eager to share what we’ve learned! In addition to providing online resources, we will be offering on-site tours of the dish pit to event organizers and curious Festivarians. For a peek behind-the-scenes, sign up at the Sustainable Festivation booth or email green@bluegrass.com.
This program is a collective effort; it absolutely cannot succeed without your help. Please remember to return all plates and utensils to the proper bin, never take plates or utensils outside the festival grounds, and remind your fellow Festivarians to do the same! This program is the only one of its kind, as it is completely free to all Festivarians. Let’s work together to make sure it can stay that way!
FARM FARM
This summer, we’re excited to welcome you to the next major evolution of the Festivarian experience: the Planet Bluegrass Farm.
As festival attendance and traf c through Lyons has increased over the years, our use of Bohn Park for parking (nearly a mile from the festival grounds) continued to raise concerns about pedestrian safety, parking in neighborhoods, and our impact on congestion. So in 2015, Planet Bluegrass purchased the 28-acre property up the North St. Vrain River adjacent to the Ranch.
After spending 2 years restoring the property from flood damage, last August the citizens of Lyons voted to annex the Farm into the Town of
Lyons. Under the agreement with the Town, the property will be used for parking and camping to support the Festivals on the Ranch, while functioning as a working farm the rest of the year.
As RockyGrass is the first use of this new property for parking and camping, please tread lightly and be respectful of our new neighbors. Looking toward the future, we’re envisioning a pedestrian underpass to alleviate any road crossings on your journey to the Festival. But until that time, travel between the properties under the bridge or through the river is strictly prohibited.
We welcome your Farm feedback via our online survey (www.bluegrass.com/rgsurvey), email to planet@bluegrass.com, or 800-624-2422.
CAMPSITE CHALLENGE CAMPSITE CHALLENGE
With more than 2,000 campers in Lyons this weekend (more than doubling the size of our town!), it’s vitally important to be mindful of our camping footprint. In collaboration with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and EcoProducts (suppliers of free compostable bags for your campground compost), we will again be rewarding campsites that excel in creative, sustainable camping.
To nominate your campsite or one of your neighbors:
1. Submit a 1-page entry form at the Leave No Trace booth – explaining how the campsite exhibits cleanliness, sustainability, and creativity.
2. Stop by the Leave No Trace booth each day to view the campsite entries and vote for your favorites.
Each day we select 2 winners—one random, one staff choice—for prize packages that include: Avery beer, Klean Kanteen reusables, and Planet Bluegrass merch.
After the pack-out on Monday we will select grand prize winners to receive a pair of 3-day passes and camping for the 2019 RockyGrass. Congrats to 2017 winners: Anarchy in the Out eld
Mastering all shades of Bluegrass
MUSIC COMPETITIONS MUSIC COMPETITIONS
Since the first Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival in 1973, the band and instrument contests have been an important part of the Festival experience. Discover the next generation of musicians as they vie for new instruments and spots on the main stage. Past instrument finalists have included Mark O’Connor (1974) and Tim O’Brien (1975), as well as recent band winners Steep Canyon Rangers (2001) and Meadow Mountain (2017).
INSTRUMENT COMPETITIONS
Each instrument contestant performs 2 tunes in the preliminary round. The top 3 on each instrument advance to the nal round where they perform 2 different tunes. Judged “in the blind,” musicians are scored using the following criteria:
PRIZES
1st Prize: Instrument
2nd Prize: $100
3rd Prize: $50
BANJO
1st Prize: Deering John Hartford Banjo
Prelims: Friday, 11:30am, Wild ower Pavilion Finals: Saturday, 10:30am, Main Stage
FLATPICK GUITAR
1st Prize: Preston Thompson D-MA Guitar
Prelims: Friday, 1:00pm, Wild ower Pavilion Finals: Saturday, 10:15am, Main Stage
BAND COMPETITION
MANDOLIN
50% OVERALL ABILITY
(includes dif culty, expression, and execution)
25% RHYTHM
25% TONE
1st Prize: San Juan Mandolins F-5
Prelims: Friday, 2:30pm, Wild ower Pavilion
Finals: Saturday, 10:00am, Main Stage
FIDDLE
1st Prize: Thomas Verdot Paragon Fiddle
Prelims: Friday, 4:00pm, Wild ower Pavilion
Finals: Saturday, 9:45am, Main Stage
DOBRO
1st Prize: Paul Beard Deco Phonic Model 57
Prelims: Friday, 5:30pm, Wild ower Pavilion Finals: Saturday, 9:30am, Main Stage
SCHEDULE
Cheer on these inspiring young bands from around the country as they gather around a single microphone to compete for a spot on the 2019 RockyGrass lineup.
