Full moons, Roses and Bluegrass No. 17

by Chris Aaland

For the 41st year, musicians from around the world roll into Town Park for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival today (Thurs., June 19) through Sunday. Per usual, it’s sold out … although tickets remain to a few NightGrass shows and events in Elks’ Park – some of which feature headlining artists like Peter Rowan, the Yonder Mountain String Band, Bryan Sutton and Greensky Bluegrass – are free and no passes are required.

I’ve attended 17 straight Bluegrasses, only missing four single days during that stretch – three to the birth of my son, Gus, and one due to overindulgence and general misbehavior. I’m tentatively planning to keep the streak alive by taking my 7-year-old Otto up for Friday’s stellar lineup and some of Saturday’s acts.

Why just two days? For the second time in four years, Shelly and I didn’t quite time childbirth right. At 6:42 a.m. last Friday, Shelly gave birth to Rose Marie Aaland, our first daughter. It was a brutally painful, albeit quick, delivery for my wife. Rosie required oxygen and wasn’t released from the hospital until two days ago. But she’s a spunky, pretty thing that excels at four things: feeding, sleeping, crying and pooping. I guess at five days old, it’s a real feat to master those four important skills.

Rosie was born on a full moon on Fri., June 13 – the first full moon on Fri., June 13 since 1919. My grandpa and Otto’s namesake, John Otto Aaland, was one year old back then. It won’t happen again on Fri., June 13, until 2098. If she’s healthy and lucky through life, Rosie will turn 84 that day. Making it more special is that one of the names for June’s full moon is the Rose Moon. All of this is purely coincidental: Rosie is named after Shelly’s grandma, Rose Marie Harshberger. Or did the gods and goddesses choose it for us? Comic Con was in Denver last weekend and we both hanker a good fantasy film.

But the point is Telluride. It’s been a ritual in our family since 1997. That summer, Shelly and I had been dating less than a month and took a stab at a fun first weekend together by buying four-day passes. 

Ever since, we’ve slept in line, did the land rush, threw tarps onto front-row space and fought off rain, sleet, snow, heat and twirling, tripping, Wilco fans. So, keeping fingers crossed, Otto will see his sixth Telluride Bluegrass (he missed the 2011 due to our late son Gus’  birth) and I’ll see my 18th.

Of course, there are the regulars: guys who are on a first-name basis with the crowd like Sam, Béla, Peter, Tim, Del, Jerry, Edgar, Stuart and Bryan. All of these guys are regulars who play at least some variation of traditional bluegrass (although Béla Fleck joining the Colorado Symphony Orchestra on Friday certainly stretches its boundaries). Then there are the semi-regulars, bands like Nickel Creek, which recently reunited after a seven-year hiatus, and Greensky. 

Jam-band fans can look forward to Saturday’s triple punch of the Yonder (now, officially, a three-piece after the departure of singer/mandolin player Jeff Austin), Leftover Salmon and the King of Telluride, Sam Bush.

But it’s Friday’s lineup that has my interest piqued. Headlined by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood – he of the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic fame – it’s an eclectic mix of music that ranges from bluegrass to alt-country to classical to rock and everything in between. One of my bluegrass favorites, Chatham County Line, opens at 10 a.m. and the day manages to include my favorite contemporary alt-country singer-songwriter Jason Isbell at 2:15, songwriters and multi-instrumental legends Tim O’Brien & Darrell Scott at 4, the aforementioned Fleck and symphony at 6 and the Dave Rawlings Machine – which this time includes Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones on mandolin – at 8:30.

This week’s Top 10 list is provided by Planet Bluegrass marketing guru Brian Eyster. If you’ve ever shown up to the festival a day early, you can hear Brian play dobro in the band that works out the final soundcheck bugs on the main stage. “Like all musical Top 10 lists, this one probably says more about periods in my life than anything objective about the music, though these records wouldn’t have withstood countless intense listens if they weren’t works of flat-out genius.” Here are Eyster’s Top 10:

1. Strength in Numbers, “The Telluride Sessions,” 1989. From high school on, this album has appeared in every major part of my life – passion, joy, darkness, virtuosity, unforgettable melodies, expressive solos, rich tone.
2. Wilco, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” 2002. I’ve spent many evenings on the couch intensely listening to this album – studying its sonic details – like I was watching a movie. Somehow this was my gateway from bluegrass to indie rock.
3. Beach Boys, “SMiLE,” 1966. Granted, I’ve devoured every book about this album’s mythology, but the ascendant melodies, rich arrangements, and breadth of heavy and silly knocked me out and still do every time.
4. Paul Simon, “Graceland,” 1986. I bought this LP with two buddies in eighth grade, and these songs still manage to find new lives with me every year.
5. Tony Rice Unit, “Manzanita,” 1979.  As a guitarist, this was a total game-changer for me – leaving jam-rock and entering the world of bluegrass.
6.Arcade Fire, “Funeral,” 2004. I followed the buzz to find this CD in Boulder the day it came out, and I’ve screamed along to it on the car stereo ever since.
7. Talk Talk, “Laughing Stock,” 1991. Whenever I surrender to this brilliant work of delicate beauty I feel my shoulders loosen and my breathing deepen.
8. Jonsi, “Go,” 2010. The figurative soundtrack to the birth of our son, this modern Icelandic pop gem gives me glowing goosebumps every listen.
9. Esbjorn Svensson Trio, “Seven Days of Falling,” 2003. I randomly found this in a CD pile at work, and its complete badassness kicked off a love for jazz piano that no other album has been able to replicate.
10. John Martyn, “Solid Air,” 1973. The looseness of John’s voice hits me hard on this under-appreciated masterpiece. Why was I so late in finding this legend?

Being bumped outside the Top 10 would be Bill Frisell, U2, Wolf Parade, Super Furry Animals and The Gourds.

Apricot tips on an indigo sky? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.