Photos by Tim Dwenger
The 23rd annual Telluride Blues & Brews festival took over Telluride Town Park this year with one of the best line-ups in it’s history. Right from the get-go things were on fire on the brand new Fred Shellman Memorial Stage with the Telluride debut of Con Brio showcasing one of the more talked about sets of the weekend. Unfortunately, despite our pre-dawn departure from Denver, my group didn’t make it to town in time for that one but caught plenty of great music throughout the weekend.
After an energetic and rowdy set from Austin’s Shakey Graves my world came to a halt for an hour as Jason Isbell took the stage with his 400 Unit band. Despite having seen him just two nights before at Red Rocks, Isbell’s set dazzled with gems like “Flying Over Water,” “24 Frames,” and the Drive-By Truckers classic “Decoration Day.” While the set didn’t necessarily pander to the “Blues,” or the “Brews” of the festival (Isbell has been clean and sober for several years now), the crowd stood in rapt attention as the master songwriter put some of his best work on display with a brilliant take on one of my favorites, and a lyrical masterpiece, “Speed Trap Town” and “Cover Me Up” before he did his best to channel the Blues with the set closing pairing of the Truckers’ “Never Gonna Change” and his own “Children of Children” from his most recent album Something More Than Free. The former featured a fiery guitar battle between Isbell and guitarist Sadler Vaden as they traded licks and amazed the crowd, while the latter built to a raucous climax and left us all wanting more (fortunately it would be about 90 minutes before Isbell emerged again with a legend).
The stellar opening day wrapped up with a surprisingly fun set from the one and only Joe Walsh. Walsh took to the stage with a sizable band and lit into the James Gang classic “Walk Away” to the delight of the crowd. Though the legendary guitarist showed off his chops throughout the set, it wasn’t long before he yielded lead vocals to one of his background singers who delivered a shining version of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People” and whipped the crowd into a dance party. Walsh then paid tribute to his fallen band member in The Eagles, Glenn Frey, with a version of “Take It To The Limit” that was carried by his stellar background vocalists. One of the most memorable lines of the night came during Walsh’s introduction to the 1975 song when he said of Frey; “we never made it as astronauts but we spent a lot of time in space together.” As if the whole set wasn’t strange enough, when the funk of James Gang’s “Funk #49” blasted over the PA the stage erupted in a P-Funk like scene with dancers and, to my dismay, t-shirt cannons. Walsh rescued the set with a typically energetic “Life’s Been Good” before delivering another Eagles’ classic in “Life In The Fast Lane” before dropping the much anticipated “Rocky Mountain Way” during which he invited out Jason Isbell to deliver a blistering guitar solo. That alone was worth the price of admission!
When Saturday dawned, with it came the realization that the Grand Tasting was mere hours away. With that in mind, we all ate a hearty breakfast and got out to see some of the landscape before filling out bellies with beer and our ears with more music. One thing that can’t go unmentioned here was how amazingly wonderful the weather was in Telluride all weekend. Our group had been exchanging text messages over the weeks leading up to the festival, and we were a little worried about projected highs in the 50’s, but someone must have called in a favor because even jeans and a t-shirt felt a little warm during all three days of this years’ event.
By the time we got to the festival, the Grand Tasting was in full swing and we jumped right in with some stellar beers from the likes of Sierra Nevada (Narwhal Imperial Stout), SweetWater (Goin’ Coastal – Pineapple IPA), and even an amazing cider from Scrumpy’s of Fort Collins (Strawberry Basil). We sipped and wove our way through the dense crowd as we listened to the searing blues licks of Tommy Castro and the Painkillers before The California Honeydrops, one of the sleeper hits of the festival, took the stage. The Honeydrops were the perfect way to wrap up the Grand Tasting with their New Orleans feel, exuberant energy, and ear-to-ear grins. Their set was powerful and there is no doubt that their horn fueled sound won over countless new fans.
