Steve's Blog

Though not an entirely sold-out show like its 35th anniversary last summer, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival was without a doubt a crowd-gatherer and crowd-pleaser. In a small town, it’s still hard to believe that around 10,000 festivarians fill the Telluride Town Park each day, four days in a row, for music that runs from just before noon to just before midnight…ahh, the beauty of Bluegrass.

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival has arrived, and in traditional fashion, it has come long before the first performers hit the Town Park stage. Campers have moved into Telluride Town Park’s campgrounds, the stage has been built, and the sun is (cross your fingers) forecasted to shine this weekend. Telluride Bluegrass is, as always, just in time to welcome the summer solstice and another remarkable weekend of bluegrass music of all tastes — traditional string pickin to modern, magical musical headliners.

Again the Telluride Jazz Celebration hosted a weekend of fickle weather and a spirited crowd. Despite the festival’s new calendar date, moved up a few years ago from the monsoonal rains of August, the weather wasn’t quite like summertime. But cool weather didn’t seem to deter crowds or jazz greats and great moments.

Taking the Town Park stage first this summer season is the Telluride Jazz Celebration, and having moved up in the festival lineup to early June, Jazz has better luck at a sunny weekend. But it wasn’t always this way…

Telluride Jazz Celebration’s traditional date was early August that traditionally promised rain. Jazz meant the summer monsoons and people came prepared umbrellas and rain jackets in hand. Having moved up in the summer schedule, the festival has had better luck at better weather.

This post Telluride Mountainfilm weekend, it’s time to catch your breath. Why? Because Telluride’s summer season is simply—and enjoyably—one full calendar of festival after festival. Telluride Jazz Celebration, Telluride Bluegrass, Wild West Fest, Telluride Wine Festival…the list goes on.

It’s official: summer has begun in the Telluride valley. And while the stormy skies would say quite the opposite, Memorial Day weekend and Mountainfilm in Telluride traditionally mark the start to the summer festival season. What better weather for retreating indoors for films, lectures and dining, all meant to inspire?

We had a very dirty winter. A record winter for wind and dust blown in from the southern deserts left Telluride’s high country striped in reddish brown streaks that are still clinging to the high alpine zones and appearing in the muddy river spring runoff. Even backyards and streets are harboring small piles of dust delivered straight from Arizona this late winter.

Lately, the word about town seems to be just-getting-back-to-town. Many have returned from spring trips from anywhere from Peru to New Hampshire and many are still making regional recesses to desert locales where deciduous trees are in full bloom and flowers are flourishing. Even in the semi-alpine, semi-arid Ponderosa pine forests of Dolores, wildflower season is well underway.

Before rolling into Telluride’s summer beginning late May with Telluride Mountainfilm, and then an exhilarating series of music festivals to follow including Telluride Jazz Celebration and Telluride Bluegrass Festival, we are still able to take time to transition into the season. Many are escaping the fickle weather for more consistent sunshine in the desert to hike, bike, boat, climb and simply, soak in the sun.

Earth Day has just passed, and just like the spring equinox, it is a reminder of long summer days to come and the long winter nights that have gone. It is also a good time to start thinking about what’s soon to bloom—and what’s already blooming—in the Telluride region.  The regional farming season is upon us…