Bluegrass returns to Vail Village this weekend
The SpringFree Bluegrass Festival will host live music all throughout Vail Village and provide a kickoff to summertime activities in the valley
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Get the summer going with good vibes and great music at the SpringFree Bluegrass Festival, a free musical showcase that runs Friday through Sunday in Vail Village. This is the second time the event has been hosted, and event organizer Diane Moudy of Resort Entertainment Group says the timing is perfect.
“It’s great to bring an event to Vail this early in the season,” Moudy said. “People are looking for something to do and they are booking rooms. We’re about sold out at Lodge at Vail and the Evergreen Lodge is seeing strong bookings, too.”
The lineup consists of many of today’s top bluegrass performers. What’s fun about the festival is there are many big-name performers from the genre who may be coming out to do a side project, or they might hop in on a collaboration.
“Our headliners are Paul Hoffman of Greensky Bluegrass, and Nicki Bluhm Band. The Terrapin Family Band will feature Nicki Bluhm as well as Grahame Lesh, Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead’s son, and then add to that lineup Ross James, Eric Krasno and Jason Crosby, these guys have all played with everybody and it will be great to have them all on stage,” Moudy said. “We’re also excited about the Allison Brown Band. Steve Martin, who’s told jokes in Vail many times and also plays with Steep Canyon Rangers, collaborates with Brown quite a bit.”
Look for regional bands like Rapidgrass from Golden and Hypothetical Bluegrass Solution from Paonia and then Skin the Rabbit, Hardscrabble and Danger Mountain and more who are based out of Eagle County. The whole lineup can be found on SpringFreeBluegrassFest.com.
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The SpringFree Bluegrass Festival is not only free, but also family friendly. In addition to the kiddos dancing to live music, there will be plenty of activities to keep them busy. Resort Kids Colorado will host the Kids Zone throughout the whole weekend with huge bounce houses, whimsical face painting, lawn games and more all along Gore Creek Promenade and in the middle of the action so the parents don’t have to miss a thing.
Three stages will be hosting performances, so there’s never a dull moment. The main stage will be on One Willow Bridge Road, the secondary stage will be in front of El Segundo and Up the Creek restaurants, along Gore Creek. DJ Logic will be spinning tunes in between acts on the International Bridge. After-parties will be held each night from 9-11 p.m. and on Sunday, come early for Bluegrass and Bloodies with Avanti Food & Beverage with the Blue Ox Boys from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Never ask, “What should we do this weekend?” again.
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Chi Shack and Flavor Stop food trucks will be at the venue and there’s a ton of vendors to check out as well. You can view the whole musical lineup and get more details on sponsors at SpringFreeBluegrassFest.com.