2018 CONTEST BANDS
Bowregard Boulder, CO
The Bow Ties San Francisco, CA
Gift Horse Meadow Park, CO
Man About a Horse Philadelphia, PA
Mark Lavengood Band Grand Rapids, MI
Ran Off the Rooster Estes Park, CO
Steel Wind Oklahoma City, OK
Stillhouse Junkies Durango, CO
Turkeyfoot Denver, CO
Prelims: Saturday, 1:30pm, Wild ower Pavilion
Finals: Sunday, 1:30pm, Wild ower Pavilion
BAND COMPETITION PRIZES
1st Prize: $750, strings & 2019 RockyGrass main stage performance
2nd Prize: $500 & strings
3rd Prize: $300 & strings
The Wernick Method in Colorado!
LafayetteLyonsFrisco Learn to jam with the best...
Kevin Slick Aug 18-Sept 15 Saturdays, 1-4pm
K.C. Groves & Erik Yates Sept 30-Oct 21 Sundays, 11am-3pm
7000 students in over 43 states and 10 countries!
“I wish I had been introduced to this format much earlier. Isolated music is nowhere near as fun as being with a group.”
John Holenko Jul 30-Aug 3 Mon-Fri, 1-4pm
Make music with friends, Make friends with music!
Pete & Joan Wernick Jam class
Noon Saturday, Wildflower Pavilion Bring your instrument! Only 4 chords required: G, C, D, A.
“I’ve been waiting to start playing real bluegrass with people and now I can.”
You will learn jam skills while playing “real bluegrass” in small groups at moderate speeds with low-key, understanding coaching — no one left behind!
l How to follow new songs quickly/easily
l How to fake a solo when you don’t know the song
l Full jam etiquette of typical jams
l Learn classic songs, harmony singing, much more! .... with people like you, who live near you!
“I came out of my shell and had a blast jamming with new friends on the rst day.”
Find a class, register now at:
2018 MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
JULY 27
10:00am Gates Open
11:00 - Noon Meadow Mountain
12:15 - 1:30pm The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
1:45 - 3:00pm Richie & Rosie
3:30 - 4:45pm Robbie Fulks
5:15 - 6:30pm Alison Brown, Becky
Buller, Sierra Hull, Missy Raines & Molly Tuttle
7:00 - 8:30pm David Grisman
Quintet Reunion
featuring Mike, Darol, Todd & Wyatt Rice
9:00 - 10:30pm
Sam Bush
Bluegrass Band
SATURDAY
JULY 28 SUNDAY JULY 29
9:00am Gates Open
9:30 - 11:15am Instrument Contest Finals
11:30 - 12:30pm Bill & The Belles
12:45 - 1:45pm Grant Gordy Quartet
2:00 - 3:15pm The Cleverlys
3:45 - 5:00pm Balsam Range
5:30 - 6:45pm Della Mae
7:15 - 8:30pm ArtistWorks
Bluegrass All-Stars: Bryan, Darol, Michael, Mike, Missy & Tony
9:00 - 10:30pm David Grisman & Peter Rowan Play
“Old & In The Way” with Sam Bush, Keith Little & Samson Grisman
10:00am Gates Open 11:00 - Noon The Lyons Bluegrass Collective
12:15 - 1:30pm Jeff Scroggins & Colorado
1:45 - 3:00pm I Draw Slow
3:15 - 4:30pm Jeff Austin Band
5:00 - 6:15pm Peter Rowan Band: Carter Stanley’s Eyes
6:45 - 8:00pm Steep Canyon Rangers
8:30 - 10:00pm Hot Rize
Join us for free yoga inside the festival: Friday, Saturday
WILDFLOWER PAVILION WILDFLOWER PAVILION
FRIDAY
JULY 27
11:30am
Banjo Contest: Preliminary Round
1:00pm
Flatpick Guitar Contest: Preliminary Round
2:30pm Mandolin Contest: Preliminary Round
4:00pm Fiddle Contest: Preliminary Round
5:30pm
Dobro Contest: Preliminary Round
SATURDAY JULY 28
12:00pm Pete & Joan Wernick: Basic Bluegrass Jamming (Bring your instrument!)
