Experience the mix of music and brews at Keystone’s Bluegrass and Beer Festival
Keystone Resort/Courtesy photo
If there is one thing that people enjoy more than linking turns on the slopes, it’s listening to live music throughout the summer season.
Summit County locals and visitors alike will have an opportunity to soak in a weekend full of live music at the Keystone Festivals’ Bluegrass and Beer Festival from Saturday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 3.
Like previous years, the Bluegrass and Beer Festival will take place throughout Keystone Resort’s River Run Village and will feature merchandise vendors, beer and food vendors as well as several stages for live musical performances.
Throughout the two-day festival a total of 14 bluegrass artists will perform. Evergreen-based band Pass the Snakes will spearhead the action on Saturday, taking to the Montezuma Stage at 11:30 a.m.
From there, Utah’s The Last Wild Buffalo, GroundScore, Nashville’s Off the Rails and FY5 will all perform on the three stages spread out across the festival grounds. Durango’s High Country Hustle will be the final performer on the Montezuma Stage prior to the evening’s main act — Billy Failing.
Failing is a Colorado-based banjo player, guitarist, singer and songwriter. Talented in his own right, Failing is best known for his longtime contribution as a banjo player with Grammy award-winning guitarist Billy Strings. Failing pays homage to the roots of bluegrass and acoustic music while also exploring the endless boundaries of classic sounds. Failing will take to the River Run Village stage at 3:30 p.m.
The lineup of artists performing on Sunday is just as stacked as Saturday’s talent. Ragged Union will be the first band to step foot on the Montezuma Stage at 11:30 a.m. Other bands performing throughout the day include Denver’s Chain Station; Slay and Stinson; Wood Belly; Tuttle, Pool and Greuel; Northern California’s Broken Compass Bluegrass and The Last Revel.
The Last Revel will serve as the final headliner for the festival and is slated to perform its set from 3:30 p.m. through 5 p.m. on the River Run Stage.
Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Last Revel is a four-piece folk group that utilizes their multi-instrumental abilities to create captivating performances. Heavily influenced by their Midwest roots, The Last Revel effortlessly blends folk, old-time string band and indie rock into a sound that captures the spirit of contemporary America.
As the festival’s namesake suggests, there will also be close to two dozen local and regional beer vendors for guests to select from throughout the duration of the event.
Some of the major beer vendors slated to be at this year’s festival include Voodoo Brewing Company, Upslope Brewing, Thirsty Pika, STEEP Brewing, Palisade Brewing Co., Left Hand Brewing, Angry James and Crabtree Brewing Co.
Much like major festivals offer unique bites that differ from a restaurant’s regular menu, Keystone’s Bluegrass and Beer Festival will feature tasty food options for guests to enjoy.
Most notably, the Keystone Bluegrass and Beer Festival will include Mexican street-corn balls with chipotle crema from Lime Cantina, bacon jalapeno mac ‘n’ cheese from Groovy’s Mac n’ Cheesy, jalapeno poppers from STEEP, barbecue chicken skewers from Zuma Roadhouse and reuben sliders on a pretzel bun with fried pickles from Mountain Melt Food Truck.
The festival unofficially kicks off on Friday, Aug. 1, with one of Keystone’s Concert Sessions. From 4 p.m. through 6 p.m., the Backroads Band will perform a free concert for festival-goers to enjoy. In conjunction with the free concert, the “Eat, Drink, Pick” beer pairing happy hour will take place at Warren Station Center for the Arts. To purchase tickets to the happy hour event, visit KeystoneFestivals.com.
At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, the festival will officially begin. Festival check in will last from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. over the two-day festival with food vendors serving food from 11:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. The festival bar and merchandise booths will be open from 12:30 p.m. through 5 p.m daily.
The Keystone Bluegrass and Beer Festival offers a wide range of ticket options. To view all of the ticketing options, visit KeystoneFestivals.com. Following the Bluegrass and Beer Festival, Keystone Festivals will host the Mountain Town Food Fest on Aug. 16.
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