After a quick trip back to the house to gather ourselves, and prepare for the onslaught of guitars that was to come, we caught the second of half of The North Mississippi Allstars who had the crowd in the palm of their hands as the brothers Dickinson (Cody and Luther) demonstrated why they are known as one of the best mainstream Blues acts on the scene these days. Cody held down a tight back-beat while Luther’s fingers kept everyone on their toes with intricate riffs that flowed effortlessly from his wiry frame. As they closed their set with a cover of “Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad” it was clear looking around the crowd that no one was feeling any pain.
As the sun started to dip behind the mountain, and a chill crept into the air, everyone’s favorite Blues & Brews regular, Anders Osborne, took the stage. Anders has graced the stage at every Blues & Brews festival I’ve been at and is more than welcome to strut his stuff at all future festivals in my mind. His brand of New Orleans blues flirts with Crazy Horse in all the right ways and he’s always a highlight of the weekend. This year was no different as he dropped the title track of his most recent album “Flower Box” as well as a set closing version of “Had My Reasons” that foreshadowed a stellar late night set with Luther Dickinson coming out on Guitar to join his brother Cody who had been behind the kit for the whole show.
As the chill began to creep under our layers, Gary Clark Jr. emerged under a bath of red and blue light and tore into “Bright Lights” from his 2011 EP of the same name while the crowd ate up his electrifying riffs from the word “go.” Clark is a perfect artist to headline this festival as he walks the line between modern and classic Blues deftly and with the utmost reverence. Songs like “Travis County” and “Ready When My Train Comes In” had grey hairs and hipsters alike mesmerized and slack-jawed at Clark’s raw and unbridled talent. The densely packed crowd kept us warm as we let the psychedelic nature of some of the Austin guitarist’s Blues transport us all to another dimension.
The final day of a festival is always a little bittersweet and getting out of bed is a little harder than it was the day before, but a very solid line-up helped us push through the fog and make it out to the festival in time to catch a brilliant set of folky rock from L.A.’s Jamestown Revival. With a moving performance that featured several tracks from their 2014 debut album Utah, alongside some newer tracks from their upcoming release, these guys made their mark. Highlights of the set included “Cast Iron Blues” and “Company Man,” the lead track from The Education of the Wandering Man which will hit shelves on October 7th.
South Carolina’s husband and wife duo, Shovels & Rope, followed and forced many to stand-up and pay attention as they showcased a monster sound for a two piece band. The pair traded off positions on guitar and drums / keys and shared a mic on a handful of new songs. In 2013 the pair took home two Americana Music Association awards and, judging by the new songs they unveiled during this set, they are on well on their way to more recognition. If it weren’t for the showmanship of Ty Taylor and Vintage Trouble who followed them up, Shovels and Rope would have been the highlight of the day!
Taking the stage between acts like Shovels & Rope and the incomparable Mick Fleetwood is no easy task, but the man behind the festival, Steve Gumble, knew exactly what he was doing when he booked Vintage Trouble for that slot. With their retro-soul sound and riveting stage presence, the band was more than up to the task as they powered through a set that featured “Nancy Lee,” “Not Alright By Me,” and more culled from their two full lengths. At one point Taylor even climbed off the stage to whip the crowd into a frenzy before crowd surfing back to the stage. Their 60 minute set flew by and they set the stage nicely for the evening’s headliner.
Despite being more than 30 minutes late to the stage, when Mick Fleetwood emerged from the wings waving to the crowd and pointing to his guitarist Rick Vito, the crowd exploded and showered the 69 year old drummer with love. After getting settled behind the kit, Fleetwood and his top-notch band settled into a set of scorching Blues. As the cold crept back in, and the weekend started to weigh on our feet, our group decided to head for the gondola to catch the sunset over Mountain Village. As we crested the top of the mountain the sky was brilliant and, as we relaxed with a glass of wine by the base of the gondola, we all agreed it was a great way to end an incredible weekend of music and beer. Till next year!
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