1:30pm Band Contest: Preliminary Round
3:45pm Darol Anger & Emy Phelps: Music of Our People
5:00pm John Reischman & Friends
SUNDAY JULY 29
12:30pm Boulder Valley Waldorf School Strings 1:30pm Band Contest: Final Round 3:00pm Meadow Mountain & Friends
4:30pm Justin Hoffenberg, Dominick Leslie & Friends: Growing Up at RockyGrass
ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS
MEADOW MOUNTAIN
FRIDAY
11:00 - NOON
THE PO’ RAMBLIN’ BOYS
FRIDAY
12:15 - 1:30pm
We all find our own entry point into bluegrass music. For many it’s Monroe or Scruggs or Old & In The Way. For Jack Dunlevie (mandolin) and Summers Baker (guitar), it was Punch Brothers. The two bonded in their Vail Valley high school over the progressive stringband, spending their college breaks learning bluegrass through jams at farmers’ markets. “It was only when we dug into the history of the music that we discovered how rich this tradition
“A tree can’t stand without its roots. So we are just trying to keep those roots alive,” says mandolinist C.J. Lewandowski. Born in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys spring to life with all the zest and zeal you’d expect from a 1950s-style Tennessee bluegrass band: Jasper Lorentzen’s bass pounds like a jackhammer keeping time; the melodic rhythm of Josh ‘Jug’ Rinkel’s guitar hooks you deep and doesn’t let go until the last playful
of bluegrass actually is,” says Summers. By their college senior year, Meadow Mountain—which now includes Ian Parker (fiddle), George Guthrie (banjo), and Wilson Luallen (bass)—took form. The Denver quintet have been TEDx presenters, the house band of the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship, and deserving winners of the 2017 RockyGrass band contest. Today our journey into the 46th RockyGrass begins with Meadow Mountain. Let the pickin’ begin!
note of Jereme Brown’s banjo. This is authentic bluegrass with heart and conviction (highlighted on their new Gospel collection God’s Love Is so Divine). With their recent signing to prestigious Rounder Records, the Boys don’t just ramble into their first RockyGrass, they arrive—with the kind of hard-edged, first-generation sound that would’ve inspired Bill Monroe to book them for the 1st Annual Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival 45 years ago.
RICHIE & ROSIE
FRIDAY
1:45 - 3:00pm
“I ain’t going nowhere, nowhere in time.” Richie Stearns and Rosie Newton grew up 150 miles and a few decades apart. A founding member of past RockyGrass headliners The Horse Flies, Richie’s innovative banjo style (which Tony Trischka describes as “a transcendentally clawhammering force of nature”) has led to collaborationswithNatalieMerchant,David Byrne, and Pete Seeger. While Rosie— dubbed “a truly monster old-time fiddler” (No Depression)— found
herself fiddling with folk rockers The Mammals while still in high school. Together, the 2 found kinship in Ithaca, NY’s old-time scene, as the 5-piece Evil City String Band and (for the past 5 years) this powerful duo of 2 voices and 2 instruments. With their beautiful 2nd album Nowhere in Time, these 2 musicians—in 2 very different parts of life—craft music that is both danceably ferocious and quietly personal. “I am only here right now, I am yours and you are mine.”
ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS
ROBBIE FULKS
FRIDAY
3:30 - 4:45pm
ALISON BROWN, BECKY BULLER, SIERRA HULL, MISSY RAINES & MOLLY TUTTLE
FRIDAY
5:15 - 6:30pm
DAVID GRISMAN
QUINTET REUNION
FEATURING MIKE, DAROL, TODD & WYATT RICE
FRIDAY
7:00 - 8:30pm
If you don’t yet recognize the name “Robbie Fulks,” today is the most inspiring day of your musical year. Like your songs tightly crafted? Robbie dropped-out of Columbia University in the ‘80s to focus on the Greenwich Village songwriter scene. Prefer your pickin’ gutsy? Robbie’s guitar chops landed him a spot in legendary bluegrass band Special Consensus. Need a little rebel? Robbie’s early solo albums helped define the “alt-country” movement
As these 5 virtuosic artists take the stage for the first time this evening, it’s tempting to focus on their role in shattering the ‘grass ceiling—as the first women to win IBMA Instrumentalist awards on their respective instruments: Alison (banjo, 1991), Missy (bass, 1998 + 7 more years!), Sierra (mandolin, 2016 & 2017), Becky (fiddle, 2016), Molly (guitar,2017).Asinspiringmusicians and mentors, they’ve earned an immediate ovation. But let the open-
40 years ago, Hot Dawg opening track “Dawg’s Bull” twin-mandolin’d its way through home hi-fi’s for the first time.Itwasaboldmissionstatement: inventive chord voicings, Hot Club lyricism, modern jazz harmonies, swinging rhythms, bluegrass drive and instrumentation. David Grisman was the visionary maestro, but much like the Blue Grass Boys of the 1940s, each of the Quintet members brought his own distinctive voice and vocabulary to the developing
of the ‘90s. Crave some wit? Robbie’s weekly residency at The Hideout has featured mash-up themes like Thelonious Monk vs. The Monkees and Jerry vs. Lou Reed. And his 2017 release Upland Stories (which Tim O’Brien called “soul bluegrass for the modern day hillbilly”) earned a year’sbest nod from Rolling Stone. This afternoon Robbie is joined by Shad Cobb(fiddle),MattFlinner(mandolin), and Todd Phillips (bass) for this hotly anticipated RockyGrass debut.
