Blind Pilot performs at Telluride's Opera House Monday, July 18

15 Jul Blind Pilot performs at Telluride's Opera House Monday, July 18

also on the bill, Mountain Man

The indie rock group Blind Pilot returns after two years to Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House for an encore concert on Monday, July 18, 8 p.m. (Doors and bar open at 7:30 p.m.)

Blind Pilot literally pedaled its way to success. The group now numbers six – Israel Nebeker (vocals, guitar), Ryan Dubrowski (drums),  Dave Jorgenson (keyboard, trumpet), Kati Claborn (dulcimer), Luke Ydstie (upright bass, vocals),banjo, vocals), Ian Krist (vibraphone), but it began as a duet between Israel and Ryan, two modern-day minstrels whose initial bike tour along the West Coast to perform was cut short when their wheels were stolen outside San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.

The change in scale – and the fact the group travels by van now – seems to have enhanced Blind Pilot's signature style: sweet harmonies, dulcet melodies, and ethereal story songs tinged with melancholy. One critic described the sound as "kinda like crack for pop fans."

Mountain Man – singer-songwriters Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Randall Meath – met at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. The trio, whose vocals are reminiscent of Gillian Welch, claims to be mutually moved to sing "by their love for people, and for trees, birds and mountains, the ocean, the night, the moon, and being a woman."

To learn more about Blind Pilot, listen to our interview with Israel by following this link.

To preview the sweet sounds of Mountain Man, watch the video.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ENUGVjTBNs&feature=related