YOUR AD HERE »

Plan your Summit County weekend

JUST DEW IT

Returning to Breckenridge this weekend is Dew Tour, a high-adrenaline contest that brings together the world’s best snowboarders, skiers, artists, brands and fans in a celebration of creativity and style. General admission to snow competitions is free. Not only are there events on the slopes, but competitions will also take place right on Breckenridge’s Main Street. This event is one of the 2018 Winter Olympic qualifyers. In addition to the snow events, there will be a concert featuring The Floozies and Anomalie. Tickets to the Dew Tour concert can be purchased online at DewTour.com. The Floozies are an electronic duo comprised of two brothers, Matt and Mark Hill, whose aim is to “bring back the funk.” The Floozies will play this Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Riverwalk Center. The brothers’ onstage presence and overall live show experience will take fans through funk, hip-hop, electronic, rock and dub music. Anomalie, a classically trained and versatile keyboardist/producer based in Montreal, will be opening for The Floozies. General admission tickets are $35. The show starts at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. For those that can’t make the snow events, watch the livestream at DewTour.com or check the SummitDaily.com for daily updates this weekend.

ONCE UPON A TIME



Set in Breckenridge in the 1800s, “A Rocky Mountain Christmas” is an original holiday show by Breckenridge Backstage Theatre. Continuing its tradition of telling the stories of Summit County, Backstage Theatre shares with the community its fourth completely original main stage show in the last five years.

In “A Rocky Mountain Christmas” a surprise snowstorm brings the community together for a makeshift Christmas Eve celebration, in which Father John Lewis Dyer attends.



Father Dyer, a well-known deceased local, figures prominently as a character and played an important role in Breckenridge during the 19th century.

Jamie Patti and artistic director Christopher Willard co-wrote the performance.

“I’m a history buff, so diving into the story of Breckenridge during this second wave of gold and silver discovery held great interest for me,” said Willard.

“We are really proud to present stories by and for the people who live and play in our region,” Willard added.

In the play, Dyer, an old temperance warrior, goes to battle with his noisy saloon-owning neighbor, Jerry Krigbaum. At the same time, Dyer also wrestles with his own internal issues, and these matters weighing heavy on his heart this particular Christmas Eve in Breckenridge.

Other local legends, such as Judge Marshel Silverthorn — owner of the Breckenridge Hotel — will be recognized by history buffs.

Willard says that the characters — both those real and fictional — represent a microcosm of 19th century Breckenridge and its diversity and passion.

“Audiences will feel as if they’ve traveled back in time for an authentic Victorian Breckenridge Christmas,” he added.

The show will be on the main stage at Breckenridge Backstage Theatre from Dec. 14-29. Tickets can be purchased online at BackstageTheatre.org or by calling 970-547-3100. And, this hliday season, the theater is offering a ticket discount program for locals called “20 for $20.” The theater has set aside twenty $20 tickets for residents of Summit and Park counties for each of its next four performances, including “A Rocky Mountain Christmas.”

STELLAR KELLER RETURNS

If there’s anyone who knows how to collaborate and launch into unplanned jams on stage, it’s Keller Williams.

Williams often plays with other musicians at festivals and single-night shows alike. However, he also is the champion of a self-described genre he calls “acoustic dance music.” Keller opens the night by himself — no shoes and an oriental carpet underfoot, accompanied by a colorful light show.

Williams returns to Keystone for the sixth year in a row.

“Keller & His Compadres” are returning to Warren Station this Friday and Saturday for a two-night run, comprised of two very different style shows.

Friday’s show will be a bluegrass-focused set, featuring Leftover Salmon’s Andy Thorn on banjo and Greg Garrison on mandolin. Elephant Revival’s Bridget Law and Bonnie Paine will also join the group on stage for a stringy set.

Saturday night will strike a different tune, as Keller and his compadres, including Keith Moseley and Jason Hann from the String Cheese Incident as well as Tyler Grant of Grant Farm, will play an electric set that is sure to move the crowd.

Since the early ’90s Williams has built a reputation on his engaging live performances, no two of which are ever alike. For most of his career he has performed solo, and his stage shows are rooted around Keller singing his compositions and choice cover songs, while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. With the use of today’s technology, Keller creates samples on the fly in front of the audience, a technique called live phrase sampling or looping with nothing pre-recorded. The end result often leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica. Williams has performed with numerous iconic jam bands on the scene, including String Cheese Incident and Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir.

TRADING FOURS TIMES EIGHT

Staring Friday, The Trading Fours Band returns for its eighth winter season at Silverheels Bar and Grill, playing its own unique mixture of jazz. “We start with hits from the Great American Song Book of jazz favorites, add in a little New Orleans second-line gumbo and layer in some Brazilian Bossa Nova to create a great original sound,” stated Peter Taylor, guitarist for the band.

The Trading Fours group consists of four core local musicians: Sean O’Connor on saxophone, clarinet and vocals; Peter Taylor on guitar; Dennis Boyd on standup bass; Joshua Cohen on percussion. Frequently, other talented jazz musicians from Summit County or from the Denver area augment the group.

“Our name, Trading Fours, comes from the jazz practice of each performer taking turns soloing on four bars of a tune,” Taylor added.

After receiving a music scholarship to Colorado State, saxophonist O’Connor honed his skill on a number of instruments, graduated with a degree in music performance and returned to Summit County.

Over the next few weeks the young, talented saxophone player Christian Torsell will be a guest performer. Similar to the band’s experience with O’Connor, Torsell started sitting in with the band as a high school student from Leadville, an unusual location to gain amazing jazz chops. He graduated last summer and now is studying music at Loyola University in New Orleans, the birth place of jazz.

Trading Fours will be playing every Friday through the winter season, 6-9 p.m., at Silverheels Bar and Grill, located at the corner of Main St. and Sixth Ave. in Frisco.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.