heartedcheersringon:assingersand songwriters, each has led her own influential ensembles on this stage; as collaborators, each lifts everyone around her through her generosity andmusicaldrive;asrecordingartists, each is sophisticated and impeccably tasteful (sharing the studio recently for Missy’s “Swept Away”). And when the applause finally quiets, they’re 5 of our favorite pickers crafting a magnificent set of music on the RockyGrass stage.
Dawg music—guitarist Tony Rice, fiddler Darol Anger, bassist Todd Phillips,and21-year-old mandolinist Mike Marshall. Together they were creatingsomethingnewascomposers, arrangers,andimprovisers.Witheach gigtheywereredefining“newacoustic music” and influencing future generations of stringband musicians. Tonight we reunite this seminal band forthefirsttimeinyears,featuringthe masterful Rice-style guitar of younger sibling Wyatt Rice.
ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS
SAM BUSH BLUEGRASS BAND
FRIDAY
9:00 - 10:30pm
BILL & THE BELLES
SATURDAY
11:30 - 12:30pm
GRANT GORDY QUARTET
SATURDAY
12:45 - 1:45pm
“As you go through life as a musician,” offers legendary mandolinist (and fiddler)SamBush,“trytokeepinmind the reason you started playing, which is that you love music.” For more than 45 years, the Kentucky native has been bringing vivacious joy to stages and stereos: as the co-founder of seminal progressive bluegrass outfit New Grass Revival; an in-demand collaborator with everyone from Emmylou Harris to Lyle Lovett; and a bandleader with 8 solo albums under
“We like old music—and some of us are consumed by it,” smiles singer/ guitarist Kris Truelsen. Kris grew up around Boulder County, but he found his true home among the mountains and musical legacy of Tennessee, where he earned a Masters in Appalachian Studies. Joining with like-minded singers/musicians Kalia Yeagle (fiddle), Grace Van’t Hof (banjo), and Karl Zerfas (bass), the quartet (named after 1920s performers Bill and Belle Reed) embraces a light-
Grant Gordy’s high school bedroom was decorated with scanned photos from the DGQ-20 liner notes. At age 17, he discovered David Grisman’s Dawg music—“the coolest music I’d ever heard in my life.” And by his mid-20s Grant had earned a spot as the legendary band’s full-time guitarist. “Taking part in the lineage of Dawg guitarists gave me a unique and nearly sacred (to me) opportunity to leave my own mark on the canon of Dawg music.” Over his 6-year tenure,
his name. And through it all, Sam’s love for the music and his audience still inspire him to jam harder than everbefore.OnthisRockyGrassFriday night, Sam and his band—Scott Vestal (recipient of the 2017 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo & Bluegrass on the RockyGrass stage last year!), Stephen Mougin (guitar), Todd Parks (bass), and Chris Brown (percussion)—open up the bluegrass songbook to lovingly celebrate their bluegrass roots.
hearted approach to the golden era of early 1900’s pre-bluegrass music, somewhere between old-time country andvaudeville.Whilethey’reregularly heard performing comical jingles as the house band for Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time (presented by the Birthplace of Country Music Museum), Bill & the Belles’ rich harmonies and bright melodies shine today on their wonderfully sentimental originals, as featured on their upcoming debut Dreamsongs, Etc.
