It’s me, your old pal the Program. You might notice I’m looking a little... slimmer this year. Okay, a lot slimmer... From here on out, I’m embracing the minimalist lifestyle. After 51 years, I was starting to feel weighed down by all the extra paper. ut don’t you worry your little lampshade hats off, my svelte new physique isn’t a sign of less festy fun, it’s actually quite the opposite. This year, I’ve entered into the digisphere. That’s right, the times are a-changing, and I’m evolving – into a brand-spanking-new Festival App!
Think of it! No more frantic page-flipping to find the schedule, no more forgetting me at the campsite, or having me fly out of your pocket on the tarp run. Now, all the vital information – the artist bios, Main Stage schedule, maps, etc. – is right there in the palm of your hand on your phone. It’s like having me, but way more scrollable – and less likely to get crumpled in your backpack. Plus, no more rogue stains from those unwieldy crunchy frog shots... (Trust me, I remember).
And don’t worr y, I’m still here in my new resized paper format just in case you prefer the tactile feel of my sustainablyprinted pages... or if you need a makeshift fan on a sunny day. Now, go enjoy this magical weekend as you always do! If you need me, I’ll be right in your back pocket.
Designed with our Festivarian family in mind, this app puts the entire festival in the palm of your hand. From daily schedules and venue maps to bar menus, artist bios, and Bluegrass Bingo, everything you need to navigate is just a tap away.
Want to catch an impromptu set at Elks Park? Curious about Hippie Jerry and the Campground Challenge? Need to know where to meet up on Sunday for the Kid’s Parade? The app has you covered. Plus, real-time notifications will keep you in the loop with important updates, including schedule changes, weather alerts, and other Festival-specific announcements. Download it today from the App S tore or Google Play, and get ready to experience Telluride Bluegrass like never before. See you out there!
Introduc
Festival Director: Craig Ferguson
Festival Manager: Zach Tucker
Operations Supervisor: Jordan Bushouse
Operations Crew: Seth Hardcastle, James Hinker, Wyatt Lafollette, Harper Leino, Ben Mattevi, Steven Roberts
Sustainable Festivation Supervisors: Walter Wright, Tyler Simmons
Z ero Waste Wranglers: Stump, Dr. Nugs, Thor
Chief of Security: John Cohn
Security Supervisor: Joe Piche
Night Security Supervisor: Jonathan Greenspan
Crowd Management: Damion Alexander, Josh Blakeman, Jake Cohn, Frank Hensen, Lois Cohn, Degrey Phillips, Randy Reece, Arthur Sowinski
Customs Gate Head Supervisors: Debby Guarino, Franny Cohn
Town Park Gate Supervisors: Marilyn Branch, Larry Stewart
Pedestrian Bridge Supervisor Calvin Poon, Jared Fisher
Backstage Security Supervisor : Kelly Gratz
Backstage Security: Josh Appelbaum, Peter Ashmore, Colin Goldstein, Tom Hannahs, Chris Klatt, Jesse Kurland, Anna McCarty, Dot Newton, Shane Oltmanns, Rich Phan, Danielle Pollack, Steven Sherman-Boemker, Mark Smither, Shea Szymanski, Josh Thomas, Victoria Vinson, Bill Wilson, JD Yates
Pit Master: Hunt Worth
Pit Crew: Jon Foote, Stiff Patterson, Bernt Riffe, Eric Tanguay
Overnight Security: Shawn Williams, Gary Broughall, Carlos Figueroa
Camping Supervisor: Kathleen Morgan
Town Park Campground Hosts: Jessica Heady, James Kell, Fawnda Rogers, Alex Wissing
Zone 1 Camping Hosts: Aaron Cooklin, Mo Hanna, Christian Rogala, Angel Sayler
Warner Field Campground Hosts: Dan Cantone, Kelly Youngstrom Lawson Hill Campground Hosts: Aurhianna Sandefur, Lisa Ross, Laura Taschek, Colin Hubbard, Kristi Wheeler, Amy Hardy, Anthony Davis
Mary E Campground Hosts: Ben Kirk, Alex Rudback, Britney Traucht, Adriana Galue, Kevin Wyant
Valley E-Team Supervisor: Steve Green
Parking and Traffic Control Coordinator: Dennis Green
Head Wrangler: Susan Ensor
Vehicle Gate Supervisors: Mary Alice Wagner, Julie Evans, Joanna McDonald, Ed Janus
Barricade Supervisors: Ann Gabbot, Zanna Dobbs
Parking Supervisors: Kevin Ensor, Doug Hendrickson, Kivi Ferrin, James Taschek
Contributing Writers: Steve Leftridge, Charlotte Bell, Grace Barrett, Kyra Holt
A dvertising: Grace Barrett
Printing: Matt Coburn, Cottrell Printing
p lanet Bluegrass
Year Round S taff
President & Irrigation Specialist: Craig Ferguson
Director of Educational Programming: Steve Szymanski
V ice President: Zach Tucker
Sales Manager: Geoff Wickersham
Director of Communication & Partnerships:
Grace Barrett
Artist Relations and Wedding Coordinator: Amy Mendonca
Festivarian Ambassador & Volunteer and
Vendor Coordinator: Allison Grimes
Sustainability & Schools: Kyra Holt
Landscape and Gardens Manager: Jelena Caplan
Festivarian Relations: Early Ferguson
Talent Buyer: Chandler Holt
Ranch Crew: Ciara Green, Wyatt Lafollette, Tony King, Finn Oetting
O ffice Dogs: Luca, Hazel, Stella, Maisie
t hank S to our F estival partne R s
Denver Beer Company, Eco-Products, Stem Ciders, Natural Life, Spirit Hound Distillers, Klean Kanteen, Celsius, Meier Skis, Rhino Rack, Leave No Trace, Zeal, 14er Boulder, EcoAction Partners, Martin Guitars, Ozo Coffee, Eldorado Natural Spring Water
planet Bluegrass would like to thank the following:
The Town of Telluride with a special thanks to Stephanie Jaquet, the US Forest Service, the Town of Mountain Village, San Miguel County, Telluride
Mountain Village Owners Association, Lawson Hill Property Owners, and the Telluride School District
First thing’s first, feel free to sit on any open tarp (especially up front) until its owners return. Make a few friends and do some dancing, that’s what we’re all here for!
Some reminders while we have you here:
• Tarps may be no larger than 10 feet x 10 feet. We will be checking!
• Sunshades, high-back chairs, umbrellas, shade tents, and other view- obstructing items are only allowed in designated areas. Please see the map found in our festival program and app for specific placement requirements for each.
• Drones are not permitted on the Festival grounds or in any of our campgrounds or parking areas.
• No glass or outside alcohol is permitted in the festival grounds.
PLEASE be respectful of others – do not stand in the festival seating areas, and be mindful of who you are smoking around.
LOST AND FOUND can be found at the NEW Warming Hut, which you can find on the Festival map.
Last but not least, please respect the Planet and Festivate Sustainably by reusing your cups, and taking on a Leave No Trace mentality.
