Planet Bluegrass' FirstGrass Concert kicks off Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Mountain Village
The 49th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival kicks off in picturesque Mountain Village with the return of the annual favorite, Firstgrass, a free outdoor concert in Sunset Plaza on Wednesday, June 15.
AJ Lee and Blue Summit will play at 5 p.m. in Sunset Plaza and the Kitchen Dwellers will follow at 6:30 p.m. The music will run through 8 p.m.
AJ Lee and Blue Summit tips its hat to American masters of the past with a modern country, bluegrass and folk sound.
The Kitchen Dwellers hail from Montana, however, mandolin player Shawn Swain grew up in Telluride! The Kitchen Dwellers twist bluegrass, folk and rock into their own homegrown sound of bluegrass with a psychedelic twist.
After the show, stick around to dine in Mountain Village or enjoy the festival’s Bluegrass Eve Party at the Telluride Conference Center with Cris Jacobs playing at 10 p.m. (doors open at 9 p.m.).
For more information on the festival, please visit bluegrass.com/telluride.
FESTIVAL TRANSPORTATION & PARKING
Mountain Village and Telluride are connected by a three-stage gondola system starting at Market Plaza in Mountain Village to Village Center, and ending in Telluride at Oak Street Plaza. It takes about 12 minutes to get from one town to the other via Mountain Village Center.
During the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, gondola operating hours are from 6:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday, June 15 through Sunday, June 19. Expect long lines during peak times. Masks will not be required to ride the gondola. Passengers who are immunocompromised and wish to ride the gondola may inform the operator and they will do their best to accommodate requests.
The Meadows bus loop will run until 3 a.m. these nights with the last departure from Market Plaza to the Meadows at 2:35 a.m. In addition, Dial-A-Ride will remain open until 2:30 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
For visitors needing a ride to their vehicle parked on town roadways, the Planet Bluegrass bus will pick up festivarians at Market Plaza and drop off passengers near their vehicle. The bus will run Thursday through Sunday from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Vehicles left on Mountain Village roadways after 12 p.m. Monday, June 20 will be towed at the owner’s expense.
Mountain Village’s Gondola Parking Garage located at 433 Mountain Village Blvd., behind Town Hall and The Village Market and northwest of the gondola terminal is free to park during the festival.
Individuals and festivarians without parking permits must park their vehicles where directed by parking staff once the Gondola Parking Garage is full. The North Village Center pay-to-park surface lot is another parking option though overnight parking is not allowed. Short-term parking will be available for those doing business in Mountain Village; times will be enforced.
Alternatively, for those shopping, dining or recreating in Mountain Village, we suggest using Heritage Parking Garage for parking, located off Mountain Village Boulevard, under Hotel Madeline. Parking is $2 for each hour and $35 maximum in a 24-hour period.