Grant’s deft assimilation of post-bop jazz and freethinking improvisation left an enduring mark. Today with his Quartet of Alex Hargreaves (fiddle), DominickLeslie(mandolin),andAidan O’Donnell (bass), Grant’s elegant and wonderfully unpredictable flatpicking leaves a mark on his own music (first introduced on his selftitled 2010 debut); inspiring a young Festivarian somewhere to begin printing pixelated photos of their new guitar hero.
Bluegrass great Peter Rowan pays tribute to e Stanley Brothers and other musical heroes on his Rebel Records debut.
ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS
THE CLEVERLYS
SATURDAY
2:00 - 3:15pm
BALSAM RANGE
SATURDAY
3:45 - 5:00pm
DELLA MAE
SATURDAY
5:30 - 6:45pm
“If Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, and SpinalTapspawnedalitterofpuppies, it would be the Cleverlys” (New York Times). From a remote thicket of Stone County, AR, comes Digger Cleverly and his family band: a distilled group of rode-hard musicians known as Sock Cleverly (fiddle), Cub Cleverly (mandolin), DVD Cleverly (banjo), and Ricky Lloyd Cleverly (bass). Raised on Lester Flatt and AC/DC, these days the boys focus their bluegrass chops on the purveyors of classic
When Balsam Range’s 4 singers slide into a high harmony you can’t help but stop, tilt your head back, and gaze up in grateful wonder. Ah, RockyGrass!Injustoveradecade,the North Carolina quintet, named for the majestic mountains where the Great Smoky meet the Blue Ridge, have earned a remarkable 10 IBMA Awards (including Entertainer, Song, Album, and Vocal Group of the Year trophies) fortheir6criticallyacclaimedalbums. But beyond the IBMA stage, their
Versatile instrumentalists and vocalists, Della Mae are sensitive yet assertive, intense yet playful, steeped in tradition yet undeniably current. But after nearly a decade together, the women of Della Mae are about to embark on a new chapter. They’ve been IBMA’s Emerging Artist of the Year (2013), Grammy nominees (2014), Rolling Stone’s “10 bands to watch” (2015), twice on the RockyGrass stage (2011 and 2015), and musical emissaries of the US
American music: Justin Bieber, Psy, Flo Rida. Sure, Digger’s banter is comedy club worthy (recounting his recent alpaca mauling: “Their hooves felt like angry little pillows being thrust upon my body”), but the band steals the show with their sharp pop adaptations and genuine reverence for Bill Monroe (hats respectfully removed, angelic falsettos soaring to heaven). Hang onto your hats, friends, you ain’t never heard a RockyGrass set like this.
emotionally-richcatalogofstorysongs (and an occasional Allman Brothers cover)makethemthebandmostlikely to finally win over your bluegrassambivalent neighbor. Returning for just their 2nd RockyGrass, the 5 long-time friends—Buddy Melton (fiddle), Darren Nicholson (mandolin), Dr. Marc Pruett (banjo), Tim Surrett (bass & dobro), and Caleb Smith (guitar)—remind us of the pure bliss of bluegrass music, from North Carolina to the Colorado foothills.
State Department to over 18 countries spreading peace and understanding through music. But today, the quartet of Celia Woodsmith (guitar), Kimber Ludiker (fiddle), Jenni Lyn Gardner (mandolin), and Zoe Guigueno (bass) are reaching for a sound even more musicallyexpansive.Joinedbyspecial guests Alison Brown, Avril Smith, and Bonnie Paine, let us open our hearts to the magic of Della Mae, as they begin their process of reflection and discovery on the RockyGrass stage.
