top of page
Snowygrass logo with link to homepage

SnowyGrass

10th Annual SnowyGrass Music Festival August 21 -24 in Estes Park, Colorado

Winter Days Are Great for Planning things that make you happy!

Writer's picture: nadinesartandmusicnadinesartandmusic

Happy Sunday!


If you live in the Front Range of Colorado then the chances are good that you're cozy in your home on this cold, snow-packed day. I hope you are doing things that make you happy, wherever you are!

There is a lot of planning going on here in SnowyGrass land. Isn't it interesting that our Bluegrass Festival is NOT actually in the Winter? It was started in 2016 by SNOWY Peaks Winery and was held in July that year. We did change it up this year, and it will be in August--21st - 24th. I just had a funny thought. Wouldn't it be silly to have a festival that changes which month it is every year? Probably not practical!


There are SO many great festival's to go to in Colorado! SnowyGrass is legitimately one of them! Tickets went on sale January 1st and lots of you took advantage of Early Bird prices. Thanks! Our dear friends at Rail on the River put early bird tix on sale for Rail on the River. We have a wonderful relationship--our two festivals! And we are all personal friends. The Colorado music scene is great that way. RockyGrass Academy registration opened up on Thursday and sold out within minutes, of course. Midwinter tickets are still available! If you have never checked that out, it is a fantastic, indoor event at a hotel in Northglenn, Colorado.




SnowyGrass is super excited to have Bruce Molsky back for a THIRD year, and this time he is bringing Tony Trischka! We actually tried to get Tony with Bruce the first year, but scheduling didn't work out. Bruce has a standing invitation to come back to SG every year now. That conversation happened on a golf cart ride around the path, just about lakeside, as I recall.

Bruce will lead a Fiddle Workshop on Saturday morning and Tony will lead a Banjo Workshop on Sunday morning. Workshops are only $11.60. (That's a nice round number like $10 + a processing fee of a mere $1.60)

Tony Trischka
Tony Trischka

Who else has a standing invitation? Blue Canyon Boys!! They have played EACH year since 2018 with the exception of 2024. Something about some Canadian festival--yada yada yada. We were hurt, but they are making up for is in 2025! Yay! They NEVER fail to get the audience up dancing. This article, by David Smith, says it all.





BCB will be headlining Friday night at SG, leading a Harmony workshop Saturday morning (register!), and playing again on Saturday afternoon.


Speaking of workshops...Pete Wernick will lead a 90-minute Wernick Method Bluegrass Jam Class on Friday of SnowyGrass. Registration will open soon for that and will be done directly through the Wernick Method website.


We are excited to have the Canadian-based band, The Slocan Ramblers at SnowyGrass! Although, I think at least one of the members is based in Nashville. I have seen them at IBMA, Midwinter Bluegrass Festival, and RockyGrass, and they are FANTASTIC. Here is a video of them at the Grand Ole Opry! They will play SnowyGrass Saturday and Sunday!


Also playing at SG is Thunder and Rain, which formed in Denver in 2013 by Erinn Peet Lukes. When she moved to Nashville, she connected with Amelia Ransom (fiddle) and Laura Ray (banjo) and will be bringing their very powerful voices to Colorado. Yay! Women!



Haven Slay
Haven Slay

And speaking of women with power voices (see how I love segues?) We are pleased to have Haven Slay perform on Saturday at the fest. She will play as a duo--with who?? Not sure yet, but it will be great! She has been working HARD on an upcoming album.










Ok, Estes Park. You really cannot get enough of Chain Station. Chain Station will return to SnowyGrass for a 3rd time, because they are our homies, of course! They never fail to bring ALL the good vibes they have!


A couple final things. We are getting ready for the annual UpStream Songwrting Retreat January 30 - February 2nd when about 30 songwriters come together for a weekend of exploring the art of songwriting. As part of this event, there will be a listening show on Saturday, February 1st called An Evening of Song & Story featuring Clay Rose (Gasoline Lollipops), Daniel Rodriguez (founding member of Elephant Revival), Charlie Rose (Elephant Revival), an Alexa Wildish.


Alexa was a finalist on The Voice this past season. She is incredible! I actually took a break from writing this post earlier to have coffee with Alexa and talk about the upcoming retreat and other fun topics. These listening shows are always magical. This show is in the back room at Lonigan's You can still get tickets at https://www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/upstreamconcert


The poster says waitlist only for the full retreat. We did have a cancellation, so there is ONE spot open for the full retreat. Who will be so lucky and get in on this?


The workshop with Clay is now FULL. The others still have some spots open. Here is where you can read more about the retreat and workshops. www.snowygrass.org/upstream


On Sunday, February 2nd, the songwriters will play all over Lyons for free! When they aren't performing, they will be recording at Animal Lane Studio. The performance schedule is on the home page at www.snowygrass.org









A final word. SnowyGrass is not possible without substantial sponsorship from folks who believe in grass roots projects.


That is not an exaggeration. If you have taken a sponsorship already this year, THANK YOU! We have a goal each year of $25,000 in CASH sponsorship. No joke. And the Estes Park community has come through each year, but sometimes it takes a lot of reminders and a lot of asking. As of this writing, we have $4,000 committed to so far from these folks.


We also have support of GREAT value in-kind. That means providing services or products in support of the festival.



There will be many more sponsors! If you have not yet confirmed your support, please check out our sponsor page. https://www.snowygrass.org/sponsor


You can see last year's supporters on our home page.


Here is a final video. May this blog post with these fun videos fill your time on a snowy day with beautiful music and good vibes, looking into the near future filled with community gatherings and LIVE music!

~nadine



74 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page