TELLURIDE — It's not just a festival — it's a social culture, a right of passage, a sport.
For many festivarians, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is one of a kind. With its musical lineup, traditional "running of the tarps," and social acceptance both young and old come from all over the country to attend.
|
Advertisement |
Every ticket sold for the four-day gathering, which started Thursday and ran through Sunday. It was the first time everything, including 10,000 tickets a day and around 3,500 camping passes, sold out since the 30-year anniversary in 2003, said Brian Eyster, director of communications for the festival's proprietor, Plant Bluegrass.
Eyster said it might have been the lineup, which included bands such as B/la Fleck & The Flecktones, Yonder Mountain String Band and the Sam Bush Band.
But he said it might also be because more people are coming for one band or another and get absorbed into the the culture of a bluegrass festival.
A culture is exactly what it is — and it starts way before the music begins playing.
Town park, a prime camping spot located next to the festival's venue, is where many festival patrons want to be.
There are 1,200 passes sold for Town Park and they are chosen through a lottery, Eyster said.
But if their number is chosen, festivarians still have to show early to get the best location. Eyster said some set up as soon as Memorial Day, paying the town fee to camp until the festival begins.
The event is also about tradition and bluegrass music has one all its own.
Versions of the present-day sounds came over to the United States as early as the 1600s, according to www.about.com. But it was in the 1920s that The Monroe Brothers from Kentucky came into the public eye and set a precedence for bluegrass.
Peter Rowan, who played on Sunday with the Tony Rice Quartet, was the only musician in this year's lineup that is a member of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys.
For other musicians, such as Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, it was Telluride where they found their tune. Emmitt and Herman met in Town Park during a campground jam session, according to the festival's program, and years later merged their bands — Drew's Lefthand Stringband and Vince's Salmonheads.
"It's the closest you'll get to a Leftover Salmon reunion," Dean Barnett, freelancer for Festival Preview, said.
Emmitt and Herman were joined by former bandmates Jeff Sipe, Greg Garrison and Noam Pikelny Sunday for an energetic performance.
Other strong traditions, one which includes the running of the tarps, is seen during the four-days.
The goal is to be first in line so you get the prime spot each day.
Many festivarians sit under the hot sun along the dusty pathway outside the gate just to be the first the next morning to run across the large field and spread out their tarp before the next in line.
Telluride resident Scott Spencer has been involved in the tarp run for years and said the rules have changed a little in the past 10 years and people decided to start camping out in line.
"This (pointing to the line) has gotten a lot more competitive and we're all still sitting in the exact same spots next to each other anyway, kinda wondering why we can't just agree on sleeping at home," Spencer said.
He was first in line Sunday morning. Someone from his group had been there the previous days.
But Spencer said it is "absolutely" worth it.
"When you walk in in the middle of the day and there is 10,000 people, you want to be in the front couple of hundred," he said. "Yonder filled us up (Saturday), you needed some space."
The lines of chairs ran out of the park and up and down more than five blocks, but after the gates opened, the streets cleared in a matter of minutes.
The festivarians rushed in, jumping over each other with their tarp in their hand. They rushed to the front, smiles on their faces the whole time, and with a practiced skill, laid out their tarp in what they hoped was the perfect spot.
"People are pretty civil ... I will admit, I've seen people have tarps thrown over them," Spencer said.
Telluride resident Sarah Stroup, 28, has done about eight to 10 tarp runs in the 17 years she's attended the festivals. Her brother is the organizer, making sure someone is always in line and the fastest does the running. Stroup's spot was right up front.
"It gets more civilized each year, but the running is still hard."
• Be respectful of others, the writer and the subjects in the story.
• Be relevant. Keep your comments on point.
• See the guidelines for TalkAbout. Perhaps your comment is best for that community forum, available from the home page, instead of commenting on a particular story.
Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. Montrose Press is not liable for messages from third parties.
DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in montrosepress.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the Montrose Press. Montrose Press does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Montrose Press spokespersons.
Thank you for your comments!