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Events

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Tony Trischka]

 

Tony Trischka Not all of the action at the 38th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival takes place on the Fred Shellman Main Stage. Legendary banjo innovator Tony Trischka is in town for the launch of the new ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass via a workshop in Elks Park, Friday, June 18, 1:30 p.m. and an appearance at  around 4:30 p.m. on the Main Stage.

For more than 35 years, Tony Trishchka's stylings have inspired a whole generation of bluegrass and acoustic musicians. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential banjo players of the latter part of the 20th century (and counting), largely in terms of his influence on succeeding generations of players such as virtuosic Bela Fleck, back in town for the Festival for the 30th year in a row, this time reunited with the original Flecktones – and his teacher. When he was just a senior in high school, Bela made trips to Bronx, New York to study with Tony, who he once described to me as his "hero."

"... the godfather of what's sometimes called new acoustic music," said The New York Times.

12 June, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's interview with Ben Kaufmann and Adam Aijala]

 

Yonder Mountain Telluride has its festivals. Nederland has Frozen Dead Guy Days. No kidding, celebrated annually from Friday – Sunday the first full weekend of March. A centerpiece of Frozen Guys Days is a screening of  the film "Grandpa's in the Tuff Shed," a magnum opus which premiered at Mountainfilm in Telluride in 1998. A centerpiece of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is another Nederland import:  Yonder Mountain String Band.

Yonder  – banjoist Dave Johnston, mandolinist Jeff Austin, bassist Ben Kaufmann and guitarist Adam Aijala – is back again for the 38th annual event, June 16 – June 19, 2011, kicking off the long weekend with a Nightgrass set at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village and appearing again on the Main Stage on Saturday.

11 June, 2011 /

[click "Play", Michael Cleveland speaks with Susan, but notes the date of his performance is the 16th, not the 17th)

 

Michael There is a nice, alliterative quality to "fire" and "fiddle," two words that become one great big idea in the skilled hands of Michael Cleveland. Move over Nero. When Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper play the 38th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival Thursday, June 16, guaranteed Telluride Town Park burns.

The blind Henryville, Indiana native quickly became renowned as one of the hottest attractions in bluegrass for his blistering and unconventional fiddle style. By his early teens, Michael Cleveland had appeared on the Grand Ole Opry (as a guest ofTelluride Bluegrass regular Allison Krauss), A Prairie Home Companion, and before the United States Congress.

10 June, 2011 /
[click "Play", Susan talks with Colin Sullivan}

 

Heritage Fest poster Telluride's Heritage Festival takes a look hard long over its shoulder at Telluride's colorful past, back to the days when Butch Cassidy robbed the bank, and cowboys and prospectors with gold fever bellied up to our (numerous) bars. (Believe there were about 37 in Telluride's heyday.)

The following is the schedule of events:

Friday, June 10: Kick off Heritage Fest Friday night with wine, cheese and a selection of the Telluride Historical Museum's most popular and interesting images on display at the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, 5-6 p.m.

09 June, 2011 /

 

At Telluride Inside... and Out we mostly have our gaze fixed on "the now" or on the future. Before we move on to Bluegrass and the rest of the Summer schedule, I'd like to share my take on Mountainfilm in Telluride, now a week and a half in the rear-view mirror. This is not meant to be a review, but one person's impression of a weekend of inspiration, cautionary tales, beauty, and calls to action.

The tribute to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke was a standout, with intimate images of life with a famous father by sons David (Festival Director) and Anthony, juxtaposed with reminiscences by commentators on the world stage who knew Richard Holbrooke both on a personal and a professional level. The conversation among Roger Cohen, David Rohde and Vali Nasr particularly put the Holbrooke we in Telluride knew as a neighbor in a global perspective.

09 June, 2011 /

   Langhorne Slim returns to Telluride for an encore performance on Friday, June, 10, 8 p.m. at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House. The concert is a benefit for the Sheridan Arts Foundation's Wild West Fest, which includes the Chip Allen Mentorship Program (C.A.M.P.), special programs...

08 June, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Judyth Hill]

 

Judyth 1 Poet and author Judyth Hill is scheduled to be a guest instructor at Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts. Her workshop take place Friday – Sunday, July 29 – July 31, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The subject is WildWriting.

WildWriting is an innovative process that encourages us to coax our minds into a Zen-like state of deep listening and at the same time remain open to the sensuous stuff we know, see, feel, hear, remember, forget, taste, and ponder. Weaving together what we understand with what we experience generates WildWriting.

Beginning to seasoned writers are encouraged to attend and develop a supple, supportive community. Judyth also provides a wealth of hand-outs with this class, lively, inspiring offerings of the Dharma Lineage of great poetry: Rilke, Rumi, Mirabai, Neruda, Dylan Thomas as well as reading lists of fabulous anthologies, and resources for making, performing, and publishing your own poems.

07 June, 2011 /

By Dan Collins

ArtGoodtimes_mushFest
Art Goodtimes, Mushfest

The Telluride Institute is on a roll! We are offering a menu of fabulous summer events you don't want to miss—from an outdoor eco-classroom, to our annual Ideas Festival; from an art exhibition, to the infamous Mushroom Festival. Mark your calendars!

The watershed education program will bring back its bi-annual Bridal Veil Living Classroom, led by Alessandra Jacobson and a host of guest teachers. It starts with two weeks of intensive fieldwork in the beautiful and ecologically rich headwaters of Bridal Veil Basin, and continues through the fall; it’s open to future scientists and ecologists!

07 June, 2011 /

kicker: at Telluride's Steaming Bean Wednesday, June 8, 2011, 8 pm

Don'tChat_Gossipingbordersontreason Is gossip good or bad for the soul? Does it lengthen your life or shorten it?  The Telluride Playwrights Festival explores what exactly is the nature of gossip and why do we so like to gossip? Where does gossip end and propaganda begin?

A group of local actors explore the subject, taking their clue from the Bible to Shakespeare to Star Magazine.  In addition, local writers such as Bob Rubadeau, Jeff Price, Rob Schultheis, Devin McCarthy, John Sutcliffe all have something interesting to say on the subject.
 
The Telluride Playwrights Festival brings playwrights and actors to town once a year to explore and workshop new plays by acclaimed playwrights from all over the country.  This year, the Playwrights Festival has decided to expand the spirit of the Festival, which starts mid-July, to an early beginning on  Wednesday, June 8.

06 June, 2011 /