Cover Image: Willy Matthews
Did you find yourself beneath the green of darkened aspens nestling below this slumbering mountain? And did you ascend above the douglas fir into the air, across the steepest ledge you’d ever seen beyond the pinyon glistening with snow? And on the hazy sunlight ridges where you felt the cold horizon could not end did you pour yourself a cup of whiskey? And did it warm the chambers of your heart through all the lonely years we’ve been apart? Did you not feel that I was there with you to watch you draw your hand across the sky’s young chill, through tired and wind-struck eyes or trace the suns steep path along the hue of gold and silver peaks against the blue of morning? And did you not explain in grateful, cautious detail all you’d miss? The most of all, you said, was this.
No. I woke in twilight where I’d slept, alone, save for this wistful pain, and put my head in shaking hands and wept.
In lov I ng memory of gr I ff I n ferguson
An old saw poses the question: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” The answer: “Practice, practice, practice.” This bit of musical wisdom could also easily apply to any bluegrass picker aspiring to the world’s most scenic stage, right here in Telluride.
Once you’ve honed your craft, put together a band, written some stellar songs, and perfected your arrangements, then what’s the quickest way to get to the mainstage at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival? The answer, according to Planet Bluegrass’s head of schools and sustainability, Kyra Holt, is to enter the annual band competition.
Longtime Planet B luegrass competition coordinator, festival co-owner and former vice president Steve Szymanski says, “We want to welcome emerging artists who want to be part of the festival, and give them access to the stage. The band competition is a launching pad for your band.”
Bassist Taylor Shuck agrees. In 2023, his band, The Fretliners, won the band competition and earned a full-length mainstage slot at the 2024
festival. “We like to look at it as a launch pad, a really big boost,” he says. “After we won the band contest, all of a sudden we’re getting approached by festival promoters and talent buyers. It’s a really cool foot in the door to a lot of opportunities. All across the country, people take this competition really seriously. When people introduce us at festivals, they mention this competition. It’s one of the top competitions in the country.”
a b it o F h istor Y
Telluride held its first band competition in 1985. Sandy Munro, whose band Easy Pickins’ played the main stage multiple times in the 1980s, had been running the contests at Colorado’s Pitkin County Fair for six years. (Telluride mainstays Tim O’Brien and Edgar Meyer—who entered the contest on his
rather large fiddle—competed and won accolades in the Pitkin County fiddle contest in the early years.) When those contests ended in 1985, festival founder Fred Shellman tapped Sandy to bring his expertise to Telluride.
Sandy, along with Dan Sadowsky (aka Pastor Mustard, who commanded the emcee position for 31 years), ran the contests in the early days.
Pastor let go of his contest responsibilities in 1988—when the festival expanded to four days— to focus on his pastoral duties as emcee. In 1990, Steve took over the fledgling Telluride Academy from E-Town’s Helen Forster. Then in 1991, the workshops, contests and Family Tent all became part of the non-profit Academy. Sandy handed the contests over to Charlie Bailey in the ’90s. Charlie served as contest supervisor until last year.
While the framework for the instrument and band competitions came from the guidelines set forth by the national championships in Winfield, Kansas, the Telluride competitions would, in the Telluride tradition, follow its own path.
“The competitions are definitely an extension of the musical culture in Telluride,” says Steve. “We loosened up the rules because the festival is so progressive. Historically, contests can be really strict. There’s a pretty precise rule book. Telluride has roots in bluegrass, but it’s always been about expanding those parameters. So we thought about how we could expand the contest too. We relaxed the rules a bit, to allow certain types of percussion, for example. This festival is about pushing boundaries, so the contests are allowed to be more adventurous as well.”
“ to M e the B and conte S t IS a cele B rat I on. I t ’S S o al IV e . P eo P le haV e a chance to S hare the I r Pa SSI on WI th other P eo P le .“
h o W d oes i t a ll Work?
There is no preregistration process. Unlike the Troubadour Contest, bands don’t submit demos ahead of time to be winnowed down to a manageable number of finalists. Instead, the first 12 bands to purchase a special band contest ticket get to compete. Accepted musical styles include bluegrass, old-time, Western swing and new acoustic/newgrass.
Each band per forms three songs—a slow vocal song, a fast vocal song and an instrumental. The run time for each song is limited to three minutes; judges mark down for songs that run significantly overtime. Contestants perform around a single, multidirectional mic, which requires some choreographic coordination.
The preliminar y round of the band competition takes place on Friday at Elks Park. Jackson Emmer, who won the Troubadour Contest two years ago, meets with all the competing bands in the Sheridan Opera House before the competition. There, he shares important details, and the bands draw numbers to determine who will play when.
Edee Gail has been emceeing at Elks Park for decades. She excels in creating a welcoming and uplifting atmosphere for the bands and their audience in the initial round of the contest...
R ead the rest of this story and more in the Fes t Y a pp!
t R oubadour Contest
This year marks the 32nd year of the Telluride Troubadour contest which showcases aspiring songwriters who are not currently signed to a major recording or publishing deal. Our panel of judges selected this year's top 10 finalists from over 300 submissions. During two rounds of Elks Park performances, Troubadours will be judged on the quality of their songs’ composition (50%), vocal delivery (25%), and overall performance (25%).
The winning Troubadour will head to the Mainstage Saturday morning to share their winning songs and receive their prize–a new Martin Guitar! Cheer on your favorite Troubadours throughout the festival as they perform songwriter-in-the-round sets at Elks Park and live in-studio on the KOTO radio waves.
Congratulations to our 2024 Telluride Troubadour winner Martin Gilmore who will be kicking off music on the Elks Park stage on Thursday. We can’t wait to see who will join other past Troubadour winners like Catie Curtis, Deb Talan, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Caitlin Canty.
trou B adour S chedule
Preliminary Round
Thursday, June 19 11:15am Elks Park Stage
Final Round Friday, June 20 2:30pm Elks Park Stage Winner Announced Friday, June 20 4:45pm Elks Park Stage
trou B adour f I nal IS t S
CO
b and contest
One of the foremost nationally recognized contests for acoustic stringbands, the Telluride Band Contest has helped launch the careers of The Chicks, Greensky Bluegrass, The Lil’ Smokies, and dozens of other past winners. The bands compete around a single microphone for a spot on the 2026 main stage lineup, an EP recording package from eTown Hall Studio and Airshow Boulder, and a complementary van rental from Titus Adventure Vans.
B and S S core I n the S e categor I e S
Material Selection
Troubadours will perform in a randomly selected order
B and co MP et I t I on S chedule
Preliminary Round Friday, June 20 10:00am
Elks Park Stage
Final Round Saturday, June 21 9:30am
Main Stage
conte S t B and S
Big Love Car Wash Austin, TX
Colorado College Bluegrass Band Colorado Springs, CO
Gold Star Unit Johnson City, TN
High Country Hustle Durango, CO
Moonstone Quill Breckenridge, CO
North Fork Crossing Bozeman, MT
Pick & Howl Denver, CO
Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light Boston, MA
Smörgåsgrass Longmont, CO
Stray Bales Pound, WI
The Tanglers Bluegrass Band New Orleans, LA
High Horse Boston, MA
Bands will perform in a randomly selected order
Ingrid Avison Nederland,
Carin Mari Buena Vista, CO
J.M. Clifford Brooklyn, NY
Andrew Pauls Lancaster, PA
Lyndy Butler Hurricane, UT
Gus Miller Austin, TX
Nikhil Dasgupta Boston, MA
Maddie Rose Newark, TX
Melanie Maclaren Nashville, TN
Stephanie Sammons Dallas, TX
2024 Winner: Still House String Band, Palisade, CO
2024 Winner: Martin Gilmore
t he Family area
The Family Area provides whimsical, musical, crafty and educational activities for children. We ask that parents please accompany their kids at all times.
