We’ll be announcing the initial lineup for the 26th Annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival next Friday, February 26.
In the days leading up to that big announcement we’ll be revealing the individual 2016 Folks Fest artists on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/planetbluegrass/
The excitement begins today with our first official announcement… 3-time Folks Songwriter Showcase finalist (and 2015 winner) Ben Shannon!
Keep checking back for more announcements each day this week and next… (And don’t forget that single-day Folks Fest tickets as well as 3-day passes and camping are onsale now.)
With 18 albums and multiple CMA, ACM, and Grammy Awards, it’s hard to believe this beloved American songwriter has never played the Planet Bluegrass stage… until this summer.
One of the most soulful and dazzling singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists we know, returns to the Folks Fest stage for the first time in 4 years. A few years back Darrell wrote a stirring tune about our town of Lyons - “Colorado (I Need Healing)”. We can’t wait to see what inspiration Darrell finds on the Planet Bluegrass Ranch for his first Lyons performance since the flood…
I was at Folk Alliance in Kansas City the end of last week, so I forgot to post the latest announcements to the forum. So in case you missed the big news on our Facebook, our latest 2 announcements are…
By one measure (youtube views) today’s announcement is the biggest artist to ever play the Folks Fest. His international hit “Let It Go” has a staggering 900 million :eek youtube views. But forget what you might think about popular music – this is a gorgeous song, sung with passion and heart by a real artist. And his whole catalog has that same power.
Passenger
Last fall he reached out to us asking to play the Folks Fest since it was on his personal wishlist – which says a lot. Here’s a wildly popular artist that still cherishes the connection with communities like our Folks Festivarians… :flower
Today we’re excited to share the Planet Bluegrass debut of the Massachusetts-based quartet that just won the “Artist of the Year” at the International Folk Music Awards. They play and sing around a single microphone but their sound is thoroughly modern - quietly passionate songs sung by richly textured voices. You guys are going to love them.
Darlingside
[ We’ll wrap up this first round of announcements tomorrow with one more biggie. Check back in at 9am. And please help us out by spreading the word… ]
As has long been the tradition, we like to share big lineup announcements with the Forumvarians here before anywhere else. So here goes…
Our final artist on this initial Folks Festival lineup is…
The Decemberists
Ever since Colin Meloy played his solo set on the Folks stage in 2013 we’ve been dreaming about bringing the entire band to the Folks stage. If you’ve never seen them live, you’re in for such a treat - consummate musicians and songwriters, and one of the most fun and eclectic shows you’ll see.
[ We’ll have many more artists to announce in the coming months leading up to the complete single-day lineup early this spring. This initial lineup represents less than half of the artists on the complete lineup. But we’re sure excited about this first half… ]
