A Village Called RockyGrass

Sam Bush | RockyGrass | Lyons, Colorado - photos by Debra Lambert

For three days each July, Planet Bluegrass, along the North St. Vrain River in Lyons, Colorado, transforms into a lively bluegrass village.

This year's festival marked RockyGrass's 54th year. Some people arrive early for the RockyGrass Academy. Many camp nearby. By Friday, when the festival begins, families are settled in, friends are reconnecting, and familiar rhythms have already taken hold.

The musicians are extraordinary. But what makes RockyGrass special is everything happening while the music plays.

After being swathed in wristbands at the ticket tent—RockyGrass’s lively and friendly gateway—I was ready for two days of festival coverage and enjoyment. My Grateful Web colleague, Mike, had Sunday covered. My first order of business Friday was heading backstage to meet Tony Trischka for an interview.

I made my way down the gravel road that accesses the backstage grounds and hadn't gone very far when I passed Béla Fleck chatting with a friend. We exchanged a smile and a wave, and I kept walking. A few steps later, I broke into a huge grin and laughed out loud. “Welcome to RockyGrass!”

I liked that gravel road. Over the next two days, I walked it many times between backstage and the festival grounds, shooting bands and covering the festival. It was a lively thoroughfare of festival life. Families pulled wagons loaded with coolers, blankets and kids. Festival volunteers drove golf carts back and forth. Pickup trucks came and went. Couples walked hand in hand. Friends chatted as they walked.

Tony and I found a shady spot while the Kruger Brothers' pristine picking and melodies wafted over from the stage. We talked about the banjo, the sound that first captivated him more than 60 years ago, and the lasting influence of Earl Scruggs.

Back on the festival grounds, Willie Watson—who some will recognize as a founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show—filled the space with his captivating vocal range that pulls at your heartstrings and takes you back to another era. Playing acoustic guitar, banjo, and harmonica, with fiddler Sami Braman alongside him, Watson's set had an easy, unhurried feel that carried the festival toward evening.

There was much anticipation for the Del McCoury Band. Smiling Del—it's impossible not to love him—was joined by sons Ronnie on mandolin and Rob on banjo, Alan Bartram on bass, and Christian Ward on fiddle. These guys can pick and play, smoking through favorites including “Get on Board” and closing with an encore of “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.”

It was a raucous affair. People yelled out to Del like he was an old friend, and he gave it right back with a grin. It was a Friday evening boogie with Del. And the train kept rolling. Everybody gotta get on board.

We did.

I’m With Her brought the evening to a gentler close. Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan—the acclaimed trio with three Grammy Awards, an Americana Music Award, and multiple International Folk Music Awards—settled things down with their beautiful harmonies, and Friday was a wrap, releasing Festivarians into the still-warm Colorado night.

Saturday—or Caturday if you're a festival-goer—brought out the whiskers, the ears, and the ridiculous T-shirts. Cats on rocket ships. Cats flying on pizza. I am all about Caturday. Meowdy, ma'am.

Saturday's 97-degree heat made the North St. Vrain River a needed refuge. In the afternoon, it looked like most of the festival-goers were in the river! Up and down the bank, life was happening. Feet dangled in the water from camp chairs. Tubes floated downstream, past a trio of adults armed with Super Soakers, gleefully spraying everyone who drifted by. Friends gathered in the river to cool off and talk. And kids were everywhere.

My afternoon started with being front and center for Tony Trischka's EarlJam featuring Michael Daves. After our conversation the day before, watching Tony play brought a new appreciation for the richness of his long history with the banjo. He had spoken proudly of the musicians in the band: longtime musical partner Michael Daves on guitar and vocals, fiddler Casey Driessen, mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, and bassist Jared Engel. Béla Fleck joined Tony—once student and teacher, now collaborators—and it was such a treat to enjoy their easy rapport and fabulous playing.

I walked all over the grounds—the food area, smoky with the thick aroma of grilled food in the heat; the quieter stretches farther down the river; the guitar tent; the inviting marketplace, with the same vendors I’d seen in years past. Why does festival food always taste so much better outside?

All the while, the mood was light and easy. The Planet Bluegrass crew kept the village gears turning. Ice deliveries made their way through the grounds. Bathroom lines somehow remained manageable. The extended bar was a hopping place. You need it? We have it covered for you.

And with care for the planet. It is Planet Bluegrass, after all. Recycling done right, with recycling stewards helping everyone sort things out. That’s a well-run village for you.

All over the grounds, people were having their own little RockyGrass day. Friends and families walked, talked, laughed, ate, read and napped. A joint passed between old friends or new friends. Nearby, a dad tried to catch a nap while three young boys happily ate pizza.

And the kids. There were so many kids. After a few days along the St. Vrain, they seemed to take on a slightly wild, free-range quality—barefoot, independent, completely at home in their festival world.

They didn’t just come to RockyGrass with their parents. They inhabited it.

The kids had enterprises! Would you like to purchase a brightly painted rock, some stickers, or have your nails painted?

Steep Canyon Rangers have a special relationship with RockyGrass, dating back to their 2001 win in the festival's band competition when they were a young band. In the years since, the Grammy-winning Rangers have moved beyond their traditional bluegrass beginnings into a broader modern acoustic, Americana sound. They brought an upbeat and driving energy to the stage, including a spirited take on “Losing My Religion,” introduced with a nod to its famous mandolin opening. True to RockyGrass form, everybody was singing and grooving along.

Later in the day, I wandered toward the back of the audience, where the moss-covered cliff above the river glowed golden in the late afternoon light. From there, the whole festival came into view: music, river, children, families, and thousands of people simply enjoying a beautiful—albeit hot—Colorado afternoon.

Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue brought power, purpose, and joy to the stage. A two-time Grammy winner, MacArthur Fellow, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Giddens has long explored the Black and Indigenous roots of American music. The set wove together old-time music, blues, hip-hop, history, and storytelling. One of the most powerful moments came when Giddens led a gospel-style call and response about claiming your own power, the crowd answering her with passion.

Then it was time for Sam.

Bluegrass Sam.

In Saturday’s premier closing slot, Sam Bush brings the fun and the chops, along with his longtime crew: Stephen “Mojo” Mougin on guitar, Wes Corbett on banjo, Todd Parks on bass, and Chris Brown on drums. I’ve been seeing him play since 1981, and I still get giddy every time. We love him for his festival spirit, his mandolin wizardry, his love of baseball, and the joy he brings to a stage. He mixed New Grass Revival tunes with his own songs and bluegrass classics.

And, of course, “Howling at the Moon.”

The all-star finale brought many of the weekend's musicians together on one stage. The best of bluegrass. Three banjos—Tony Trischka, Béla Fleck, and Wes Corbett—tearing into Earl Scruggs’ “Shuckin’ the Corn” was a RockyGrass moment to remember.

Sam’s set finished, and I lingered in the afterglow, deciding a setlist would be a sweet prize. Thank you, Stage Dude!

Ah, RockyGrass. It isn’t just a music festival. It’s a village.

I walked back down that gravel road one final time, alongside the happy, quiet banter of fellow Festivarians. Another full day along the river in the heat left me tired and dirty—and very happy. A shower and cool sheets were going to feel good. But my ears and my heart were full of everything that makes this village so special.