Sheridan Opera House: Steep Canyon Rangers, 9/23

22 Sep Sheridan Opera House: Steep Canyon Rangers, 9/23

The Sheridan Arts Foundation welcomes Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers to the Sheridan Opera House on Saturday, September 23, 2017. Show is at 8 p.m.; SHOW Bar & doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 GA on the floor; reserved seats in the balcony are $45. (A $4 ticketing fee is charged at all ticket outlets.) Tickets and additional event information are available at sheridanoperahouse.com or 970.728.6363 x 5.

Scroll down for a preview of the show.     

Steep Canyon Rangers effortlessly straddle the line between festival favorite and sophisticated string orchestra. They are as danceable as the most progressive, party-oriented string band, but equally comfortable translating their songs for accompaniment by a full symphony.

It is that mix of serious chops and good-natured fun that earned the Steep Canyon Rangers a Grammy  for Best Bluegrass Album in 2013 (for Nobody Knows You), and that drew celebrated comedian/banjoist Steve Martin to them when he needed a backing band.

The Rangers are world-class musicians, just as at home taking the stage at Carnegie Hall as they are knee-deep in a mountain brook, fly rod in hand.

It has been more than 15 years and nine studio albums since the Steep Canyon Rangers formed in Chapel Hill. The band received rave reviews for their last album (the Jerry Douglas-produced Radio), on No Depression, which said that the release is “one of those albums that’s packed with hits.”

Now, in 2017, the Rangers are working on their highly anticipated 10th studio album.

“It’s really gratifying to play music with people you can trust, who hear something and pull what’s best out of it into something truly special,” says banjoist Graham Sharp. “As a songwriter, my favorite part of the whole thing is watching the band bring these ideas to life.”

When they are not in the studio, the Steep Canyon Rangers maintain a rigorous touring schedule with shows all over the U.S. (Both with Steve Martin, as well as headlining dates.)

The group appeared on “A Prairie Home Companion” with Steve Martin last December.


“We’re just getting started,” guitarist/lead vocalist Woody Platt exudes. “It’s almost daunting, to think about how much more there is that we want to accomplish as the Steep Canyon Rangers. Each time I get off stage, I ask myself, ‘Was that fun? Did that feed your soul?’ That’s how we go about it, and more times than not, the answer is a rounding ‘Yes.’ We’re totally committed.”

Steep Canyon Rangers is now Woody Platt on guitar & lead vocals; Mike Guggino, on mandolin; Charles Humphrey, on bass; Graham Sharp, on banjo; Nicky Sanders, on fiddle; and Michael Ashworth on percussion.

The Sheridan Arts Foundation was founded in 1991 as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization to preserve the historic Sheridan Opera House as an arts and cultural resource for the Telluride community, to bring quality arts and cultural events to Telluride and to provide local and national youth with access and exposure to the arts through education. The Sheridan Arts Foundation is sponsored in part by grants from the Telluride Foundation, CCAASE and Colorado Creative Industries.