Let your imagination awaken and dreams soar in the carnival-like atmosphere of faeries, clowns, puppets, and craft-making with Living Folklore. Sunday is Parade-Day, we’ll have umbrellas, flags, costumes, and giant puppets for everyone to participate!
Kids can discover, strum, and play a variety of instruments at our Instrument Petting Zoo with our knowledgeable instrument zookeepers from HB Woodsongs. Let your colors swirl and shine while you create your own tie dyed shirts, dresses, or bandanas with our in-house tie dye experts at Dyenosaur Tie Dye! Get in the spirit with all natural temporary henna tattoos with Henna Body Art, freehand drawn from a large selection of designs, or you can request custom artwork!
thur S daY
Noon-5:00 Ar ts and Crafts, Instrument Petting Zoo, Tie Dye, and Henna
2:00 Jam on Songs from O’Brother (O’Sister) Where Ar t Thou Bring your instruments!
10:00-5:00 Ar ts and Crafts, Instrument Petting Zoo, Tie Dye, and Henna
11:00 Charlotte Guest
Noon Games & S tories with Gumbo Wobbly & Friends
1:00 Animal Parade with Gala the Flower Faerie
1:45 Drama Class & Talent Show Sign-ups
2:00-4:00 The 27th Annual Telluride Kids Talent Show!
fr I daY
10:00-5:00 Ar ts and Crafts, Instrument Petting Zoo, Tie Dye, and Henna
Noon Clown Yoga with Gumbo Wobbly & Friends
12:30 Make Your Own Kazoo with Gumbo Wobbly
1:00 Zany Puppet Show
1:30 Story-Time with Gala the Flower Faerie
2:00 Kids music with Gala the Flower Faerie
3:00 Jam with Jackie McCormick & Charlotte Guest Bring your instruments!
10:00-5:00 Ar ts and Crafts, Instrument Petting Zoo, Tie Dye, and Henna
Noon Story-Time with Gala the Flower Faerie
12:30 Zany Puppet Show
1:00 Kids Music with Gala the Flower Faerie
2:30 Parade preparations until parade begins
3:30 Closing Circle af ter the Parade
The sun may set, but the music doesn’t stop at Telluride Bluegrass. Instead, it spills off of the main stage and into some of the town's beloved small venues. These late-night shows offer a chance to catch impromptu collaborations and the opportunity to hear your favorite artists up-close and personal…It's where the energy of the festival continues to permeate long into the night. Don’t miss out on this year’s awesome NightGrass lineup!
our V enue S
With over 3,500 campers in Telluride this weekend, (more than doubling the size of the town!), it’s critical for each of us to be mindful of our camping footprint.
In collaboration with Leave No Trace and Eco-Products, we will be rewarding campsites that excel in creative, sustainable camping! To nominate your campsite or one of your neighbors, pick up an entry form at the Leave No Trace booth in Harmony Greene and tell us your secrets to keeping your campsite clean.
We will announce a random winner each day from the stage and reward them with goodies from our partners including Zeal, Klean Kanteen, Natural Life and more (so get your forms in early!) One grand prize winner who demonstrates the highest levels of the Leave No Trace camping philosophy will win (2) FREE 4-day Telluride Bluegrass Festival Passes (with camping) to next year’s Festival. The Grand Prize Winner will be announced Sunday evening.
CAMPSITE CHALLENGE
CAMPSITE CHALLENGE “HIPPIE JERRY”
Show us what you're doing to make your campsite sustainable during the festival!
win daily and grand prizes!
Love Leave No Trace? Your donation supports critical funding gaps, ensuring we can teach millions how to protect the outdoors—today and for future generations. Join Today! ENTER TO WIN!
Summit To Stage
From early gondola rides to golden-hour grooves in the canyon, the new Flip Seal Sport Cap for Classic bottles is built for Telluride terrain. Lightweight. Leakproof. Made to do more.
#MadeToDoMore kleankanteen.com
Congrats to the 2024 winner:
OPEN FROM GATES UNTIL 6:00 pm !
Harmony Greene is the horseshoe-shaped area snuggled next to the Country Store–it’s where all of our partners and Festival Hosts live for the weekend. We landed on that name because we feel a synchronicity with these partners and their values. This year we are excited to introduce our two newest partners: Rhino Rack and Celsius!
We challenge you to take action! When you have a BINGO, please visit the host tent in Harmony Greene and share your actions with our friendly Festival Hosts to enter your chance to win daily prizes as well as a Grand Prize – Meier Skis (with special Planet Bluegrass design!). You need not be present to win.
Introduce yourself to your tarp neighbor
Leave a tip at the bar to benefit local non-profit organizations
Chat with EcoAction at the Host Tent
Take a ride on the Gondola to Mountain Village. It’s powered by solar & wind energy!
Sample a tasty drink from our beverage partners in Harmony Greene
Thank a Festival Volunteer
Enter the LNT Campsite Challenge
Use (1) Towel for your entire lodging stay
Download the PB Festival App
Find out what material Zeal uses for their sunglasses
Read the PB 2024 Impact Report on our app or website
Write or call an elected official about something that matters to you
Eat a Vegetarian meal from a Vendor
Find out what Meier skis are made from
Let us know how we are doing by filling out the survey in the Festival App
Farmers Market: Fri 10:30-3:30 South Oak St. Fri/Wed Butcher & Baker
Give a kind compliment to a stranger
Grab a compost bag from Leave No
Fill up your water bottle at a water station
Turn off the lights at your lodging when you head to the Festival
Participate in our micro trash pickup. Go to the Leave No Trace booth for info
Trace to use at your campsite Bring / reuse your cup when you fill up at the bar
Find the % of recycled steel in Klean Kanteen’s products
Listen to the Set Break Sessions in Harmony Greene
We are delighted to announce that all three of our major Festivals (Telluride Bluegrass, RockyGrass, and Folks Festival) achieved the Greener Festival Improvers Certification in 2024 by not-for-profit sustainability specialists A Greener Future.
The assessment involves detailed analysis and onsite inspection of areas of sustainability such as transport, energy and power, waste, water usage, local environment, CO2 and food and beverages.
“Improvers” signifies great strides on the green event journey, with continued improvements, and shows your event exhibits a significant engagement with the process of reducing negative environmental impacts and enhancing positive impacts.
We will take what we learned from this process and continue to improve & enhance our efforts.
