Telluride Colorado, 10 p.m. June 24 – The 39th Annual Telluride Bluegrass and Country Music Festival concluded this evening with another jaw-dropping excursion by the Telluride House Band, a virtuoso ensemble which only plays once a year at this event. My ears are now officially satiated and infused with great music. There were no low moments musically, but for this critic the top sets of this year’s Telluride were:
* Bela Fleck and the Marcus Roberts Trio
* John Fogerty
* Sam Bush Band with many guests
* Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers with Bela Fleck, Sam Bush and Chris Thile
There were sterling moments that will remain in memory including:
* Glen Hansard belting out “The Weight” in tribute to Levon Helm
* Alison Krauss and her band around a single mike singing “Your Long Journey Home”
* Sam Bush and Del McCoury singing harmonies
* k.d. lang absolutely possessing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and ringing every bit of emotion from it.
* Six bass players doing Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom” at the end of Sam Bush’s set
* Roger Miller’s “King of the Road” done bluegrass-style by O’Brien Party of Seven
* John Cowan making the canyon ring while singing “Dark as a Dungeon”
* Jerry Douglas delighting in Weather Report’s “A Remark You Made”
* John Prine singing his tune “Dear Abby”
The weekend featured some notable first time performances (for me) from Della Mae, Head for the Hills, Run Boy Run, Devil Makes Three, and Seryn. I’d go and see all of these bands again.