RockyGrass Turns 4o This Summer
BY Timothy Dwenger
www.bluegrass.com/rockygrass
July 27-29
Planet Bluegrass Ranch
Lyons, Colo.
Planet Bluegrass states on their website: “It’s been 40 years since Bill Monroe met with members of the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society to found the RockyGrass Festival (originally called the Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival).” While the fact that this festival has been running continuously for 40 years is impressive, it’s even more impressive to know that this festival was founded by the Father of Bluegrass himself.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the festival, but it also marks the passing of one of the true legends of the bluegrass community, Earl Scruggs. While Scruggs only graced the RockyGrass stage a couple of times, there are sure to be plenty of banjo players on hand to pay him tribute over the course of the weekend.
Of course, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck and Peter Rowan will be on hand for the late July extravaganza, but they will be playing alongside some of the members of the next generation of bluegrass greats like Chris Thile, Trampled By Turtles, The Infamous Stringdusters and others who will hopefully carry this festival on for another 40 years. Bill Monroe would be proud of the amazing festival he helped to create, and he would of course, miss his friend Earl Scruggs.
You’re going there to see: Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Dr. Ralph Stanley, and Peter Rowan.
You’re going to come home talking about: Trampled By Turtles, and Red Molly, a folk tinged female trio with beautiful arrangements and honey-sweet harmonies.
TRAVEL TIME:
(As calculated by maps.google.com from Denver, Colo. to Lyons, Colo.)
Total Est. Time: 1 hour, 1 minute
Total Est. Distance: 45.9 miles
YOU NEED TO KNOW: Planet Bluegrass always has the next generation of festivarians in mind and as that generation continues to grow, they have expanded their kids area to include a variety of fun, planet-minded activities throughout the day, including slacklining, a mobile recording studio, kids music performances, knot tying, crafts, and much more. Feel free to bring your kids to the ranch, they are not only welcome, but it’s encouraged!
Camping: Both on-site and off-site camping is available, but very limited.
