SpringFree Bluegrass Festival brings in big name acts to Vail on Memorial Day Weekend

The calendar may say summer begins when the Summer Solstice occurs on June 20, but for most of the nation, Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial kickoff. To help set the season in motion, Vail is doing what it does best in the summertime and that’s outdoor music. The SpringFree Bluegrass Festival invites the crowds into Vail to enjoy free, live music in the heart of Vail Village for three days over the holiday weekend.

“Visitors are coming to town this weekend, the locals are already here, and everyone is looking for things to do with their families and with their friends, so why not have a big music event,” said Diane Moudy of Resort Entertainment Group, a Vail-based full-service entertainment and event company with a 20-plus-year history of planning and servicing events throughout the U.S. and Mexico.

The SpringFree Bluegrass Festival is a sister event to the FreeFall Bluegrass Festival that debuted in Vail last October. The town of Vail was looking for events that attracted and entertained people during the shoulder seasons and the fall event was a big hit. To hop on to that wave of success, the concept was bought back this spring.

“To be outside enjoying free music in the streets of one of the most beautiful places on the planet, it just makes everyone happy, and that’s our job, right? And that means the bands, the audience, the shop and restaurant owners, let’s just make everybody happy,” Moudy said.

Moudy calls bluegrass music happy and a genre that appeals to all ages.

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“Bluegrass is happy music. It’s family-friendly and our shows each day start early and end early so you can still go out to dinner at one of our fabulous restaurants and then head to any of the afterparties that are being offered at Cucina as well as at El Segundo,” Moudy said.

The band schedule offers a who’s who of bluegrass stars, including The Infamous String Dusters who will be headlining on Saturday. The Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning quintet that got its start in Nashville in 2006 promises a high-energy show.

“They’re huge. They sell out everywhere,” Moudy said.

The Bluegrass Generals feature some members of the Infamous Stringdusters and other talented musicians they bring together to form a supergroup on stage. Sierra Hull is on fire right now, after performing at the Grand Old Opry and Red Rocks Amphitheater. Robert Randolph, ranked in the top 100 guitarists by “Rolling Stone,” will be the master of ceremonies but Moudy said that Randolph probably won’t hold that title for long since he will want to sit in with bands and play.

“The bands, they all like each other, and they all want to play with each other. So, it turns into inspirational stuff. And, music lovers, whether they know these bands or not, are going to be inspired just to see the energy evolving on stage,” Moudy said.

There are also bands with local ties playing this weekend. Tenth Mountain Division was founded by Winston Heuga and MJ Ouimette and just released the band’s latest album but will be taking a hiatus after touring for 10 years, so come and see them on home turf. Also playing are local bands Skin the Rabbit and Danger Mountain and more.

The kids get to have fun at the Rock and Roll Playhouse, where families can come by the stage at Checkpoint Charlie to listen to songs created by the most iconic musicians in rock history. The kids zone will also feature bounce houses as well as instruments they can play and other kids’ activities throughout the weekend.

“In October, we had a parade that went from the Rock and Roll Playhouse stage where the kids played instruments up the street to launch off the main stage. We’re planning on doing that again so the kids get to be part of the whole kickoff,” Moudy said.

In addition to the Rock and Roll Playhouse stage, there will be a side stage along Gore Creek near Up The Creek restaurant and the main stage will be in front of Solaris Plaza. A full bar will be selling drinks and non-alcoholic offerings and although you can come and go from different restaurants in the village during the event, there will also be food delivery right to the main stage venue.

“I didn’t want to do food trucks because I wanted more restaurants to be involved, so, you can scan a QR code for the participating restaurants and the menu items will be delivered to a central location in the venue and you’ll get a text when it is ready,” Moudy said.

Although Moudy said she is a little bit nervous about this first-time Memorial Day Weekend event, she’s also excited.

“We should be having more events this time of year and we should do new things. The Vail Comedy Festival is going on and these two events can complement each other,” Moudy said. “I’m feeling very confident that we’re going to have a big Memorial Day weekend in Vail.”

For a complete schedule and band information, go to SpringFreeBluegrassFest.com.