Beerbo The Beer Hobbit attempts to blog to win the “Telluride Contest”

Although we hobbits are technology challenged, I’m going to try and blog my way to Telluride.

Why?

Well my lovely wife and I have talked and fantasized of going to Telluride since we first heard of this magical place back in the 80s. We’ve been to many a folk and/or bluegrass festival in our days, and we are Kerrville supporters and attendees, where many people we talk with tell us of their special moments in Telluride. But alas, we still only dream of going to Telluride one day.

With 2 teenagers helping to spend what little we make, the reality of getting to Telluride might never happen unless we live long enough to be able to afford it after they have fully stopped spending what should have been our nest egg.

The amazing thing about talking to people who’ve been to Telluride is that they all have the same look in their eyes that one usually only gets from visiting the Elven outpost of Rivendell. Rivendell is referred to as “The Last Homely House East of the Sea.” And when Bilbo describes it as “a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all” he’s got to be talking about 2 places that are quite the same!

We’ve been able to see many of this year’s performers at festivals and concerts during our 25 years together. One artist in particular has always been a constant in our lives. I saw the band Hot Rize back when they released their first album, and before I moved to Texas and met my wife. I took my wife to see them at our first opportunity and she also fell in love with them upon first hearing their wonderful sound. It would be more accurate to say that she fell in love with Tim O’Brien (Red Knuckles being a close second) who has become one of the most respected artists of the folk scene. Needless to say, we never miss a chance to see and hear Tim. He appeared at the Rice Festival this past November in Central Texas and really put on a great performance once again.

What performer would be the highlight for us? That’s an easy question to answer. Besides being the easiest one to look at, Emmylou is someone we’ve never been able to see in concert. I think everyone has at least one elusive performer who never comes to a convenient locale at a time when you can see them perform. For whatever reason, we just can’t get within earshot of Emmylou. To hear her sweet voice in the mountains would certainly take me back to fond memories of my enjoyable days in the Shire.

Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you No Depression, a truly great and wonderful place out there in the Internets.

Mára mesta, Beerbo