Rocky Grass 2008 — A Review

Well, believe it or not, we at Musical Stew Daily have our first field reporter! Ms. Brooks Helms attended the recent Rocky Grass festival in Lyons, Colorado. Here is her wrap up of her experience:

First of all, I just have to say thanks to Kelly and Matt who invited me to write about one of the best festivals I have been to in my life….RockyGrass! And before I get started, how amazing is their blog? Rock on you two! (MSD note: this isn’t a paid endorsement!)

I got a call about a month ago from my boyfriend to see if I would like to go to RockyGrass, a 3 day bluegrass festival in the beautiful town of Lyons, Colorado. I have to admit, at first I was a bit nervous, because I am not one to camp for more than 2 nights (this would be 3). As soon as I started doing my research, all of my concerns disappeared, this looked amazing. I officially became a RockyGrass Festivarian!

I can not begin to describe the incredible vibe surronding this event. Lyons is a perfect mountain town about 30 miles outside of Boulder and Estes Park. The St. Vrain river runs through the town, the venue and campgrounds (the perfect place to cool off in the 100 degree weather). As we entered the amphitheater, I knew I was in for a treat: it is surrounded by mountains, the river and sky that goes on forever. The acoustics were unreal. Planet Bluegrass, the organizers of the festival, only sell 3,000 tickets, meaning there were plenty of places to set up your tarp, fantastic views of the stage and amazing people that you regularly ran into at the beer stand or taking a dip in the river. I made some new friends that I look forward to seeing next year.

The music was unbelievable. I can’t say that I am the biggest bluegrass fan, but that definitely changed over the course of the three days. RockyGrass showcases many “faces” of bluegrass and offers some of the best names in the industry including Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck & Friends, PsychoGrass and Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy.

Two bands in particular absolutely blew my mind. The first, Bearfoot, the 1999 Telluride Bluegrass band champions from Alaska. The band has five distinct vocal leads and I promise, it’s angelic. They have a great story as they all met as camp counselors in their native state and soon took the Bluegrass world by storm. Check them out…www.bearfootbluegrass.com

The second, and my absolute favorite, was the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The crowd came alive when this trio took to the stage. “This is dancin’ music, so we want to see you dance,” said Rhiannon Gibbens, the only female of the group. Highlights included Arizona native Dom Flemons playing rib bones, Carolina Piedmont natives Justin Robinson on the jug and Rhiannon on banjo, kazoo and a killer version of “Hit ‘Em Up Style” by Blu Cantrell, yes, Blu Cantrell (the radio hit of the 1990s). The band received a standing ovation as they headed to the artist tent and cds were sold out before their set was over. They are passionate, sassy and definitely talented ! Check them out www.carolinachocolatedrops.com.

Amazing venue, music, Festivarians, beer, food and town. I highly recommend you checking it out next year. At the end of the festival I looked over at my boyfriend and said, “Thank you, this was absolutely perfect.”

Thanks, Brooks!