AUG 6
KINGS featuring Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo with Vilray
AUG 26
MANDOLIN ORANGE with Daniel Rodriguez of Elephant Revival
AUG 10 + 11
ANDREW BIRD with Neyla Pekarek of The Lumineers
THE WEEPIES with Mipso SEP 23
AUG 22
ZIGGY MARLEY Rebellion Rises 2018 tour
SEP 7
MOUNTAINFILM ON TOUR
Captivating films handpicked from the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, CO
An intimate evening of songs and stories with GRAHAM NASH
ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS
ARTISTWORKS
BLUEGRASS ALL-STARS
BRYAN, DAROL, MICHAEL, MIKE, MISSY & TONY
SATURDAY
7:15 - 8:30pm
DAVID GRISMAN & PETER ROWAN PLAY “OLD & IN THE WAY” WITH SAM BUSH, KEITH LITTLE&SAMSONGRISMAN
SATURDAY
9:00 - 10:30pm
THE LYONS BLUEGRASS COLLECTIVE
SUNDAY
11:00 - NOON
For 24 years, our RockyGrass Academy has set the tone for the Festival weekend—community, oral tradition, jamming. All your core bluegrass values. Over the years we’ve learned the best teachers excel at musical empathy. They listen, they anticipate, they support, they inspire. Tonight, we take a lesson from the masters on the main stage, as six of bluegrass music’s most respected musicians create the “dream jam”: Tony Trischka (banjo), Darol Anger (fiddle), Mike Marshall (mandolin), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Missy Raines (bass), and Michael Daves (guitar/ vocals). These are the heroes that taught our next-generation heroes— voracious collectors of IBMA awards and endlessly scrolling discographies. After years of video exchanges with students, on the RockyGrass stage these ArtistWorks professors exchange musical ideas with each other in real-time. Grab your highlighter and notebook, your study begins now.
Raise your reusable cup high if you’ve worn through multiple copies of Old & In The Way... Formed in 1973 as an outlet for Jerry Garcia to revisit his banjo pickin’ bluegrass roots, the quintet of Peter Rowan (guitar), David Grisman (mandolin), Vassar Clements (fiddle), and John Kahn (bass) played only a few gigs during their short-lived (less than a year!) history. But their self-titled album, recorded live at the Boarding House in San Francisco, remains one of
On this wondrous RockyGrass Gospel morning, we open our hearts to the sacredness of this place: the healing waters of the St. Vrain, a community gathered in song, our bountiful little banjo town. Led by some of Lyons’ mostdedicatedbluegrassdisciples— KC Groves (guitar), Natalie Padilla (fiddle), Sarah Cole (bass), Dylan McCarthy (mandolin), Eric Yates (banjo), and some very special guests—we celebrate our common human spirit through uplifting songs
the best selling bluegrass albums of all time, introducing countless Deadheads to bluegrass music. Fortyfive years on, a RockyGrass pickin’ circle isn’t complete without at least one song from the Olden songbook. Tonight we delve into this classic repertoire with Sam Bush (honoring one of his fiddle heroes), banjo player Keith Little, and bassist Samson Grisman, for the first RockyGrass tribute to this legendary band since 2003’s Old & in the Gray.
and old hymns. With the endlessly stacking vocals of 5 gifted singers, we’re all invited into the Collective. Rise up and find your place within the harmony of strings and voices. River sculptors and sun shaders, we welcome you into the sanctuary! Hula hoopers, we command you to respectfully betray Monroe’s dictum of “don’t dance to the gospel!” This Sunday morning, we’re all members of the church of RockyGrass—in all its local Lyons glory.
ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS
JEFF SCROGGINS & COLORADO
SUNDAY
12:15 - 1:30pm
I DRAW SLOW
SUNDAY
1:45 - 3:00pm
Growing up in rural Oklahoma, Jeff Scroggins was 19 when a $60 garage sale banjo finally lured him away from the electric guitar riffing of Jimmy Page. But there was no turning back: Jeff was soon dissecting the style of Don Reno, taking lessons with Alan Munde,andwinningthe1989National Bluegrass Banjo Championship. Over the years, Jeff toured with bands— Andy Owens Project, Big Twang, Blue Canyon Boys—but it was his son, the brilliant young mandolinist Tristan
After two and a half days of graciously extroverted American virtuosity, we invite you to draw yourself inward, slow down, and lean-in to the subtle songwriting of Ireland’s I Draw Slow. For more than a decade the Dublin-based quintet has explored the common ground between Ireland and Appalachia: their musical roots and their shared stories of love and loss. Siblings Dave and Louise Holden swap lead vocals, jumping between
Scroggins (a 2017 IBMA Momentum Winner), that inspired 2011’s forming of Colorado. With 5-time SPBGMA Bluegrass Guitar Performer of the Year (and twice nominee for Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year) Greg Blake, Portland-born fiddler Ellie Hakanson, bassist Max Johnson, and the highwire instrumental acrobatics of Jeff and Tristan, the quintet delivers a high energy, high mountain “bluegrass explosion.” Hold on to your tarp!
expressive characters and close harmony choruses, while Adrian Hart (fiddle), Colin Derham (banjo) and Konrad Liddy (bass) provide deeply musical arrangements, from lilting banjo frails to rousing hoedowns. Featuring songs from their exquisite 2017 release Turn Your Face to the Sun (#1 on the Irish Independent Album Charts!) this is a set to be cherished from that comfy spot on your tarp. Make room for friends: intimacy and connection awaits.
