After Dustin’s announcement yesterday of everyone’s Telluride favorites Leftover Salmon, here’s another brand new TBF artist for today…
“I’m singing for the love of it—have mercy on the man who sings to be adored”
Telluride has always been about virtuosity and collaboration, inspiration and celebration. But it’s also been about songs.
Two summers ago, we were lucky to have this new Telluride artist spend a week with us in Lyons as a teacher at The Song School. He strummed his guitar next to the river, shared stories about his career, and talked about what makes a great song. This is a man who knows a lot about writing great songs.
“Hello blackbird, hello starling, winter’s over, be my darling…”
He stuck around after the Song School for a solo performance as one of the Folks Festival headliners - that year accurately dubbed the “soaks fest.” It rained all day; it rained all night. And sure enough when it came time for him to walk out on stage it rained harder than ever. Sheets of rain, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, wet and cold.
We were hunkered down under tarps and blankets, shivering. But not him. He confidently walked out onto the stage with his guitar and an enormous smile. That huge grin never left his face. And we all had no choice but to get up off our tarps and reflect smiles right back at him. He owned that stage. He owned those songs. He owned our hearts.
And he still does.
“It’s a long-time coming but now the snow is gone…”
We’ve been trying to get him to Telluride ever since. The perfect setting for a kid from Idaho to cast his glowing smile over festivarian nation.
You guessed this one yet?
C’mon… 
Oh stop your scrolling and just click this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5wHtyE9Sok
The Josh Ritter Band
If you’re not familiar with Josh’s music (or if you are), here’s another one of our favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6_Mf-H3rIM
And here’s Josh and his band rockin’ out on David Letterman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rcUsFatXw4
We can’t wait to all sing together on the solstice.
“If you’d like to come along, I’ll be yours for a song…”