The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Music Fest to incorporate bluegrass fest
The director of the Crested Butte Music Festival feels Crested Butte and bluegrass are totally in tune. So, this summer, the festival will sponsor a five-day bluegrass festival that will feature, among others, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys.
Alexander Scheirle, director of the festival, said there could be great potential for the “Bluegrass in Paradise” festival to be a huge economic boost for the valley in mid-July.
“A bluegrass audience seems such a natural fit for Crested Butte,” he explained. “It is more than music—it is a lifestyle and it is so reflective of Crested Butte. I really think this could draw 1,000 or up to 3,000 people. It could be really big for Crested Butte.”
Scheirle asked Crested Butte’s Drew Emmitt to host the festival. “He will be the face of the festival. It’s a great fit,” he said. “What do I know about bluegrass compared to him? Drew is perfect.”
Emmitt will play the festival with the Emmitt-Nershi Band. The festival performances will take place the last two days of the fest, July 9 and 10, on Warming House Hill at the base of the ski area near the Red Lady chairlift. The first three days of the festival will be focused on a camp for kids, workshops for adults, children’s performances and jam sessions. Traditional bluegrass as well as “newgrass” music will be showcased.
The headliner for the festival will be Ralph Stanley. Known as the Godfather of Bluegrass, he is still considered one of the best banjo pickers and tenor singers in bluegrass music after 55 years in the business.
Other bands lined up for the festival include Bearfoot, Shannon Whitworth, Blue Highway and Spring Creek.
Scheirle said holding the inaugural bluegrass festival with a legend headlining the event was critical. “We felt we needed a well-known band to lead the festival so we started at the top and Ralph Stanley was available,” he said. “I don’t think you can start with small unknown bands. We wanted to get people here and we felt this type of band would draw people to Crested Butte.”
Scheirle wanted to make sure people understood that the bluegrass festival was just one element of the overall month-long Crested Butte Music Festival. “We are still doing the classical components of the festival,” he said. “We are growing that part of the equation as well. We will have students coming in from all over the country to participate. We have had hundreds of applications from people wanting to participate.”
One idea is to eventually expand the festival to more than just July. “Right now it feels like everything, and I mean everything—not just the music—is held pretty much in July in Crested Butte. Maybe eventually this can lead to an extended time frame. In the same sense, once we get the new Performing Arts Center in Mt. Crested Butte we will need to use it and not just in July.”
As for the first Bluegrass in Paradise festival, Scheirle looks forward to the opportunity. “I’m optimistic we’ll sell lots of tickets,” he said. “It is being held in a great location. We have great musicians and a great host in Drew Emmitt. I assume lots of people will travel here for the festival and the people who live here will be able to enjoy a great week of bluegrass. It is a perfect fit for this community.”
Ticket prices will be $50 for a single day, $90 for the weekend pass. “CBMR and the Music Festival will be coming up with packages which will include things like camping, the Adventure Center, lift rides and other mountain activities. We will have all these packages by March 1 when ticket sales start,” Scheirle said.
