Folks Festival Announcement, New Releases Warm Up Ice-Cold Colorado
Michael Bialas
Posted On February 1, 2011
Colorado’s in the deep freeze on the last day of January, but the nice folks at Planet Bluegrass warmed our souls today. They announced part of the lineup for the three-day Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado this August.
Especially looking forward to seeing Brandi Carlile for the first time, along with Carolina Chocolate Drops and the husband-and-wife team of Sarah Lee Guthrie (Arlo’s daughter) & Johnny Irion, whose Bright Examples (Ninth Street Opus) on Feb. 22 is one of several highly anticipated releases this month. Carrie Rodriguez’s duets album with Ben Kyle, We Still Love Our Country, is officially out Tuesday, Feb. 1 (see my interview with her on No Depression) and The Wailin’ Jennys’ beautiful Bright Morning Stars (Red House Records) comes out February 8, just as the harmonious trio begin making their way thought Colorado for the first time (five dates, five cities, including Aspen and Denver).
It’s also nice to see Colorado’s own Megan Burtt getting a spot in the Folks Festival lineup after wowing Festivarians at last year’s Songwriter Showcase.
Planet Bluegrass’ newsletter announcement:
Today, we’re excited to announce the first eight performers who will define our weekend of songs, stories and summertime along the St. Vrain River at the 21st Annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (Aug 19-21)…
• Brandi Carlile;
• Sweet Honey in the Rock;
• Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band;
• Carolina Chocolate Drops;
• Mary Gauthier;
• Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion;
• Dan Mangan;
• Megan Burtt;
• many, many more still to be announced…
These artists embody the breadth and depth that has marked our “summit on the song” for twenty years – from Sweet Honey in the Rock’s inspiring a cappella exploration of the African-American musical legacy (making their first Folks Festival performance since 1998) to Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion’s sweet harmonies carrying-on the next generation of one of America’s first families of song.
All weekend our tarps will visit new emotional spaces – from the massive (Brandi Carlile’s soaring voice leaving a lasting imprint on the cliffs of the Lyons Valley) to the intimate (Mary Gauthier emptying her generous musical heart).
Josh Ritter and his band share their infectious joy as they draw from Josh’s rich catalog of songs; Carolina Chocolate Drops awe their third Planet Bluegrass festival with their high-energy stringband music of the Carolina Piedmont; Dan Mangan leads his dynamic band in a passionate set of Canadian indie-folk; and one of Colorado’s powerful young talents Megan Burtt makes her Folks debut after winning last year’s Songwriter Showcase.
We’ll be adding many more artists in the coming weeks, leading up to the complete single-day lineup (and the release of single-day tickets) this spring. Stay tuned: we’re positively giddy over some of these upcoming announcements.
Three-day passes (including a limited number of early-bird tickets – a $30 discount!) and camping are available now at shop.bluegrass.com or 800-624-2422. As always, Planet Bluegrass charges no handling fees, and all Folks Festival tickets are fully refundable when returned by July 15.
