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Friday Saturday
Sunday
The Reeltime Travelers
Alan Munde Gazette
The Flying Dog Bluegrass
Band
Hit & Run
Meltdown celebrates 10 years
Kicking off spring with three days of bluegrass
T he Durango Bluegrass Meltdown
celebrates its 10th year this weekend. Since 1994, the festival has
quietly attained a reputation as a small and well organized
festival and has become a favorite of many performers. This
weekend, April 16-18, the Meltdown returns to Durango and will fill
the Diamond Circle Theatre, the Durango Arts Center and the Abbey
Theatre with local, regional and national talent.
The festival opens with
a free concert in the Durango & Silverton Railroad Museum on
the afternoon of Friday, April 16, and dozens of performances
follow through the festival-closer on the evening of Sunday, April
18. In addition to shows in small venues, the Meltdown presents a
Band Showcase, a Band Scramble, a Celtic Jam and the ever-popular
Super Jam. There will also be a Gospel Show on Sunday morning along
with a variety of workshops throughout the weekend, and an acoustic
instrument show and sale.
Many of Durango's
restaurants and bars will also present bluegrass concerts and look
for impromptu jams to spring up in coffee shops, restaurants,
street corners and all around town.
The Meltdown schedule
follows:
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Friday16
Elliot's Ramblers
, a high-energy bluegrass
and folk band from Albuquerque, open the festival at the Railroad
Museum at 5 p.m.
The Reeltime Travelers , Southern old-time musicians who
recently appeared on the "Cold Mountain" soundtrack, play the
Diamond Circle Theatre at 7 p.m. and the Durango Arts Center at 9
p.m.
The Alan Munde Gazette , an air-tight rhythm band with one of
the country's most renowned banjo players, plays the Durango Arts
Center at 7 p.m and at the Diamond Circle Theatre at 9
p.m.
The Bluegrass Patriots , one of the longest-running acts in
bluegrass, return to the Diamond Circle Theatre at 8
p.m.
The Badly Bent , five locals who offer harmony, rhythm
and award-winning picking, play the
Durango Arts Center at 8
p.m.
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Saturday17
The Flying Dog Bluegrass
Band plays the
Diamond Circle Theatre at 10 a.m. and the Durango Arts Center at 2
p.m.
The Lone Pine Bluegrass Band brings Western swing and gypsy
jazz to bluegrass life at the Durango Arts Center at 10
a.m.
Bluegrass Cadillac , featuring musicians from the Pagosa
Springs area, plays the Abbey Theatre at 10 a.m.
The Foxfire Bluegrass Band , a traditional, gospel and folk
family band, plays the Diamond Circle Theatre at 11 a.m.
Alan Munde Gazette plays the Durango Arts Center at 11
a.m. and at the Diamond Circle Theatre at 4 p.m.
The Blue Moon Ramblers , the Strater Hotel's in-house
bluegrass band, play the Abbey Theatre at 11 a.m.
Fret Knot , a Denver band that mixes old and new
bluegrass, plays the Diamond Circle Theatre at noon and the Abbey
Theatre at 4 p.m.
The Magpies , a local band named for the local
coffee shop, play the Durango Arts Center at noon.
Down the Road , a seasoned local bluegrass quartet,
plays the Abbey Theatre at noon
David Davis and the Warrior River
Boys of Nashville
play the Diamond Circle Theatre at 1 p.m. and the Abbey Theatre at
3 p.m.
Deep Blue Creek , a local band that mixes fast beats
and slow rhythms, plays the Durango Arts Center at 1
p.m.
Beltaine , a local acoustic band that features
the sounds of Ireland and Scotland, plays the Abbey Theatre at 1
p.m. and the Durango Arts Center at 5 p.m.
The Bluegrass Patriots play the Diamond Circle Theatre at 2
p.m. and the Durango Arts Center at 4 p.m.
Big Timbre , a traditional band comprised of
musicians from around Southwest Colorado, reunites at the Abbey
Theatre at 2 p.m.
The Stoney Creek Ramblers , a promising local band with
traditional bluegrass tunes, play the Diamond Circle Theatre at 3
p.m.
The Reeltime Travelers play the Durango Arts Center at 3 p.m.
and at the Abbey Theatre at 5 p.m.
Elliott's Ramblers play the Diamond Circle Theatre at 5
p.m.
A Band Scramble takes place at the Diamond Circle
Theatre from 7-9 p.m.
The ever popular
Meltdown Super Jam
runs from 7-9 p.m. at the
Durango Arts Center
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Sunday18
Down the Road plays gospel at the Diamond Circle
Theatre at 10 a.m. and the Durango Arts Center at 4 p.m.
