S U N D AY , J U N E 2 3 R D
Bonnie Paine & Friends
10:30 - 11:45am By Sunday, we know you’ve gotten pretty TBF’d up. You’ve raised tents, run tarps, and festivated hard day and night. You’ve partaken in Bloody Mary Monday, Tropical Tuesday, and Rumball Wednesday. You’ve been Friday Flecked over and Saturday Sam slammed. At this point, you may not know your yinjo from your yangdolin. Thankfully, we have just the restorative Sunday-morning gospel set to unify your mind, body, and spirit and to massage your intentions back into alignment. Gather ‘round, festiprayerians, as the delightful Bonnie Paine opens our final day with an abundance of instruments, friends, and third-eye-opening vibes. Bonnie is a founding member of Elephant Revival, the Nederland sextet whose hypnotically organic instrumental interplay and ethereal, life-affirming songs established a passionate community of fans and released four albums of beautiful transcendental folk since 2008. At the center of the Revival was Bonnie, floating her forestsprite vocals over her guitar, flute, washboard, djembe, cello, and musical saw. Under the morning sun, Bonnie will be joined by, among other musical cohorts, fellow Elephants Charlie Rose (pedal steel, banjo) and Darren Garvey (percussion). It will be a Sunday session that specializes in the art of the heart, a euphonious invocation that all everywhere be happy, joyous, and free.
40
Steve Poltz
The Jerry Douglas Band
Noon - 1:00pm
1:30 - 3:00pm
Telluride has always marched to the beat of its own banjo, and TBF is populated by colorful characters on stage and off. Speaking of which, Vince Herman anawhacked the bejesus out of us in the wee hours last night in the campground, so our tarp-run time was a little sluggish this morning. But you fastestvarians will have a close-up view as we welcome a true musical original and free spirit to Telluride. Steve Poltz has always done things his own way. The Halifax-raised alt-folk singer-songwriter started with zany California cowpunkers The Rugburns before launching his own eclectic solo career and touring the world as an acoustic-guitar-toting, audience-tickling troubadour. With his frenetic fingerpicking, nerdcore vocal twang, conversational lyrics, Emmylou hair, autobiographical storytelling, and fondness for looping pedals, Poltz sets the stage for songs that veer between quirky humor and sensitive earnestness. His approach has attracted both a faithful fanbase and other artists wanting a piece of Poltz’s musical touch and affable charm. In 1995, Poltz co-wrote Jewel’s #1 smash “You Were Meant For Me” (and starred in the video), the 4th-best-selling song of the entire decade. Today, Poltz is touring behind the brand-new Shine On, but as with any of his shows, expect surprises, stories, sing-alongs, and an abundance of smiles.
There is strength in numbers: 31 Grammy nominations. 10 IBMA Dobro Player of the Year awards. 3 CMA Musician of the Year awards. 13 solo albums. 1,600 album credits. And Jerry Douglas hits another big number this year: 35 years at TBF. Jerry first played the fester in 1981, and the undulant waves of his dobro have echoed throughout the valley ever since, providing Festivaria with one of our most moving and indelible soundtracks. What are your favorite Fluxbacks? His first Béla duet back in ‘86? His elegant embroidery of Dan Fogelberg’s songs in ‘93? His mindblowing trio with Edgar Meyer and Russ Barenberg in ‘94? His historical one-on-one with Tony Rice in ‘99? His dobro-deity turns in all-star jams: Strength in Numbers in ‘90, the Thunder Jam in ‘98, the House Band in ‘12? His sidekick licks behind Elvis Costello in ‘09? The headlining showcase with Alison Krauss in ‘07? The monster Zac Brown Band jam in ‘09? Taking Mumford & Sons to the next level in ‘11? Leading the Earls of Leicester in ‘14? The slide-gods faceoff with Derek Trucks in ‘18? Or any of a hundred others? Yes, picking your favorite Fluxy moments is part of being a Jerryin’ Festivarian. The remarkable, seven-piece Jerry Douglas Band have a few more numbers for you on Sunday. Is your next favorite Jerry moment about to happen next? You can count on it.
Borrow a bicycle from the library and take it for a spin.
The First Ladies of Bluegrass:
Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, Missy Raines & Molly Tuttle 3:30 - 4:45pm Who runs the world? Girls! With the recent explosion of women breaking the grass ceiling (Allie Kral diversifying Yonder Mountain, the super-siren trio of I’m With Her, etc.), it’s clear that the bluegrass future is female and that a woman’s place is in bringing the house down. For our final day, we start with Bonnie’s gospel set and end with headlining sets from Kacey and Brandi. In the middle? The First Ladies of Bluegrass solidify Sunday as a female-centric TBF lineup for the ages. They are the First Ladies because each is the first woman to ever win in their respective instrument categories at the IBMA awards: visionary jazzgrass banjoist Alison Brown won in 1991; fiddle whiz Becky Buller is the only person to ever win in both the instrumental and vocal category, both in 2016; mandolin miracle Sierra Hull is the winner of the last three consecutive awards; journeywoman bass icon Missy Raines won her first of 7 titles in 1998; and guitar sensation Molly Tuttle is the two-time reigning champ. The FLOBs also bagged the 2018 IBMA Recorded Event Of The Year award for the single “Swept Away” from Missy’s new album, Royal Traveller. These ladies are on fire. If Sunday is set aside for reverence, you will, by the time the Ladies wrap up one of TBF’s premiere picking parties, be bowing to Saint Festivaria. And you’ll be convinced that She is a woman.
WRITE IT DOWN: the color of the bike you rode