C he C k out our F ull 2o24
i mpa C t r eport on the Fest Y a pp or on our W ebsite!
thur S daY
june 19 th
10:00am Gates Open
10:45 - 11:45am Chris Thile
Noon - 1:00pm Olive Klug
1:15 - 2:15pm Mountain Grass Unit
2:45 - 4:00pm The Travelin’ McCourys
4:30 - 5:45pm I’m With Her
6:15 - 7:30pm Thee Sacred Souls
8:00 - 9:30pm
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
10:00 - 11:50pm Jason Isbell and the 400 unit
10:00am Gates Open
10:45 - 11:45am DUG Noon - 1:00pm Water Tower
1:15 - 2:30pm Rainbow Girls
3:00 - 4:15pm Tim O’Brien Band
4:45 - 6:15pm Punch Brothers
6:45 - 8:00pm Dan Tyminski Band
8:30 - 10:00pm Lake Street Dive
10:30 - Midnight Greensky Bluegrass fr I daY june 2 o t H
S aturdaY 9:00am Gates Open
9:30 - 10:30am Band Contest Finals
10:45 - 11:00am Telluride Troubadour
11:15 - 12:15pm Still House String Band
12:30 - 1:45pm Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms
2:15 - 3:30pm
Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonio Sánchez Trio 4:00 - 5:15pm Yonder Mountain String Band
5:45 - 7:00pm Kasey Chambers
7:30 - 9:30pm Sam Bush Band
10:00 - 11:30pm
10:00am Gates Open
12:15 - 1:15pm New Dangerfield
1:30 - 2:45pm Ken Pomeroy
11:00 - Noon Authentic Unlimited
7:00 - 8:30pm Zach Top
9:00 - 11:00pm Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas june 22 nd
3:15 - 4:30pm Rebirth Brass Band
5:00 - 6:30pm Telluride House Band featuring Sam, Béla, Jerry, Edgar, Stuart & Chris
Toy Factory Project june 21 st S undaY
8:30am Yoga with Lauren Norton
10:30am Mar tin Gilmore
11:15am Troubadour Contest: Preliminar y Round
1:30pm Western Medicine
3:00pm O live Klug
4:20pm Troubadour Contest: Top 5 Finalists Announced
4:30pm Water Tower
8:30am Yoga with Tabitha Rosado
10:30am DUG
Noon Ken Pomeroy
1:30pm Troubadour in the Round:
Lyndy Butler, Carin Mari, Melanie MacLaren
3:00pm Authentic Unlimited
4:30pm Rebir th Brass Band
8:30am Yoga with Tabitha Rosado
10:00am Band Contest: Preliminar y Round
1:15pm Mountain Grass Unit
2:30pm Troubadour Contest: Final Round
3:45pm Troubadour in the Round:
J.M Clifford, Stephanie Sammons, Nikhil Dasgupta
4:45pm Troubadour Contest: Winner Announced
5:00pm Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms
US Made Skis & Boards
Eco-Friendly
High Performance
23 ski models + snowboards
Stop by our tent to check them out
8:30am Yoga with Lauren Norton
11:00am Jackson Emmer with Mar tin Gilmore
12:15pm Troubadour in the Round:
Ingrid Avison, Maddie Rose, Gus Miller, Andrew Pauls
2:00pm Rainbow Girls
3:30pm New Danger field
C hris thile
10:45 - 11:45am
The Festivarian: One on an annual pilgrimage to Telluride to bask in the breathtaking surroundings, the incomparable magnificence of the music, and the heartening reunion with kindred souls. In that spirit, we are ugly-crying with joy to open TBF for the 11th straight year with the quintessential Festivarian: the incredible Chris Thile.
In Telluride, we have watched Chris grow from boy wonder to renaissance man: instrumentalist, singer, composer, genre inventor, bandleader, McCarthy Fellow, Nickel Creeker, Punch Brother, Goat Rodeoist, Country Bear, thespian, radio host, humorist, historian, humanitarian, heartthrob, muppet, mixologist, and more.
This year, Chris drops in amid dates for his latest tour de force, ATTENTION!, a brilliant narrative song cycle written for mandolin and orchestra. But for now, yes, your attention, please: Be there Thursday morning when we break out our 52nd bottle of bluegrass bubbly. And who better to pop the cork than one of TBF’s most iconic companions. The master. The marvel. The faithful friend. The Festivarian.
olive klug
Noon - 1:00pm
You may notice a new horde of fans in Town Park on Thursday: the Klug Bugs. The Festival is crawling with them! (Don’t worry—they don’t bite.) These Bugs are swarming to Telluride after colonizing around the superb songs and enchanting sounds of Olive Klug. And your own metamorphosis is next.
Olive (they/them) is the Portland-raised singer-songwriter who became a TikTok sensation as Gen-Zers flocked to Olive’s instantly captivating music. 2023’s Don’t You Dare Make Me Jaded was a stunningly fully-formed debut, a mix of the classic and the contemporary, echoing Olive’s two biggest musical inspirations—the vivid euphony of Joni Mitchell and the bittersweet pop-folk of Evermore-era Taylor Swift. But don’t try to pin Olive down as they chart a unique, neurodivergent, free-spirited path through the contemporary folk scene. The new album, Lost Dog, reveals a ravishing musical evolution of gorgeous melodies, dulcet vocals, precise fingerpicking, acute lyricism, and rhythmic sparkle. Olive flies in on opening day. Come see what all the buzz is about.
mountain grass unit 1:15 - 2:15pm
Vibe check! GRWM because this band slaps, no cap, with mad drip, like they high-key eat and leave no crumbs with enough rizz to make you yeet your scrilla at the stage. Sorry, what? We’re trying too hard. Okay, fine. We were just trying to get hip with TBF’s Gen-Z Freshivarians. After all, the young, gifted Mountain Grass Unit are one of the hottest new bands in bluegrass. And mountain grass is something Telluride knows a thing or two about.
These Alabama boys—Drury Anderson (mandolin, vocals),
Luke Black (guitar), Sam Wilson (bass), Josiah Nelson (fiddle)—have been fueling hippie hedonism from Delfest to WinterWondergrass on the strength of MGU’s mix of topnotch traditional bluegrass and jambitious newgrass explorations. Now it’s Telluride’s turn to take in one of the Unit’s metamorphic sets, which brim with prime-time picking and barbed-wire vocals on tough originals—see last year’s Runnin’ From Trouble—and covers of everyone from Doc Watson to John Hartford to Bob Marley to Nirvana. That vibe check? Happy AF. Get set for a bussin’ TBF debut.
the travelin ’ m CC our Y s 2:45 - 4:00pm
The new album is the masterful One Chord Rings True . Festivarians know, however, that every chord the Travelin’ McCourys strike rings true. After all, they have more bluegrass in their blood and more hardware on their shelves, including three Grammys and 17 IBMA instrumentalist awards, than any other grassers on the globe.
Of course Ronnie (mando) and Rob (banjo) have tickled Town Park semi-annually backing their legendary silverhaired daddy. But as the Travelin’ McCourys (with guitarist Cody Kilby, bassist Alan Bartam, and newest member Christian Ward on fiddle), the boys bust loose with unbridled fretboard fire and string-striding muscle. And are you looking for a miracle? The TMs are also the world’s finest bluegrass purveyors of Grateful Dead songs, as heard on their jubilant Grateful Ball tours.
For previous TBFs, the quintet supplied peerless precision and jam-ready electricity for Keller Williams and Dierks Bentley. This year, the Travs have the Shellman all to themselves. What will they do with it? Start Travelin’ to your tarp to find out.
I’m With Her are a Telluridian treasure. They are the only vocal trio in TBF history to feature three world-class stars who have previously commanded their own solo sets at the Fest, and the supergroup’s genesis was a 2014 Elks Park workshop right here in town.
