Telluride Blues and Brews, 2014 – PART 1

Telluride Blues and Brews​ is truly a festival with four days jam packed with music, beer, evening Juke Joint events, food, yoga and more! It is a highlight of my summer even though it more often feels like fall. The weather service is calling for, I cannot believe it, Sunny Skies! Cool temps, but let me repeat, Sunny Skies are in the forecast.

So as I said above, this is a FESTIVAL. To me a festival is more then a concert in a park. It is a variety of acts in a whole bunch of fun locations. The 2014 Telluride Blues and Brews Festival will kick off on Thursday evening in the Mountain Village Sunset Plaza at 5:00 p.m. with Dragondeer and Ryan McGarvey. The event is free and takes place rain or shine. It is sponsored by Telluride Ski Resort, Sierra Nevada Brewing, TMVOA, and the Town of Mountain Village. Once the concert ends plan to head down the free gondola into town for the opening Bal de Maison show, kicking off the festival weekend with Amy Helm and the Handsome Strangers at the historic Sheridan Opera House. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Showtime begins at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for the show. After all that get some rest for the rest of the weekend!

Living Folklore​

photo credit: © Merrick Chase MerrickChasePhotography.com

Most of the shows are performed on the Main Stage in Telluride’s Town Park located at the east end of Telluride’s downtown area.  Delicious food and drink stands surround the permiter and at the back of the park the Rainbow Kids Area can be found complete with  bungee trampoline, climbing wall, inflatable bounce games, face painting, a talent show, and much more! All activities are for children ages 3 and up! Fees are required for the games, and can be purchased at the Kids area. Even if you do not have any kids you should check out the Giant Puppets, Stilt Walkers and planned Parades put on by Living Folklore! Uber cool, click this link for the kids related schedule: http://www.tellurideblues.com/news/festival-fun-little-ones​

The Park opens Friday at 11:30am to allow the Festivities to begin. Violent Femmes, Peter Frampton, and George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic are among this year’s headlining acts. The schedule for the Main Stage is as follows:

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FRIDAY, September 12, 2014

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Saturday, September 13, 2014

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SUNDAY, September 14, 2014

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Mmmmm Beer!

As mentioned, The Grand Beer Tasting will be held on Saturday, September 13 from 12 pm – 3 pm with 56 microbreweries represented, they will be pouring over 150 different beers. Grab your tickets now as this event is almost sold out, then get there early to grab your tasting glass to vote for your favorite beer.

Great Late Night Music

But wait, there is still more! After the close of the Main Stage venues around town turn into  “Juke Joints“.  Acts from earlier in the day play intimate late night performances at these cool locations around the town of Telluride and Mountain Village. Grab some coffee and then head out for the 10pm shows. Here is the lineup:

FRIDAY:

SATURDAY:

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Morning Fuel & Music

If your an early bird and the late night thing doesn’t float your boat then be sure to head over to the Elks Lodge for the festivals Blue for Breakfast! Enjoy solo performances by blues musicians while dining on scrambled eggs, pancakes, hash browns, sausage, coffee, and juice. The music is FREE. Breakfast, Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and a full bar are extra and a great way to power up for the day!  Saturday’s Blues for Breakfast coincides with their Telluride Blues Challenge – come eat breakfast and watch six musicians vie for a spot on the main stage later in the day.

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SATURDAY Morning:

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SUNDAY Morning:

Woo Hoo! That is a whole lot of info. We here at MTN Town Magazine are going to let you digest all of this information and then we will come back and tell you a WHOLE LOT MORE!  Stay tuned… #TellurideBlues

~Mtn Town Views