a report on our experience at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival

So Scott and I took off around 9am on Thursday and drove to Telluride for a long weekend, heading for the 35th Anniversary of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. This is the first time we've left all three kids for this long and we both commented as we were driving how weird it was to be on our own. The weirdness subsided pretty quickly and turned into a wonderful carefree break from responsibilities.

First of all, Telluride is gorgeous. The town is quaint and small and nestled in between tall mountains overgrown with very green pine and aspen trees. We enjoyed walking along the streets and admiring the architecture. There was a swift moving river running throughout the area and we got to ride a gondola multiple times every day (from the parking to the festival and back). We had a reservation in a cute lodge with a great restaurant in Placerville (about 15 mins away -- rooms in Telluride were outrageously expensive and camping was out of the question). We ate a lot of great food. And Scott even played a round of disc golf course under one of the ski lifts.


And we got to see some excellent music. I think top of our list would be The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the movie Once) -- one of the best shows we've ever seen. The evening was magical and you could tell the band felt it too. It was just one of those shows that gives you goose bumps and chills. Excellent.



We also saw Glen's other band The Frames, which was also great. Ryan Adams was a riot, and put on a very energetic show -- in sharp contrast to the last time we saw him at Red Butte. I'll leave it to Scott (hint hint) to write a more thorough review of some of the shows, but suffice it to say it was a beautiful setting to hear some great music.


So there you have it. Relaxation. No responsibilities. Nature. Music. Food. Disc golf. Sounds great. Way to put a good spin on it, Sarah.



The truth is, in the midst of all that great stuff, it was one of the most surreal and frankly somewhat disturbing experiences of my life. I don't really know how to describe it. First of all it's enormous. There were about 10,000 people there. The vast majority of them were 100% granola hippies. Every conversation we had with anyone included talk about outdoorsy activities and conservation (buzz word "sustainability") efforts.


We quickly realized we were quite different than almost everyone and there was no point to get in to those differences in conversation. So we took on the persona of mountain bikers/skiers from Salt Lake City who've learned to get around all those pesky alcohol laws. We were surrounded by constant partying from morning until after midnight. Young and old together. Think the grateful dead caravan fans. And they mostly all camp. And it was hot. So add that all up and it makes for a quite odorous environment.

When we first walked onto the festival grounds, we spotted the clearly marked and designated hula hoop area -- full of people who'd brought their intricately decorated homemade hoops. Then there were guards placed in front of every trash can there to inspect what you were throwing away in case you dared to toss something that could be recycled or composted instead. They provided spickets of tap water rather then selling any water bottles (which was actually very delicious, and I'm known to be a sort of water snob). And then there was all the political talk. Scott was proud of me for holding my tongue all weekend.



Every morning there was a modern-day land grab where people would line up (some all night) and at 9am when the gates opened everyone would run and stake their claim with their tarps. Scott and I participated on Saturday morning. We got in line at 6am and got #397. We ended up with a tiny 5x5 spot but at least we had a good view. The convention was once you put down your tarp you could leave it all day if you want (we went back to the hotel for a nap at one point in the day) and if someone wants they can sit there until you return. (To their credit it was a pretty respectful crowd.)

Did you all know that tie-dye is still very much in style?! And the sandals made of hemp rope and the hiking boots and mud-clad bare feet. Scott and I decided we could spot like-minded folks by their shoes. Converse or Rainbows was a good sign. There weren't many. And there were dread locks galore and tattoos and lots of hippie kids too. And then there were the drastic temperature swings. Morning was 40 degrees. Mid day was 90 degrees in full sun at 9000 ft elevation. Evening was very pleasant at 70 degrees. Night was back down to 40. So there was the layering -- leggings under the skirts, down to bikini tops during the day, down jackets at night. People had it down to an absolute science. There was lots of great people watching to do!

Of course I have to mention the bluegrass music. I mean I'm a music appreciator and I can admire excellent technique and musicianship. And there was plenty of that. PLENTY. But after a while I'm just not all that interested in another tune about vegetables or cows. The lyrics and subject matter are so trite. And the songs are so long. And frankly they mostly all sound the same to me.

Unfortunately we didn't take enough pictures. Something about not having kids around or not wanting to look like gawkers. I cannot adequately describe the visual. You'll have to use your imagination.

In the end I like to "chalk it up to experience". It's one of those things we've talked about and dreamed about doing every year when they announce the lineup. Now that we've done it we know we don't need to do it ever again. Think of all the energy we'll save not being disappointed about not going next year. We can see the groups we're most interested in in other venues (should have seen The Swell Season last month in Salt Lake!). But seriously I can't complain too much. It was a wonderful break, great solo time with Scott, and I savored every moment of it.

So how long do you think it'll be before this business pops up in downtown Provo? Oxygen to go?! And this was not the only Oxygen bar in town.