Let’s look at the numbers: Sara Watkins has six Nickel Creek and two solo TBF appearances; Sarah Jarosz has fronted her own bands here six times; Aoife O’Donovan has played three Fests with Crooked Still and twice as a solo artist. Collectively, they total seven Grammy wins out of 31 nominations, plus an Americana Music Award for I’m With Her’s mega-gorgeous 2018 debut See You Around. Now comes the phenomenal new album, Wild and Clear and Blue. (Which Her represents each of those adjectives? Debate among yourselves.) In any case, the ladies are set for a blisteringly beautiful Telluride homecoming featuring the nimble multi-instrumentalism, exquisite songcraft, and spellbinding vocals that only they can provide. Be here now for a Telluride all-timer, for I’m With Her are here with you.
i ’ m W ith her 4:30 - 5:45pm thee sa C red souls 6:15 - 7:30pm gillian W el C h & david ra W lings 8:00 - 9:30pm jason isbell and the 4 oo unit 10:00 - 11:50pm
You know what they say about sex in the TBF campgrounds? It’s some in-tents lovemaking. Indeed, Friskyvarians have been falling in love at the Festival for over a half-century. And this year, we have just the band to facilitate all of your amorous ambitions.
Thee Sacred S ouls specialize in love songs steeped in vintage sounds that honor the soul and R&B elements that make up the great musical melting pot that pours from the Telluride stage. Specifically, the band takes cues from California Chicano soul, a sound they infuse with their own hornsy flow, Motown shimmy, and chill-pill finesse.
Led by the satin falsetto of vocalist Josh Lane, the band’s 2002 self-titled debut was met with copious critical pantswetting, and last year’s Got a Story to Tell pushed them into the soul-revival big time. Thee Sacred Souls make music to swoon to—floaty, twinkly, groovy—an invitation to take to your tarp for advanced shoulder oscillations. Or perhaps you’ll be inspired to do the ancient dance of love. After all, there’s no music for thee soul more sacred.
It’s only opening night, but we’re not waiting to bring out the legends. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, the most popular and acclaimed folk duo of the last three decades, will score the sunset by way of the beloved songs, spooky-gorgeous harmonies, spiraling guitar leads, and moonglowy musical warmth that have turned the duo into icons.
These lifelong musical and life partners helped invent the modern Americana genre, continually refining their lyrically rich blend of old-tyme, country, and bluegrass traditions. But they are more than just standard-bearers of rustic musical and sartorial styles; they also want to sing that rock and roll, and they indeed update folk music with enough fire to electrify your soul.
They return to TBF with a resplendent, Grammy-winning new album, Woodland , filled with the close harmony and vivid storytelling at the heart of the pair’s intuitively connected musical alchemy. Gil and Dave would love to see you on the great grassy glen, an invitation to join old friends for a new trip back into the ambrosial mystic.
The stars are out on Thursday both overhead and on stage. And one of the brightest in the contemporary musical firmament will provide a profoundly resonant and rocking finale to opening night. The fabulous Jason Isbell—roots music’s preeminent songwriter, singer, and guitarist—is here at the peak of his powers.
A six-time Grammy winner, Isbell is among this century’s most celebrated artists, and LPs like 2013’s Southeastern and 2015’s Something More Than Free set the bar preposterously high for the former Drive-By Trucker to continue to make classics. But damned if he doesn’t keep doing it every time, including the stellar new Foxes in the Snow.
On Foxes, Isbell performs solo on his 1940 Martin, but for Telluride, he’s fleshing out the songs with the killers in the 400 Unit, and with Jason dueling with Sadler Vaden, this set caps one of the hottest guitar days in TBF history. Any Isbell show is a musically thrilling and deeply moving experience. In this setting, the night is primed to take Isbellian power and grace to even greater celestial heights.
dug
10:45 - 11:45am
Okay, the showers thing. We were hoping we wouldn’t have to bring that up. Look, we know you don’t sweat up here like you do back home, but your apocrine glands are still starting to interfere with our fish tacos. So a few dollars will buy you a hot hosing-off in the campground. Not sure anyone told DUG that though.
What do you mean, “Doug who”? We’re talking about DUG, the Irish-based duo of singer-songwriter Lorkin O’Reilly and banjo frailer Jonny Pickett, who may look like we just chipped them out of Mount Wilson and plopped them on the Shellman Stage, but who are actually coastal Yanks living in Ireland and filling Dublin pubs with their irresistible original folk tunes.
A fter their single “Jubilee”—all National-guitar fingerpicking, hammerclaw banjo, foot percussion, and stoned-granny vocals—was shortlisted for two Grammys, we snagged DUG ahead of their hotly-anticipated debut LP, a transatlantic blend of rust-bucket Americana and pint-spilling Irish folk. Fine—skip the shower for an early tarp time. You can’t miss your chance to dig DUG.
W a ter to W er
Noon - 1:00pm
According to Water Tower founder Kenny Feinstein, the L.A. quartet combines the attitude of punk, the culture of hip-hop, and the tradition of bluegrass. Which means that when these guys first picked up their instruments, they burned the rule book (and probably tried to smoke it).
Originated as kids who met at the local water tower for ragtag picking parties, Water Tower grew into a band for DIY vagabonds dedicated to communal jamming, selfreleased records, freeway busking, and teaming up with members of Old Crow and Black Flag. It’s no wonder that Water Tower are the only bluegrass band in history to join the Vans Warped Tour.
A four-piece band with two banjos? That’s punk. Still, they know the standards. They’ll hit “Uncle Pen” or “Pig in a Pen” (or the weed pen) but will also rip into rad-grass covers of the ‘90s alt-rockers they grew up on. And can they play? Dude. Get stoked for wicked solos, gnarly runs, and sick speed.
rainbo W girls 1:15 - 2:30pm
Why are there so many songs about rainbows? Better question: Why are there so many amazing songs by Rainbow Girls? The answer is that these ladies are remarkably talented, boundlessly creative, and wildly prolific. The California folk-rock vocal trio of Erin Chapin, Caitlin Gowdey, and Vanessa May were born to sing together, and their flawless three-part harmonies are going to take you to places where troubles melt like lemon drops.
The trio’s 2018 viral video cover of “Down Home Girl” caught the ears of millions, but their genre-mingling original songs—mellifluous, innovative, cathartic, witty—on 2017’s American Dream and 2023’s Welcome to Whatever prompted even more fans to start chasing these Rainbows.
Then last year, the three multi-instrumentalists heralded a whole new hoodoo with the bewitching, sonically expansive Haunting. So the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true: You’re here in Telluride on a Friday afternoon for a breathtaking, instrument-swapping, vocal-braiding Rainbow Girls set. You won’t want to find the end of it.
tim o ’ brien band 3:00 - 4:15pm
2025 marks 50 years since Tim O’Brien first pulled into Telluride to play the Festival. It was 1975, and the 21-yearold Tim was with the Ophelia Swing Band. Little did he know, he would forever shape and define the Festival, returning for 48 of 52 years.
