MeadowGrass Music Festival
May 28: Friday Night Opening Party
This year MeadowGrass has extended the festival! The opening party for MeadowGrass will be held Friday May 28th. Headliners Grass it Up, along with Changing Colors and The Uncamped Band, will kick the weekend off followed by a fireside jam with a variety of musicians.

GRASS IT UP
Grass It Up entertains a range of audiences with their eclectic and articulate blend of traditional bluegrass, while turning heads with colorful renditions of audience favorites. Formed in 2005, as a power trio David Jeffrey (mandolin/guitar/vocal), Shannon Carr (guitar/banjo/vocal) and Jon Bross (upright bass/vocal) released (2) original full-length CDs and have been heard performing for Fortune 500 companies, luxury resorts and convention centers, mountain towns and festivals, acoustic societies and private events. Then, in 2008 Danny Karpel joined the band adding an eclectic blend of keyboard and piano that stirs the soul and tempts the ears. In 2009, a fiddle player by the name of Ben 'Black Beard' Lewis found his way to the Front Range BBQ stage and hasn't left. Yes, the bbq is that good. Ben brings a fire in his bow that further solidifies Grass It Up as bluegrass band that's here to stay and turn some heads a long the way. Now, as a quintet, Grass It Up is busy playing shows and recording their third original full length cd in Colorado Springs at Funny Bunny Records.  CD is due out in the early part of 2010. A range of influence is evident in their music and performance energy. “We’re playing to have fun and that means a dynamic repertoire for us, we find that engaging our audience at every performance is vital in building the energy we’re after.” stated bass player Jon Bross. Grass It Up performs every Wednesday in Colorado Springs at the Front Range Barbeque, a venue that has grown into a hub for bluegrass music in the city and a showcase for nationally touring bluegrass bands. Their musical adventures certainly don’t stop with an evening booking. “In our five years together, we’ve arranged and hosted a series of mountain music festivals near Divide Colorado, Grapes and Grass in Sonoma, California, as well as two destination music festivals titled Lavapalooza in Arenal, Costa Rica. We find inspiration in our friends and community, and are passionate about culture and travel - these events further unite our music and friends each year”. Grass It Up has been featured throughout Colorado in the print media, regional radio stations and bluegrass shows. They can be heard each Wednesday as the introduction music for the Steve Harris Bluegrass Show on KRCC-FM in Colorado Springs.
www.grassitup.com

Gates Open 4PM for Camping
Friday Night Lineup
6:30PM Changing Colors
7:30PM The Uncamped Band, special guests from our friends the Black Rose Acoustic Society
9:00PM Grass it Up
Saturday & Sunday's Line-up
Friday Night Party only accessible
with festival passes!
No gate admittance after 9pm Friday night
Gates will open Saturday 10am

 

Festival Pass includes three days of music,
two nights of camping, and free parking!
Camping is limited: please contact La Forest to reserve a campsite, 719-495-2743 or mail@laforet.org.
Tickets can be purchased at Independent Records, KRCC, or www.ticketweb.com

 

 

Front Range Barbeque will be vending food Friday Night.

More vendors will be part of the festival Saturday and Sunday. For a list of other vendor click here.

 

CHANGING COLORS
The tiny hamlet of Manitou Springs, Colorado sits just  below the soaring heights of Pikes Peak. A place frequented by thousands of tourists each year, it is a mecca for flatlanders and southerners longing for the cool mountain air and the remarkable views.  It is also a haven for gifted songwriters and musicians. Among the most capable of these writers is Conor Bourgal, who along with his twin brother, Ian, and an interchangeable ensemble of musicians, form a group called the Changing Colors.
It is the surrounding mountains that inform the Color’s music and lend them it’s spiritual resonance. They are a band that sings of longing and beauty, hope and regret. Their latest album, Ghost of Red Mountain takes its entire theme from the legendary story of Manitou resident Emma Crawford. Sometime in the early 1900's Crawford’s coffin was washed down onto Main Street from it’s perch above town on Red Mountain. The story is the source of Manitou’s biggest festival – the internationally renowned Emma Crawford Coffin Races held each Halloween. Bourgal chose to look beyond the gothic story and to bring a hardscrabble pioneer woman’s life to light.
The result is a set of songs so poignant and moving that after a single play, they stay with the listener for days, creating a sustained whisper of love and yearning. Using the simplicity of acoustic guitar and the melancholy tone of a lap steel, Bourgal sings of promises of remembrance and anticipated romance. Their music is disquieting, creating aching images of piercing lament and burdens laid down. Bourgal’s narrative style creates stories of the human experience that are sparse, haunting and unforgettable.
The Color’s style remains accessible in its similarity to folk and Americana, but it’s substance is far more complex. Bourgal’s songs paint a landscape of the human journey through fear and despair into ultimate freedom and spiritual release. Since their first show in June 2008, The Changing Colors have played over 70 shows in 7 states.

THE UNCAMPED BAND
The Black Rose Acoustic Society has put together an amazing collaboration of artists.The Uncamped Band features Cary Black, Cyd Smith, Raul Reynoso, Gerald Jones, and Kailin Smith. For more information visit www.blackroseacoustic.org.