The Foxfire Bluegrass Band bring gospel to the
Durango Arts Center at 10
a.m.
David Davis and the Warrior River
Boys play gospel at
the Diamond Circle Theatre at 11 a.m. and traditional bluegrass at
the Durango Arts Center at 4 p.m.
The Lone Pine Bluegrass Band plays the Diamond Circle Theatre
at noon
The Flying Dog Bluegrass Band
plays the Durango Arts
Center at noon
The Badly Bent gets warped at the Diamond Circle
Theatre at 1 p.m.
The Blue Moon Ramblers play the Durango Arts Center at 1
p.m.
Hit and Run takes the stage at the Diamond Circle
Theatre at 2 p.m.
Big Timbre plays the Durango Arts Center at 2
p.m.
The Bar-D
Wranglers put their
local flavor on stage at the Diamond Circle Theatre at 3
p.m.
Bluegrass Mayhem prevails at the Durango Arts Center at
3 p.m.
Sand Sheff and Friends play the Diamond Circle Theatre at 4
p.m.
The Reeltime Travelers close out the 10th annual Durango
Bluegrass Meltdown at the Diamond Circle Theatre at 5
p.m.
The Reeltime Travelers
Headlining the 10th annual Durango
Bluegrass Meltdown and making a return visit to Durango will be The
Reeltime Travelers. The band weaves between traditional old-time
music of Southern Appalachia and original compositions, including
music recently recorded on the soundtrack for the film "Cold
Mountain."
The Reeltime Travelers
feature the talents of Heidi Andrade on fiddle and vocals; Martha
Scanlan on guitar and vocals; Thomas Sneed on mandolin and vocals;
Roy Andrade on banjo and vocals; and Brandon Story on bass and
vocals.
Even before the Reeltime
Travelers played together, each member of the band had a love for
mountain music and a passion to learn the stories behind it. They
continue to do fieldwork, interviewing old musicians, uncovering
forgotten tunes, and passing along the traditions.
"The Reeltime Travelers
are a musical spectacle, living history lesson, cultural exposition
and dance catalyst all wrapped up in a package and sent special
delivery from East Tennessee," commented Rab Cummings of the
Bozeman Folklore Society. The Reeltime Travelers perform throughout
the festival and play the closing concert Sunday.
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Alan Munde Gazette
This year, another top addition to the
Meltdown will be the Alan Munde Gazette. Munde's extensive body of
recorded work, instructional materials and work at South Plains
College (including the annual "Camp Bluegrass") has solidified him
as one of the world's foremost five-string banjo players. Joining
Munde in the Alan Munde Gazette are Phil Elliott (guitar), Bill
Honker (bass), and Glenn Mitchell (mandolin), some of the finest
pickers and singers in the Southwest.
The resulting combination
is stellar instrumentation, a mixture of traditional and original
material, and exceptional harmony singing all against the backdrop
of Munde's trademark banjo. The band brings true bluegrass music
with heart and soul, delivered in a powerful, straight-ahead style
that is both compelling and entertaining.
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The Flying Dog Bluegrass Band
The Meltdown again welcomes back one of
the most popular bands to ever play the festival Aspen's Flying Dog
Bluegrass Band. The Dogs are a regular fixture in Aspen during the
summer and winter. They also stand tall as the quintessential band
of solid professionals who kept their day jobs but can go
toe-to-toe with any bluegrass band.
The Dogs' current lineup
consists of Cash Cushman on bass and vocals, Sandy Munro on
mandolin, guitar and vocals, Randy Utterback on fiddle, guitar and
vocals and the renowned Steve Johnson on banjo, guitar and
vocals.
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Hit & Run
Hit & Run has
quickly made its mark on the world of contemporary bluegrass. The
young band from Boulder won the 2002 Rockygrass Band Contest and
followed it up by winning the 2003 band contest at the Telluride
Bluegrass Festival, becoming the first band to ever win both
competitions.
According to Denver's Westword
, "Something's got to be up
when one bluegrass band suddenly surpasses all the others. Here in
Colorado, that band is Hit & Run."
Leading Hit & Run and
receiving a lot of national attention is 26-year-old Rebecca
Hoggan. Hoggan turns heads with her flatpicking leads on mandolin
and guitar. Todd Livingston, the 2001 winner of the RockyGrass
Dobro Contest; John Frazier on mandolin; Aaron Young on banjo; and
Erin Coats on bass round out Hit & Run.
The band has been
pursuing its vision of authentic-yet-modern bluegrass and will
bring that vision back to the Meltdown this year.
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