Along the way, Tim has done ever ything at the Fest besides hammer in your tent stakes: He brought us Hot Rize, Tim & Mollie, Red Knuckles, NewGrange, and countless other combos; he soundtracked the Fest with more guitar, mando, fiddle, bouzouki, songs, dances, stories, and surprises than we can ever remember. And throughout, Tim has embodied the traditions, musical excellence, and good will at the heart of the Telluride spirit.
Tim has endured—down ever y lonesome road, against every brother wind. And after a half-century of TBF, Tim still has a “Hungry Heart,” the title of the first single from his delightful new album, Paper Flowers , a collection of duets with his wife and bandmate Jan Fabricius. What’s next? More stories, more songs, and more love.
pun C h brothers
4:45 - 6:15pm
The latest Punch Brothers concept is The Energy Curfew Music Hour, a radio-style variety show set in a future when electricity is rationed due to shortages. The irony cuts deep since Punch Brothers are the one band who never runs out of energy. They’ve been electrifying us at TBF every year since 2008.
Electricity? Who needs it: The P unchers play in the daylight this year (although rye whiskey makes the sun set faster) and tend to wade into crowds to provide their own organic amplification. They are the Phosphorescent Blues band, after all, transforming current music into livewire post-grass transmissions charged with crackling power.
Thile has been the conductor of this fret-ernity for 17 TBFs, and Punch Bros 3.0, the Brittany Haas era, continues to create the mindblowingly byzantine sophisti-grass that no one else can conceive let alone play. They will burn the midnight oil at the Sheridan on Sunday night, but for now, plug into their high-voltage mainstage set: Chris, Pickles, Critter, Kow, and Britt will turn you on and trip the light fantastic.
dan t Y minski band
This year, the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? turns 25 years old, so we’ve assembled some of the film’s key voices in Telluride—Alison, Gillian, and, of course, the Soggy Bottom Boy himself, Dan Tyminski, whose performance of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (dubbed for George Clooney) landed him Song of the Year honors at the Grammys, CMAs, and IBMAs and sent the film’s soundtrack into the sales stratosphere. O Brother was based on The Odyssey, and it has indeed been quite a journey for Tyminski, a man of heroic musical skill whose adventures with the ultimate siren, Alison, are legendary. And now he comes home to Telluride. (You lotus eaters out there—this might be a good time to break out the good stuff.)
6:45 - 8:00pm lake street dive 8:30 - 10:00pm
And he’s bringing a six-pack of young ringers as the DTB. Do they cook? Oh brother. Check out 2024’s Live at the Ryman to hear one of bluegrass’s definitive voices lead some of the hottest, fastest pickers in the game. For those who take the B in TBF seriously, see it for yourself on Friday. The Dan Tyminski Band is here. Where wilt thou be?
No, it’s not Drive, like the long one you took to Telluride. It’s Dive, like the Last Dollar Saloon. Either way, Lake Street Dive pump out the music—an intoxicating brew of soul, funk, jazz, and pop—that you love listening to on drives or in dives or, even better, on a divine night up in the San Juans. Lake S treet first hit TBF in 2015 between the charttopping albums Bad Self Portraits and Side Pony, fueled by the titanic tonsils of Rachael Price, a virtuosic powerhouse on every vocal style. Suddenly, they were the favorite band of half the people on your block. And these days the Dive is deeper than ever with the addition of blue-jazz guitarist James Cornelison, who joins keyboardist Akie Bermiss and founding rhythm brainiacs Bridget Kearney (bass) and Mike Calabrese (drums).
LSD’s latest, the Grammy-nominated Good Together, is an exuberant album of sassy soul boogie, yachternative funk, and neon-gum pop about embracing self-love and dancing with strangers. Sounds like a job for Festivarians on a Friday night. Rise up—we’re gonna Lake and bake.
greensk Y bluegrass 10:30 - Midnight
Back in 2006, a pack of hippiegrass ragamuffins from Michigan called Greensky Bluegrass competed in the Band Contest. They had rolled into town without a registered spot in the contest, hoping for a cancellation. They ended up winning the whole thing.
Fast-forward to 2025, and Greensky are era-defining jamgrass monsters playing their 14th TBF and closing the Friday lineup for the 8th time as lords of the late-night grassbash. These sets are unforgettable, cinematic events with enough rhythmic propulsion and reverb-dunked dobro to make babies cry as far away as Norwood, and the band’s almighty, genreforward musicality have set the standard for intraband synergy, soulful singing, psychotropic solo swapping, and soaring songs. As jambidextrous as Greensky are, they also transcend the jam label with an aural blend of handsome tunesmithing, evocative lyrics, and macraméd arrangements, as heard on albums like 2015’s If Sorrows Swim and 2022’s Stress Dreams . Sorrows? Stress? Not tonight. We’re ready for sublime elevation. And Greensky’s the limit.
still house s tring band
11:15 - 12:15pm
We’re going to level with you. We’re dealing with some campground crapulence this morning. All the goddess walks, rumballs, beer shares, tot shots, picking circles, and lampshade-making sessions have finally caught up to us. We’re dealing with an overload of frets and regrets. Hey! “Frets and Regrets”! That’s a cool instrumental by Still House String Band, the five-piece pickin’ posse named after a small distillery in Palisade, Colorado, where they got their start. SHSB earned a mainstage set this year by winning the 2024 TBF Band Contest, joining an illustrious list of former winners like The Chicks, Greensky Bluegrass, and the Lil Smokies.
The band’s self-titled debut EP, just released in January, is a red-blooded blend of traditional mountain-bred bluegrass and progressive songforms stacked with agile solos, tight harmonies, and songs that are TBF site-specific (“Colorado River Song”) and filled with universal truths (“She Only Likes Me When She’s Drinking”). So shake it off and get back out there, Festie. That tarp ain’t gonna run itself.
C aleb klauder & reeb W illms 12:30 - 1:45pm
Some things are destined to be paired together. Yingo and yangdolin. Sam and Saturday nights. The KOTO beer booth and cowbells. And now to that great Telluridian list of dyads we add a harmonizin’, country-ballad-singin’ twosome, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, making their TBF debut.
Caleb and Reeb are proudly in love with home-on-the-range tradition: They sing and play the kind of country music that hasn’t been heard on the radio since your granddad was in short pants. With hidebound authenticity and nary an ounce of pretense, the duo specializes in good ol’ country weepers that turn today’s troubles into tonight’s drink orders.
Last year’s Gold in Your Pocket is a sterling set of classicsounding originals showcasing a vocal chemistry that echoes both the neo-Appalachian folk of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and the honky-tonk duets of George Jones and Melba Montgomery. Close your eyes and you’re in the alley between the Ryman and Tootsie’s in 1967; open them and real country music is alive and well on the Shellman Stage. Y’all come and see ‘em.
b É la F le C k , edmar C a sta Ñ eda , ant onio s Á n C he Z trio 2:15 - 3:30pm
Y onder mountain s tring band 4:00 - 5:15pm
Béla Fleck has not missed the Festival since 1982. That’s 44 consecutive TBFs, 94 sets with 34 differently billed acts, and more guest jams than anyone can count. One of the most thrilling of all TBF traditions is seeing what daredevil musical experiment history’s greatest banjoist will bring to Telluride next. Would you believe a trio of banjo, harp, and drums? Once again, Béla invites some of the world’s greatest virtuosi to Telluride to create an all-star musical fusion heretofore unimagined. Edmar Castañeda is a renowned harp master with an astoundingly intricate, percussive technique that has reinvented the instrument. Visionary drummer Antonio Sánchez is a jazz luminary known for his work with Pat Metheny and for composing the award-winning score for the 2014 film Birdman.
