No Depression at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival 2010

The 2010 Telluride Bluegrass Festival will be a first for me. How could you not go with a lineup like this?? Though I’ve had the pleasure to see many of these bands in other summer fests at Red Rocks or 10KLF, the sheer delight of having them all together is second to none. Simply, a slice of Americana at its best!
Josh Ritter, in my opinion, is a lyrical genius…one of the best singer-songwriters of this time who’s been flying low under the radar in the US. People in Ireland are as fanatical about Ritter as they are about Bob Dylan, as well they should be. My first intro to Josh was the “Hello Starling” album, which still remains to be my favorite. I can’t wait to see him belt out the finale of Kathleen in the stunning Telluride atmosphere. His new release “So the World Runs Away” is also impressive…back to the Starling days and the “Golden Age of Radio”. If you want to sample some live Ritter before hittin’ up the Bluegrass Fest, check out “Live at Vicar Street” and you’ll be sold! I’ve attended 2 live Ritter performances (one solo acoustic in Wickenburg AZ) and expect that he will NOT DISAPPOINT!!
If you haven’t seen Keller or YMSB then you probably haven’t been to a summer fest and this would be a great opportunity to go. Looking forward to Keller’s “new” stuff this month where he and the Keels add a bluegrass twist to some other people’s tunes.
One that remains to be seen by me is the alt-country talent of Dave Rawlings. I discovered this guy on a coffee house radio and, after doing my research, was pleased to find he stepped out of the shadow of Gillian Welch to show off his own talent. Rumor has it Dave Rawlings Machine is great live. You can get a little sample of that on NPR’s website.
Bluegrass + Colorado in June = Summer Soulstice…See you there!