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Music lineup for GoPro Mountain Games announced, with headliner Stephen Marley, others

Stephen Marley, also known as Ragga Muffin, was born in 1972 to the legendary Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He has become well known as a guardian of his father’s timeless reggae lineage and will bring his own sound and style to Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater on Saturday, June 11.
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If you go …

What: GoPro Mountains of Music, with Stephen Marley, J Roddy Walston & The Business, Katchafire, Bonfire Dub and Tracksuit Wedding.

When: Thursday, June 9, through Saturday, June 11.

Where: Checkpoint Charlie in Vail Village and Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater

Cost: Free.

More information: Athlete registration is open now at mountaingames.com.

VAIL — As it enters its 15th year, the GoPro Mountain Games has taken the title as the most popular mountain adventure sports and lifestyle event in the world. The event boasted more than 62,000 spectators and 2,500 athletes in 2015, and all signs are pointing toward this year being even bigger and better when the event comes to Vail today through Sunday.

“Music and nightlife have been a major ingredient in that formula for success,” said Dave Dressman, of the Vail Valley Foundation, which organizes the event.

The GoPro Mountains of Music festival will once again rock the Checkpoint Charlie venue in the heart of Vail Village, and for the first time in almost a decade, music will return to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail during the Mountain Games.



“You can compete in the kayak events alongside the world’s best, and then check out a free concert while your hair is still drying off. It’s really the ideal mountain weekend all in one place, at one time,” Dressman said. “It’s a dream weekend for mountain people — play hard during the day, play even harder at night.”

Athletes who want to compete during the event can register now to get early-bird discounts and to guarantee themselves one of the athlete gift bags. The concerts are free, and Dressman said it is the earliest the bands have been booked for the event in recent memory.

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The music

Today, J. Roddy Walston & The Business kick off the weekend series with an American rock vibe and sound. New Zealand roots reggae band Katchafire is set to perform on Friday. On Saturday, music expands into the iconic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, as Bonfire Dub opens for reggae legend Stephen Marley. This is the first time a GoPro Mountains of Music concert has been held in the Ford Amphitheater since the Vail Valley Foundation began organizing the event in 2009.

Marley, also known as Ragga Muffin, was born in 1972 to the legendary Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He performed live on stage with his father and brother Ziggy in 1980 and continued his musical career as a member of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He released his first solo album, “Mind Control,” which won him a Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2007.

Stephen Marley’s Saturday performance at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater will start with opening act and Vail Valley favorite Bonfire Dub, who have made their mark all throughout the Rocky Mountains with their mix of reggae, folk and rock. Tracksuit Wedding and a band to be determined will open for Katchafire on Friday.

J. Roddy Walston & The Business formed in 2002 in Cleveland, Tennessee, and instantly blazed a trail that blends the worlds of alt-rock and straight rock. The band builds off a formula of heavy hooks and elegant melodies to reveal an affinity with music such as Led Zeppelin, pre-disco-era Bee Gees, The Replacements, Randy Newman and the Southern soul outfits that once populated the Stax Records label. Their third album, “Essential Tremors,” has a rumpus, rocking feel that makes for a perfect blend of mountain music that is reminiscent of music from both Colorado and Tennessee.

These acts will bookend a performance from Katchafire, a New-Zealand-based band that has already lit up the Southern Hemisphere with an original and inspired reggae sound. The popular group brings a Polynesian feel to its Jamaican-inspired riffs, and its latest album is out now.

About the games

The Go Pro Mountains of Music series is part of the GoPro Mountain Games, which boasts more than 25 different competitions in nine disciplines, all in one prime location in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.

New this year, the GoPro Mountain Games will welcome the Yoga Girl Experience, with Swedish native and Yoga Girl Rachel Brathen. Brathen will host two 90-minute yoga sessions on Friday and Saturday, followed by a Q-and-A session. Tickets start at $40 for early registrants. Also new this year will be the Superfeet Apres 5K, a more casual companion to the classic Superfeet Trail 10k-ish run this year, and a new-and-improved Mountain Mud Run will have exciting and challenging twists meant to invite competitors old and young to dive into the dirty action.

Learn more about the GoPro Mountain Games online at http://www.mountain games.com.


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