Vail welcomes the ski season with Stoke Sessions, a new free outdoor concert series

With a month to go before Vail opens for the ski and snowboard season, the town of Vail dropped news that is sure to add some stoke to the beginning of Vail’s 63rd year. The Vail Stoke Sessions, a free outdoor concert series celebrating the start of ski season and the spirit of Vail Après, will take place on Opening Day and the following Fridays through Dec. 5.

These free concerts will take place at Checkpoint Charlie in the heart of Vail Village. The Vail Stoke Sessions are sure to bring the area alive with music, energy and après ski vibes.

“The Vail Stoke Sessions are all about celebrating Vail’s unique après culture,” said Jeremy Gross, special event program manager for Discover Vail, a destination marketing organization for the town of Vail and sponsor of the event. “It’s the perfect way to kick off the season — bringing locals and visitors together for live music, great food and drinks and the unmistakable energy of Vail Village in winter.”

Music at Checkpoint Charlie on Gore Creek Drive is nothing new and neither are early-season concerts, but it’s been a while since they have been a part of the kickoff to the season.

“If you talk to long-time locals, you’ll hear them reminiscing about the Street Beat concert series that would happen each week at Checkpoint Charlie, and then there was Vail Snow Days and everyone would get excited for those early season concerts when the lineup was announced in the Vail Daily,” Gross said. “So, we started talking to a few of the town council members and local businesses and decided it was time to bring some of that back to Vail Village.”

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The first concert will be held on Opening Day, Friday, Nov. 14. When you come off the slopes, head to Gore Creek Drive and keep your legs moving to Blu DeTiger.

“She’s all over TikTok, and she’s got a super cool sound,” Gross said. “She’s primarily a bass player who mixes in electronic. It’s going to be a really cool show.

Up next, a little bluegrass music on Nov. 21 with Pixie and the Partygrass Boys.

“We had them out for the end-of-season bash last April. They played at Golden Peak on the Friday before Closing Day and we knew we wanted to have them back,” Gross said.

As part of the busy holiday weekend lineup with Thanksgiving on Thursday and the Lionshead Tree Lighting on Saturday, the Runaway Grooms will headline the Stoke Sessions concert series on Friday, Nov. 28.

To close out the four weeks of music, the Stoke Sessions concert series brings in a band that is full of stoke, American Authors. This alternative/indie band from the East Coast is best known for its upbeat tune, “Best Day of My Life.”

“That song comes on, and everyone’s heard it. It should be an awesome performance,” Gross said.

To complete the après ski vibes, area restaurants and bars are going to get involved, too. Local favorites, including El Segundo, Yama Sushi, Root & Flower, Two Arrows, the Sitzmark, and Vail Brewing Company, will be serving up signature bites and drinks. To mark the occasion, Vail Brewing Company is crafting a limited-release Stoke Sessions IPA, available exclusively during the concert series.

“We’re so excited that Vail Brewing Company is doing a specialty brew for the Vail Stoke Sessions and we’ll also have margaritas from El Segundo out there at the music venue as well as Yama Sushi serving up hot sake and maybe even some hand rolls,” Gross said. “So, you can either pop into a restaurant in between songs or grab food and drinks and watch the shows.”

In addition to the Vail Stoke Sessions concert series, Discover Vail will also host the Kris Kringle Village on the International Bridge starting on Nov. 14, the Lionshead Tree Lighting on Saturday, Nov. 29, the Vail Tree Lighting on Dec. 7, the Kris Kringle Market on Dec. 11-14 and ice skating shows and silent discos throughout the winter.

“The Vail Stoke Sessions free concert series is about more than just live music — it’s about creating a sense of energy and connection that carries throughout the ski season. A lot of this is focused on the locals, we want them to come out and get stoked, we’re also hosting it on a Friday, so come up from the Front Range and get your weekend started,” Gross said.

“These concerts are a way to celebrate the mountain lifestyle and remind everyone why we love Vail.”