Together, they have released BEATrio (their forename initials, you see), a collaboratively written album of impossibly complex crystalline gorgeousness that will add years to your life. Celebrate and behold: Another miraculous new planet has been born in the Bélaverse.
Were you around these parts back in the aughts? If so, you remember when Yonder Mountain String Band busted bluegrass wide open, changing the game as the definitive revolutionary road-warrior jamgrass band, the Lost Boys from NederNederland who never grew up, learned to fly, spread magic everywhere, and unleashed a polychrome blitz of high-definition bluegrass that accidentally took string-band music to arena-sized popularity.
Yonder taught legions of raised-on-rock Millennials to love bluegrass, and thousands of shows and songs later, the band is still finding new contours to their distinctive brand of bluegrass. FestKinvarians can’t wait to reunite with Dave, Adam, and Ben, plus string-slinging studbucket Nick Piccininni and newest member, freakishly fleet-fingered fiddler Coleman Smith. Their la test LP is called Nowhere Next . Those jokers. They’re always going somewhere next. And that somewhere is Telluride for one of our favorite traditions: the Saturdayafternoon Yonder Yeehaw. 25 years after their first TBF, Yonder are still the peak of the party.
kase Y C hambers
5:45 - 7:00pm
sam bush band
This is going to be cool. Kasey Chambers’ third TBF appearance (and first since 2009) is the first U.S. date on her world tour supporting last year’s Backbone, another #1 album for the Australian superstar. Kasey is famous for her rip-roaring concerts, which take audiences on journeys at turns humorous and heartbreaking, and she’s bringing her full band with her to Telluride to give this canyon a good rattling. It’s been quite a career. From her classic 1999 debut The Captain and 2001’s 7x-Platinum Barricades & Brickwalls to nine more Top 10 albums, Kasey has won the world over with her sugar-twang vocals, melodic grace, and renegade heart. She’s also a best-selling author whose latest book title gets right to the point: Just Don’t Be a Dickhead. O n Saturday, Kasey will perform both new tunes and old favorites, songs that chronicle a quarter-century of truths and vulnerabilities. One of those: We’re all gonna die someday. That’s all the more reason to carpe the hell out of the diem this weekend. And the great Kasey Chambers will help you get there.
7:30 - 9:30pm to Y F a C tor Y proje C t 10:00 - 11:30pm
The phrase “only in Telluride” gets kicked around a lot, but this is next-level. Toy Factory Project is the brainchild of Paul Riddle, drummer for the legendary Marshall Tucker Band, which Riddle co-founded with the band’s main songwriter/ lead guitarist Toy Caldwell in 1972. This weekend, an incredible group of musical headliners have come together to pay tribute to Caldwell’s songs.
Why is Telluride Bluegrass the Fest That Sam Built? Because back in the ‘70s, Sam unleashed the mando-lode that permanently modernized and enhanced string-band music, chummed in the Deadheads, and embodied a new musical mojo that was jamgrass in the streets and jazzgrass in the sheets. He established the sound, the style, the solos, the skill, and the collaborations that inform everything that happens on the Shellman Stage, and he continues to inspire the life-altering spirit and jubilation that happens off of it.
There’s always an anniversary when it comes to Sam. Last year was his 50th TBF. This year marks 25 years since the release of Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride, the live compilation album that brought listeners a little closer to the music, magic, and mirth of TBF, courtesy of the Chairman of Chop. Put your arm around your Bestievarian and howl at the moon, for Sam Bush songs celebrate memories of the past and dreams for the future. But his continued vitality and excellence demonstrate how much he has left to give us right here and now.
JERRY GREENE
The jaw-dropping lineup: Grammy-winning blues guitarist and singer Marcus King. Blackberry Smoke lead singer/ lead guitarist Charlie Starr. Dead & Company bassist Oteil Burbridge, fresh from the Las Vegas Sphere. Violin savant Billy Contreras, sideman for everyone from Béla to Zach Bryan. Mountain Heart vocalist and keyboardist Josh Schilling They’ve all assembled to recreate the catalog of the protojam Southern-rock heroes behind classics like “Can’t You See,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “Heard It in a Love Song,” and so many others. A seminal songbook. An historic gathering of roots-jam superstars. A world-premiere performance. For the Love of the Music. Only in Telluride.
LEGACY FUND
Established with a generous gift from KOTO’s late co-founder Jerry Greene, aka NORDIC COMMANDO RADIO 1947-2021
for the long-term sustainability of the radio station, this fund is an opportunity to make a lasting gift to KOTO.
A VISIONARY AND A LEGEND
KOTO was Jerry Greene’s proudest achievement. May his memory be an
Photo by Axel Koch
authenti C unlimited
11:00 - Noon
Look, we’re not saying you have a lot to atone for, but Jesus Christ is dying on the cross and you’re off doing Crunchy Frog shots all night in Camp Run-A-Muk. So it wouldn’t kill you to come out on Sunday for a little morning benediction. And like the late great Telluride Tom, our gospel act this year is as authentic as it gets.
Authentic Unlimited are made up of former members of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver—Stephen Burrell (fiddle), Eli Johnston (banjo), Jerry Cole (bass)—so they follow the old Lawson law: pristine traditional bluegrass, impeccable fivepart harmonies, and a sorghum-smooth blend of ancient tones. That formula has bagged the band a bevy of IBMA Awards, including Vocal Group of the Year for the last two years running.
Speaking of awards, let’s hear it for AU’s Jesse Brock, three-time (and reigning) IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year. So the “William Tell Overture” is your call for Sunday-goto-meeting and the Unlimited’s rafter-ringing gospel-grass. Get up and get right with the Lord. (Either that or beat the lines at the beer booth.)
ne W danger F ield
12:15 - 1:15pm
As with so much American music, the namesake genre of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival can be traced back to AfricanAmerican folk-music lineages. Sadly, over the last century, Black string band traditions have largely been appropriated or erased, and a paucity of such bands exist as a result.
Enter New Dangerfield, an all-star band who assembled in 2023 to restore an awareness of Black string bands and to reclaim that heritage. Each is a leading roots-music figure: IBMA-award-winning banjoist Tray Wellington, JUNOwinning folk vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kaïa Kater, renowned fiddler and ethnomusicologist Jake Blount, and virtuosic classical-grass bassist Nelson Williams. Named after Dangerfield Newby, a former slave who died fighting at Harpers Ferry, these four talent titans create a horizon-wide blend of dizzying old-time instrumentals, reimagined folk standards, and original creations that infuse a vibrant new energy into old forms. Join New Dangerfield for an afternoon of recognition, history, revitalization, and momentous music.
ken pomero Y 1:30 - 2:45pm
Did you goop up with the sunscreen this morning? They don’t call it Sunday for nothing. And folks who testify to the joys of getting baked in Telluride aren’t talking about solar erythema. But they will be talking about Ken Pomeroy, who will have you basking in both the midday sun and in her lovely, eloquent songs.
