RockyGrass Festival returned to Lyons, CO for its 52nd annual celebration of bluegrass and beyond. While some attendees were there to experience the fest for the first time, many, like myself, flocked back for another year like birds returning home from migration.
My first RockyGrass was in 2004. I was attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, and I was already familiar with bluegrass by way of bands like Old & In The Way, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, The String Cheese Incident, and a few others. Attending RockyGrass that summer was a musical awakening and affected the rest of my life in a very positive way—the music, the talent, the vibe, the friendly festivarians, the charming local Lyons community, the St. Vrain River, the jams, and so much more.
Tim O’brien Band – “Look Down That Lonesome Road” – 7/28/24
Video: Owen Perkins
Seeing Tim O’brien Band at my first RockyGrass back then remains a formative memory and was a moving, powerful musical experience. The material they were touring from the Traveler album spoke to my soul, and the picking was equally phenomenal. Fast forward 20 years, and he is still one of the RockyGrass regulars that everyone looks forward to seeing. As a former local resident and longtime performer at RockyGrass, the Planet Bluegrass grounds hold a special place in his heart too, exemplified not only by his returning year after year, but also in his decision to get married right there on the land, as he mentioned during his set.
Looking back on the schedule from my first RockyGrass in 2004, there are indeed many artists still on the bill this year like Tim O’brien yet again. Also members of Uncle Earl (KC Groves, Abigail Washburn, and Kristin Andreassen), John Reischman, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush Band, and Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band were all back, 20 years later, joining all the other stellar acts. Seeing these familiar and well respected artists evolve and return each year is part of what makes Rockygrass special. All of the all-stars and alumni return in both classic and unique lineup variations, creating special moments year after year and resulting in a feeling of family, community and tradition. The feeling that RockyGrass is not just a festival, but a reunion, is part of what brings world class musicians and fans back every year for the pilgrimage—to see the community evolve and grow, passing the tradition to the next generation and still learning from and appreciating the past.
Sam Grisman Project With Sam & Gina Leslie – “Ripple” (Grateful Dead) – 7/26/24
Video: Owen Perkins
Dissecting this year’s lineup, it’s easy to see that it features so many musicians that not only hold Planet Bluegrass near and dear, but literally grew up going there. One example of this was Sam Grisman Project, which features a core group of musicians and a slew of rotating guests honoring the musical friendship of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. The younger Grisman recruited Sam and Gina Leslie, two of many musicians in the Leslie family, and two close friends with whom he has spent many a RockyGrass. They are a RockyGrass mainstay and have one of the best campsites. Their intimate, all-night jams tend to draw main stage musicians on a regular basis. It has always been common to see Sam Grisman holding down the bass at the campsite in years prior and was special to see him bring a bit of that vibe up to the RockyGrass stage this year, especially with family and extended family of that camp amongst his other friends in The Sam Grisman Project.
Following a classic Del McCoury Band set, Sarah Jarosz closed down the evening with a dazzling performance showcasing her evolution as a songwriter and musician. Growing up with RockyGrass as a longtime kids academy student, she first graced the stage at age 12 and still finds herself returning, now as a headline act. The Cody Sisters are another act who also grew up on the Colorado front range/RockyGrass scene playing music and learning there at a young age. The front range bluegrass community has been enthusiastically watching them grow as musicians over the years and now rightfully earning their slot on the festival stage with folksy sister harmonies and beautiful, technical picking.
Sarah Joarozs – “Timber, I’m Falling In Love” – 7/26/24
Video: Owen Perkins
Sunday morning gospel hour was laced with musical members of the Lyons and RockyGrass community and beyond led by the local group The Solar Sisters. Another fun and exciting act to grace the stage Sunday with those Colorado and RockyGrass ties was the Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band. What would now be called a supergroup was originally just a band of five pals who won the 2003 Band Competition. They played the festival the next year too but haven’t performed much since. Their members have become known for their work with more recognizable bands like Leftover Salmon (Andy Thorn), Greensky Bluegrass (Anders Beck), and The Infamous Stringdusters (Travis Book). Also in the band are other notable original members Jon Stickley and Robin Davis. It was a fun, energetic, and at times goofy set, and it is amazing that these lifelong friends all evolved independently into such notable careers and fine musicians, each staples of the festival and evolving bluegrass scene. With how much fun they were having onstage, it seems like this band should stick around. Among other things during their show, they recreated and performed the exact three-song set that won them the competition 20+ years back and reminisced on their experience being “five guys in a two man tent” that year.
Tim O’Brien, Pete Wernick, Sam Grisman, More Jam At RockyGrass – 7/28/24
Video: Owen Perkins
The campground scene at RockyGrass, and many bluegrass gatherings, is the heart of the festival, where folks pick all day and night making new friends and reveling in the bluegrass tradition of jamming and sharing tunes. The RockyGrass campground has been an incubator for many fine musicians, and many bands have evolved from the legendary jams. The onsite camping opens the week before the festival for the academy students. In the academy, fans get a chance to learn in a variety of formats and jam with musicians they look up to before seeing them perform on the festival stage. Artists that were instructors for the music camp and also festival performers this year included Della Mae, John Reischman, Tyler Grant, Stephen Mougin, Chris Eldridge, and The Slocan Ramblers, among many other notable musicians.
With an impressive 52-year history, RockyGrass stands as a testament to the strength of Colorado’s live music community and its love for bluegrass music. The RockyGrass Festival tradition and the bonds it creates has brought so many back year after year and will continue to do so.
Click below to view select fan-shot videos and a gallery of photos of the artists mentioned above and more from RockyGrass Festival 2024.
Sam Grisman Project With Sam & Gina Leslie – “Let Him Go On Momma” – 7/26/24
Video: Owen Perkins
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