CMT Blog: Archive

Drop a bluegrass festival in one of the most stunningly beautiful environments in the country and you better get some great acts to do it justice. So how do you choose two musicians to kick off the party? Why not Tim O'Brien and Jerry Douglas? Tim can do no wrong -- not for me, and not for the thousands of people who watched his festival opening set with Jerry. If he was any more relaxed onstage he'd take a nap (I've seen him do that actually), and as they ripped into "Times in Life," you could feel the Telluride crowd collectively let out a sigh of relief as all their troubles floated up to the mountain top. Singing a collection of originals and folk tunes, Tim announced that by then he had lyrically already killed two women and made love to one - and he hoped to restore the balance before the end of the set!

Families, couples and young folks shaking their hula hoops were milling everywhere as the music continued. The party machine known as Zac Brown Band raised the energy level to new heights as Jerry Douglas sat in with his shiny Dobro. A friend of mine claimed this set reminded him of everything he used to love about country music. Backstage the atmosphere was electric, with musicians hugging friends old and new, tour buses arriving with carts of heavy gear, and none other than Elvis Costello himself in a purple top hat and polka dot scarf, brandishing a Flip camera as he was busy filming the backdrop. I tried to introduce myself, but my nerves and star-struck mouth made it pretty embarrassing. Still, he was very gracious and told me I should check out his new record. "It's pretty cool" he said.

Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller elegantly sat in front of four mics and delivered a master class in the art of singing a good song. Emmylou was the queen of the affair, Patty was the cheeky redhead, Shawn was a touch of class and Buddy was the lucky bugger who gets to ride on the bus with them! I grinned as Patty grabbed her drumsticks and rocked out on a Buddy song. Telluride seems to create such moments.

Knowing that the Greencards had to play on Friday at 1 p.m., I tore myself away from the festival to have an early night -- knowing full well that everyone would be raving about the David Byrne set the next morning. Of course, people are now referring to it as one of the "great Telluride moments." Oh well, it gave me a chance to practice, rest and attack the day with full vigor. We had a great set; strong energy combined with a relaxed manner -- Sam Bush even graced us with his chop-tastic mandolin playing! All in all, this is a happy band.