The 2013 Telluride Blues and Brews Bible – Telluride.com

This is it! THE Bible…The Telluride Blues and Brews Bible that is and I suggest reading every word so you get the full experience while you are in Telluride enjoying the festival. Hart Roberts and the crew at Telluride.com put this together and they know their stuff after attending years of shows!

The Telluride Blues & Brews Bible – Telluride.com

Get ready for one of the best weekends of the year in one of the most scenic and intimate venues in the country? The 20th Annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival will take place in town this weekend featuring The Black Crowes, Jim James, Melissa Etheridge, Gary Clark Jr., and many, many more! We’ve created the “Blues & Brews Bible” – a complete guide on what to do, what to bring, who to see, where to eat/drink/party and more info to help you have an epic weekend.

Haven’t been to Telluride? The town was founded in 1858 after gold and silver were discovered, Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank here, Nikola Tesla selected the site to build the world’s first power plant, hippies re-settled these lands in the 60’s, skiing arrived in the 70’s, real estate agents invaded in the 80’s, Tom Cruise, Oprah and Oliver Stone call it vacation, Tim McGraw even wrote a song about it, and this week… our tiny mountain town kicks off one of the most-anticipated festival lineups in the nation.

Start your engines! (And drink lots of water)

What to Do: A lot of your time will be spent in Telluride’s beautiful Town Park (not a bad thing), BUT make sure you get outside and explore everything Telluride has to offer. Here’s a list of free events, hikes and other must-do’s to check out around town this week:

• Sunset Blues Concert – Wednesday, September 11th from 5-7pm The Congress will perform a FREE show in Mountain Village at the Sunset Plaza. Bring a blanket, bottle of wine and kickoff the 20th Annual Telluride Blues & Brews festivities in style! The Congress was one of our favorite bands to perform at the 40th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival earlier this summer. Don’t miss these guys. Listen to them on Spotify.
• 20th Annual Celebration Show – *NEW FOR 2013* Thursday, September 12th from 4-10pm enjoy a FREE extra day of live music in Telluride Town Park featuring Charlie Weathers, The Bright Light Social Hour, Otis Taylor and Booker T. Jones. That’s right. An entire extra day of blues, brews and beautiful views to celebrate the 20th anniversary.
• Telluride Farmers’ Market – Friday, September 13th from 11am-4pm on South Oak Street, the Telluride Farmers’ Market is a great place to grab lunch, purchase local produce, buy your sweetheart flowers and visit with local vendors. Buy Fresh, Buy Local!
• Drink Good Beer – It’s called Telluride Blues & BREWS for a reason. Enjoy tasty beers in Town Park all weekend long and don’t miss Saturday’s Grand Tasting – 50+ microbreweries from across the nation pour tastes of their brews from Noon-3pm. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite brew during the Grand Tasting – Only text-to-vote this year, You will text a specific brewer code to 22333 during the Grand Tasting to cast your vote for your favorite brewer. We recommend tasting Telluride Brewing Company, Ouray Brewery and Sweetwater Brewing. For a complete list of ALL the breweries attending this year’s festival, click here.
• Go to a Juke Joint– Some of the best shows you’ll see all weekend are after dark in Telluride’s intimate concert venues – Telluride Conference Center, Fly Me to the Moon Saloon, the historic Sheridan Opera House and The Elks Lodge. Juke Joint passes allow access to all Juke Joint venues for the night purchase but get there early, all venues are first-come, first served. Doors open at 9:45pm each night and the VIP 3-Day Pass includes entry into all Juke Joints. For a 2013 Schedule of Events, click here.
• Blues for Breakfast – The top six entries chosen from the Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition will play at the Elks Lodge on Saturday, September 14th from 9:00am-Noon during the “Blues for Breakfast” competition. The winner of the competition will win a custom acoustic guitar and will be given the opportunity to play a set on Town Park’s Main Stage on Saturday evening. And don’t miss Low Volts and Kim Churchill on Sunday, September 15th from 9am-Noon. For more info, click here. Come eat pancakes and cheer on these musicians!
• Hike – If you need a break (recommended) from all the delicious beer, here are a handful of beautiful hikes starting directly from downtown Telluride to explore: Bear Creek Trail is less than one block from Town Park (S. Pine Street) and is a perfect beginner trail up to a waterfall. If you need a more challenging hike, check out the Jud Wiebe Trail (N. Aspen Street) that takes you to a gorgeous overlook of the entire town. For more information, directions and pictures of local hikes, click here.
• Ride the Gondola – The only FREE transportation of its kind in the country, Telluride’s Gondola is a must-do while visiting us this week. If you don’t journey up to the free concert on Wednesday night, make sure you take the time to check out this spectacular ride. Get out up top (San Sophia) to hike around or ride the Gondola down into Mountain Village to check out the local bars, shops and restaurants. The Gondola will be open till 2am all weekend long!
• Campground Sessions – *NEW FOR 2013* Camping this year? You’re in luck. This exclusive event is for campers only and will feature live performances from James Bay, Low Volts and Kim Churchill in the campgrounds. For more info, click here.
• Bridal Veil Falls – Another Telluride must-do, check out Colorado’s largest free-falling waterfall at the East end of Main Street, Bridal Veil Falls. Hike along Telluride’s River Trail to get a long distance view of the falls, or take a Jeep Tour with our friends at Telluride Outside.

What to Bring: Make sure you pack for all four seasons; you never know what the weather will be like here in the San Juan Mountains. Remember when it snowed, rained and turned sunny all in one day a couple years back? Pack a rain jacket, hiking boots, a sun hat, and anything else you might need for highs of 60 degrees during the day and dropping into the low 40’s at night. Don’t forget a backpack to hold clothes/jackets, your camera for amazing shots, and a water bottle to refill while in Town Park. Here are a few more helpful festival FAQ’s.

• Pack a rain jacket, a pair of sandals/Chacos, hiking boots, sunscreen and a festival hat along with your other normal festival fall-in-Colorado wardrobe. It’s been getting down in the 40’s at night and into the upper 60’s during the day. We usually take a change of clothes into the CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING I highly suggest it!

See you in Telluride!

~MTN Town Magazine