By Brian F. Johnson

www.bluegrass.com

June 19-22

Telluride, CO

Telluride Bluegrass Festival was one of the nation’s largest festivals back before every town and every genre had its own music extravaganza. The festival is one part, the same old players each year — people like Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan, Jerry Douglas and the like, will always be a part of Telluride. But the other part of the festival is the eclectic headlining acts that the festival gets year after year which rarely, if ever, have anything to do with bluegrass. Bands such as Cake, Wilco and The Decemberists have all played the Town Park main stage in years past. This year, Telluride will go outside the box with artists like Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Brett Dennen, and The Swell Season. The festival has always been a vehement defender of the environment and last year began offsetting carbon emissions for its audience’s travel to the festival — making it the first festival in the country to be carbon neutral. Travel time: (As calculated by mapquest.com from Denver, Colo. to Lawrence, Kan.)

Total Est. Time: 6 hours, 11 minutes

Total Est. Distance: 331 Miles

YOU NEED TO KNOW: Because the festival offset your carbon emissions for your travel, the promoters are asking festivarians to take some added steps before they leave home, like turning down air conditioners and refrigerators. PRICES: $$$ CAMPING: Limited on-site ARTISTS: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals Ani DiFranco Band Arlo Guthrie Del McCoury Band Uncle Earl Cadillac Sky Darrell Scott Leftover Salmon Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder Paolo Nutini Tim O’Brien Peter Rowan & the Free Mexican Airforce The Emmitt Nershi Band Béla Fleck, Duos with Friends Spring Creek Bluegrass Band The Frames Sam Bush Band Brett Dennen Yonder Mountain String Band Jerry Douglas Band Tift Merritt Steep Canyon Rangers Telluride House Band featuring Sam, Béla, Jerry, Edgar & Bryan The Swell Season: Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova from the film Once Hot Rize with Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers John Cowan & Darrell Scott Band Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile The Duhks Solomon Burke