#winterwondergrass

WinterWonderGrass 2015 Festival Experience Archive for The Lot Scene by Parker

Introduction

A bluegrass festival.  In winter.  Outdoors, you say?  You must be mad.  Or just into mad fun.  Suffice it to say, I had my ignorance-born reservations about some of the finer points and details of such an endeavor, however, there was just far too much potential for unfathomable amounts of musical joy and festival soul-enrichment to say no.  So we bought our tickets, packed up all our cold weather gear and other sundries and loaded up to head west for some frigid fast pickin'.

The drive through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Avon might just be enough of a reason to make the trek to WinterWonderGrass (for those who did not get stuck in weather or delays on I-70, my heart goes out to all those who did!).  Climbing up over Vail Pass right at sunset, the mountains around us all a watercolored masterpiece in hues of reds and oranges and purples, our excitement growing with each passing mile, we knew that with a line-up as stellar as this year's and a setting almost indescribably wintry and lovely we were in for a weekend like no other.  And we weren't wrong.

Thursday

WWG Kick-Off Party

We were lucky with Thursday's weather in that we got to Avon by dark, got into our condo near the venue, and got back on the road to the Vilar Performing Arts Center for the WWG Kick-Off Party with Elephant Revival and Bonfire Dub.  The Vilar PAC is a small, gorgeous, intimate arts venue that sees a wide variety of acts throughout the year.  Thursday night's menu was going to be heaping helpings of folk, strings, and grass...and it was oh-so tasty.  Sadly we were only able to catch the last few songs of Bonfire Dub's set but we definitely enjoyed the groove we jumped into.  As we found our space, we wandered past groups of folks dancing in the aisles, all ages, all imaginable types of people.  It was clear that a few Vilar PAC season ticket holders were in attendance in addition to the rest of us WWG festival-goers, but they seemed nonplussed by any of our culture's normal shenanigannery.  It's amazing the power that fine-quality music can have on a group of seemingly disconnected humans, right?  Besides, no single group owns a franchise on having a great time through music...which is one of the very reasons we all love and need it so much.

Bonfire Dub

Prior to Thursday I was largely unfamiliar with Bonfire Dub or their music.  Unfortunately, given that we only caught a smidge of their set, I cannot say that much has changed.  However between the positive messages in their music, the unique instrumentation, and the friends guesting in from Elephant Revival, I thoroughly enjoyed their vibe.  With the likes of Bonnie Paine on washboard, Bridget Law on fiddle (who plays with Bonfire part time), and Daniel Rodriguez on guitar on hand to lend a helping note or two (or a hundred) it was no surprise for me to look around a see that not a small amount of those heads dancing in the aisles were covered in white hair.  We all know it's hard to keep one's seat when the music is just so, so good.  The vice-mayor of Avon (and, apparently, the gentleman responsible for bringing WWG to Nottingham Park and to all of us) even joined in for a song on the talking drum.  Talk about cameos!  One of my favorite aspects must have been Bonfire Dub percussionist Mark Levy's instrument:  what appeared to be a stringless banjo whose skin he played with his hands and a couple of crash cymbals bracketed to the side, all of which was held against his body like a cello.  Add a foot drum and you have one of the more fascinating, non-traditional "drum kits" I have ever seen.  Gotta love folk music.  Their final song of the night, "Fare Thee Well", was shot throughout with a joyous and uplifting message for all:  be well.  Well-wishing is such a compassionate hallmark of our species and of our culture, both our music culture and the greater culture at large, and to have it woven into a musical embrace as such certainly left me warm, weighty, and ready for some further revival, Elephant Revival, that is.

Elephant Revival

WinterWonderGrass was an incredible weekend filled with some amazing bluegrass, tons of craft beer, and endless snowfall! It has become one of my favorite Colorado festivals, and is run by some truly amazing people. I miss it already, and can't wait to come back next year!

Check out the review here to see how WinterWonderGrass got 56 FestiPoints!