JEFF AUSTIN BAND
SUNDAY
3:15 - 4:30pm
On this historic weekend of onlyat-RockyGrass collaborations and reunions, perhaps no set is as personally significant as the Planet Bluegrass return of Jeff Austin. As a founding member of Yonder Mountain String Band, Jeff first played RockyGrass in 1999—within a year of the band’s forming. Playing the biggest stage of his young career set the mandolinist on a path to the jamgrass peaks: Kinfolk Celebrations in Lyons (captured in Mountain Tracks:
Volume 3), sold-out Red Rocks shows, tours, albums, celebrity. Then in 2013, Jeff left Yonder to pursue a solo career. And he hasn’t set foot on a Planet Bluegrass stage since. Until today! Alongside Kyle Tuttle (banjo), Max Johnson (bass), and Mike Robinson (guitar), the firecracker bandleader strums, squints, squirms and screams under the yinjo once again. For an artist who thrives on heart and raw emotion, this Sunday set promises bluegrass ecstasy.
Farm
Dinners and Workshops
ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS ROCKYGRASS ARTISTS
PETER ROWAN
BAND: CARTER STANLEY’S EYES
SATURDAY
5:00 - 6:15pm
STEEP CANYON RANGERS
SATURDAY
6:45 - 8:00pm
In 1965, Bill Monroe drove to the Clinch Mountains to introduce his lead singer, Peter Rowan, to a rapidly ailing Carter Stanley. “This here’s Pete Row’ns,” said Monroe, “he thinks he’s a Blue Grass Boy.” For over 5 decades Peter has branched out from his traditional bluegrass roots, exploring folk, rock, Tex-Mex and even a recent album of Hawaiiana. But through it all, the 76-year-old has left his mark on the walls of time, curating his own bluegrass songbook
“When you start a bluegrass band in college, you don’t think one day you’re goingtowinaGrammyforwhatyou’re doing,” smiles mandolinist Mike Guggino. Sure, you might think about winning the RockyGrass band contest (2001, check). But touring the world with Steve Martin (2009-present, check!), performing on The Tonight Show (2018, check!), or earning that coveted Grammy statue (2013’s Best Bluegrass Album, check!!)? Over the course of 10 albums, including this
rich in midnight moonlights, Gypsys and Navajos, and high tenor yodels. On this RockyGrass Sunday, Peter has gathered an epic band of longtime collaborators— Don Rigsby (mandolin), Jack Lawrence (guitar), Chris Henry (mandolin), Patrick Sauber (banjo), Blaine Sprouse (fiddle), Paul Knight (bass), Jamie Oldaker (percussion)—to honor the Stanley whose voice and songs provided the second foundational stone in Peter’s enduring musical life.
year’s Out in the Open, the North Carolina sextet have been bending and shaping the bluegrass aesthetic, wedding it to pop, country, and folkrock to create something all their own. For when these 6 take the stage— Mike Guggino (mandolin), Woody Platt (guitar), Graham Sharp (banjo), Nicky Sanders (fiddle), Mike Ashworth (percussion), and newest member Barrett Smith (bass)—you’ll think you’ve never experienced a bluegrass band quite like this... Check!
HOT RIZE
SATURDAY
8:30 - 10:00pm
Just 18 months after their first gig, Hot Rize arrived in the heat and dust of the Adams County Fairgrounds to play the 7th Annual Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival. The young quartet of Tim O’Brien (mandolin), Pete Wernick (banjo), Nick Forster (bass), and Charles Sawtelle (guitar) represented something refreshingly new: original songs, electric bass, phase-shifted banjo. After touring for 12 years across 4 continents, earning the IBMA’s first-ever Entertainer of
the Year Award, the group disbanded in 1991. But with the 2001 addition of Bryan Sutton (following Charles’ 1999 passing), increasingly frequent reunion shows culminated in last January’s historic Boulder Theater run (documented in the upcoming Hot Rize 40th Anniversary Bash). After 18 RockyGrass sets (19 if you consider their zombie-slaying 2016 encore)—including several as the “host band”—tonight we celebrate 40 years of this essential Colorado band.
DATES TO REMEMBER
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