Ellowell friends! :cheers
My beautiful wife and I are honeymooning in Telluride this year and we are both oozing with anticipation. This will be her first time, my second (2013). I recall a free show on Wednesday at the 40th up in Mountain Village before the annual Yonder set. I’m guessing this is still happening, just not announced yet?? Any rumors aswirl about artists? Also, I never made it to Elks Park because I was always at the main stage, is this a must for the full Telluride experience? Am I the only one counting down the days?..too soon? Oh well, cant wait to see yeeall in June!
:pickin
Hi! Happy Honeymooning!
What is the 40th? We are staying in Mtn Village and WOULD LOVE to catch some pre-festival music. Hoping to arrive around lunch time. Saw on another thread that in the Town Park Campground, at the Tiki Bar, there is the 4th annual Grateful Dead set. But if there’s one closer, that would be great!
following!
Yes there is still First Grass in Mountain Village. The artists won’t be announced til much closer to the Festival. Late may/early June would be my guess but perhaps someone else can chime in on that if I am incorrect. I have heard no rumors so far. A smaller act likely, I could see like Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys or someone. Fruition played it a few years ago so I doubt they would again, but you never know.
I say Elks park is a must. Much more intimate, but usually very cool shows with different combos of artists playing the fest and sometimes others that are not. Ed Helms was pretty neat to see there.
Also very excited for June. Have a great FESTIVAAAAAAAAAALLLLL!!!
First Grass…will a separate ticket be needed for this?
Nope, FirstGrass is FREE! Beautiful outdoor setting under the Ganjala. Perfect hill to lay a blanket with all your new friends that you haven’t met yet.
Thanks! I’ll be keeping an eye out for the detail to come! :thumbsup
I was referring to the 40th annual TBF in 2013, I believe it was Steep Canyon Rangers & Elephant Revival that played up in Mtn Viilage that year. Thanks Lorax, I agree, probably a smaller act that in a few years you will say, remember when… :cheers
Ha!! I get it now! Thanks!
That’s part of the pre-fest activities in Town Park that’s normally done on Wednesday by Pete Kartsounes, but I don’t know yet if he is coming this year.
He also normally does a Neil Young set on Tuesday.
If you’re in town before festival come on into Town Park and see what’s going on cause once festival starts only Town Park campers are allowed in. :wave
I assume PB posts the Elks Park schedule on the website?
Tom, earlier you made a fairly comprehensive list of the pre fest events in town, and town park. Is that the goto reference, or is there a better one, that us newbies can view? Looking to be a full participant in the entire festival!
:cheers
How do you guys tackle jumping back and forth between the mainstage end Elks Park shows. This is going to be my first time at Telluride and I want to make the best of it.
Usually by stopping in at the Last Dollar Saloon for a cold one or two. Reasonable prices, good happy hour.
But seriously, you just have to pick and choose. You will have to miss a set or two on the main stage. But in the long run, the music is just as good in both places.
:cheers
I second this emotion. Plus, I’ve found that Elks has some really cool sets that you won’t see again. The Happy Hour set is almost always awesome (and is almost always Punch Brothers, but was Greensky
One year). The Dave Do Dylan set (Bruzza and Simonett) was one of my favorites from a couple years ago. When the schedule comes out, you’ll know what to do.
I’ve also found that you’re more likely to be able to find a tape of a main stage set to listen to later than you are to find a tape of an Elks set, for what it’s worth.
And, no matter how anal I get in planning out where I’ll be when, it always plays out differently. Lots of buzz around someone I wasn’t planning on seeing so I check them out, enjoying the small crowd vibe at Elks Park and stay longer. Walking from Town Park campground to catch an Elks Park performance and the sound from some band I wasn’t planning to catch on the main stage sounds great. Leaving Elk Park and seeing a friend heading into the Sheridan bar and decide to join him. All part of the magic of festivals in general and Telluride in particular! :thumbsup :cheers
Don’t forget all the busking! I found a new favorite a few years ago, picking outside Baked to a small crowd of 20 or so. Good idea to keep lots of $10s and $20s handy for CDs and the likes.
I love the feedback! We will have to make an Elks Park set or two this year. Can’t wait to see the EP & FG schedule come out, and crossing my fingers for our nightgrass lottery tix! I think the McCoury boys at the SO will be epic, hard to pass on GSBG but I’ve seen them a lot over the past 4 years, tough choice but I hope we get them!
The list I posted earlier is more of a “this is the sort of thing that normally happens in Town Park” than a “schedule” as sometimes the people that host the event don’t make it one year or the next, or they decided they didn’t want to do it (maybe they had a bad hangover from the previous night).
There’s always something going on in Town Park during the week before festival, sometimes there’s an impromptu cookout or music jam, so it’s hard sometimes to put together a real “schedule of events”.
Stop on by any time and check it out before festival and join in the fun. :thumbsup
Thanks for the advice. Looking at the schedule for last year, it looks like it could be just as awesome as the main stage. I guess some careful planning, which pretty much entails following the Punch Brothers and their cohorts around all day.
How crowded can Elks Park get? Is it hard to get a seat on the grass in the middle to the front say maybe 30 minutes before a popular show?
Bigger names will draw bigger crowds (captain obvious here), but what’s important to others might not be so big a deal to you. The last time GSBG had a happy hour, the crowds spilled across the street. Some were seated up from but otherwise it was standing room only. Good times.
I’d think half an hour before your important shows is a solid arrival time. It gets hot sitting in the sun, so early will get you a shaded spot to enjoy your show.
The first year we came to Telluride we went to first grass. That experience did it for me. First off it starred Rhiannon Giddens who ROCKED. second off we were greeted by so many beautiful people. We had just arrived off a plane, we had no blanket. People GAVE us cardboard and a rug to sit on. Afterwards we went out to dinner with brand new friends. It was so super friendly and welcoming. The setting was magical. And did I mention the gondola? How stunning is that ride?
Ok, I’m getting super misty eyed now cause I’m not there this year
First grass is a beautiful start to the festival. Don’t miss it. Keep your heart open