She’s barely old enough to buy a beer at the Buck, but Ken is already earning a passionate following for her supple vocal intonation, deft a, and lyrics that go gallbladder deep. On the new Cruel Joke, the native Oklahoma Cherokee incorporates her heritage into narratives that both wrench and warm your heart, a singular songcraft that has landed Ken’s songs on the Hulu series Reservation Dogs and in the 2024 blockbuster Twisters.
After Telluride, Ken will be the opening act on the Iron & Wine and I’m With Her tours and will make her debut at the Newport Folk Festival. For now, she is bringing a full band to TBF to put her in rock-Ken-roll mode. It’ll be the perfect summertime spirit-folk gift you didn’t realize you deserved.
rebirth brass band 3:15 - 4:30pm
Get up, Funkivarians. This Festival isn’t over yet. And we’re about to turn Town Park into the famous Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans. That can mean only one thing: The legendary Rebirth Brass Band are here with their classic brass bash, combining Bourbon Street jazz, Bayou soul, Dixieland blues, and second-line stomp into a funk-drunk dance party.
Founding drummer Keith Frazier, still hitting his cymbal with a flathead screwdriver, will be on hand as Rebirth recreate the classic Big Easy sound, defined by hornheated instrumental fire, polyrhythmic boogie-down sonics, call-and-response vocals, and tuchus-taxing fun. These guys blow so hard they put the “ouch” in embouchure, obliterating the line between band and audience with a parade of pipes, a volley of valves, a battalion of bells. It might be closing day, but it’s going to be Mardi Gras in Telluride. (Hey, campers! Show us your tents!) For Rebirth don’t just play the party; they are the party. And you’re invited to join the definitive brass-band heavyweights as they free you up to get down.
telluride house band
F eaturing sam , b É la , jerr Y, edgar , stuart & C hris
5:00 - 6:30pm
Recently, camera crews have visited the Festival to gather footage of the Telluride House Band for an upcoming TBF documentary. Makes sense: What better way to tell the Telluride tale than to capture the ultimate expression of the Fest: the Giants of Jam, the history-altering GOATs who have reached the Pinnacle of Pick, the marquee annual event forged from and exclusive to TBF.
Since 1987, the towering tetrad—Sam, Béla, Jerr y, and Edgar—have formed the league of superpickers under various names (the Telluride All-Stars, Strength in Numbers, the TBF Band, Thunder Jam), but every year since 2007, they’ve anchored the Fest as the Telluride House Band. This year, Stuart is back for his 16th consecutive THB set, and Chris Eldridge jumps in on guitar to lend his extraordinary musical IQ and guitar mastery to the mix.
Incredibly, the House Band still finds new peaks to summit. How long will it last? Nobody knows. But one thing is for sure: You’ll never see the likes of this again. You are witness to history. One band. One night. One place. One more time.
7:00 - 8:30pm alison krauss & union station
Z a C h top
“Sounds Like the Radio,” Zach Top sings, “back in ‘94, you know.” He isn’t kidding. Zach is a trad-country revivalist cut from the George Strait and Alan Jackson mold. He’s a hell of a singer too, with more than a little Hag and Jones in his voice, so this guy is the real country savior you’ve been waiting for. You’re not alone—Zach Top is the hottest new thing in country music, burning up the charts and selling out concerts all summer.
Zach’s debut LP Cold Beer & Country Music, featuring the smash “I Never Lie,” hit the Top 5 on the Country charts, was nominated for ACM’s Album of the Year, and nabbed the trophy for New Male Artist of the Year. As the album title indicates, it’s a Telecaster-and-pedal-steel case of barroom boot-scooters and drain-the-cup bawlers. But ZT also cut his teeth on bluegrass, so wait’ll you hear him let it rip on the axe. In fact, his latest release is Me & Billy, a three-song EP of duets with Billy Strings. So Zach Top and his band tearing it up in Telluride on country tunes that sound like ‘94? Sounds like a damn good time.
F eaturing jerr Y douglas 9:00 - 11:00pm
When did you first realize that Alison Krauss was a generational talent? If you’re like us, it was in 1989 when she played her first TBF at age 18. No one had ever seen anything like this bluegrass fiddle prodigy with that butterfly-diamond soprano. Little did we know that the kid would go on to win 27 Grammys (5th most all-time) and become a towering cultural touchstone with a boundless musical legacy.
After her recent forays with Robert Plant (TBF ‘23), Alison has gotten back to where it all began—playing her elegant brand of bluegrass with Union Station featuring dobro deity Jerry Douglas for those ready to get Fluxed up. Plus newest member, three-time IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Russell Moore, who joins Union Station O.G.s Ron Block (banjo/ guitar) and Barry Bales (bass). And Stuart Duncan will be here too making it all even prettier.
Can it get any better? Forget about it. AKUS hits the classics as well as new songs from this year’s Arcadia as a finale to an unforgettable weekend. The Hall of Famer is back. We’ve got that old feeling.
t elluride b luegrass
Telluride Town Park
June 18-21, 2026
June 17-20, 2027
Camp a lder W ild
Telluride Town Park
August 22nd & 23rd, 2025
r o C k Yg rass
a C adem Y
Lyons, Colorado
July 20-24, 2025
r o C k Yg rass
Lyons, Colorado
July 25-27, 2025
t he s ong sC hool
Lyons, Colorado
August 3-7, 2025
r o C k Y m ountain Folks Festival
Lyons, Colorado
August 8-10, 2025
Each year, our dedicated Festival Beautification crew pours their hearts into transforming Town Park into a realm of artistry, wonder, and playful charm. Recognizing the inherent splendor of our mountainous surroundings, local Colorado talents Ann Hall and Jacob Leeuwenburgh focus on accentuating our breathtaking natural canvas. If you spot something vibrant that sparks joy, chances are they brought it to life! We are so grateful for all they do!
WIN A martin d-28 guitar
Raffle tickets available in the Martin Tent in Harmony Greene. All proceeds to support KOTO.
Drawing held 4:30 Sunday on the main stage. You need not be present to win.
The dreadnought sized guitar, with custom TBF Inlay, is crafted with East Indian rosewood, which is very resonant and offers deep bass and rich overtones.
For over half a century, we’ve poured our hearts into crafting the ultimate Telluride Bluegrass Festival experience, always striving to be the very best. Your feedback as a valued Festivarian is absolutely essential in guiding our continuous journey of refinement and improvement. By telling us what you loved and where we can grow, you directly contribute to making future Festivals even more magical. Please take a few moments to complete our online survey – as a thank you, you’ll be entered to win a pair of tickets to next year’s Festival!
This year’s program and pocket schedule are printed on FSC-certified Neenah Conservation paper at Cottrell Printing, an FSC-certified printer in Denver.
By using this 100% post-consumer recycled fiber made with 100% renewable energy, we saved: 2.31 tons of fresh (green) wood (that’s 13.79 trees!); 1,090 gallons of water (which is enough water for 0.79 clothes washers operated/year!); 5,968 pounds of carbon emissions (equivalent to the annual emissions from 0.54 cars); and 46 pounds of solid waste.
Help extend the life of this program by sharing it with your tarpmates, protecting it as a lasting souvenir, or recycling it at the Festival.
