2010 Palisade Bluegrass and Roots Festival Line Up

The Town of Palisade is pleased to announce that music connoisseurs Josh Behrman and Amy Kimberly are the new Event and Music Promoters for the Second Annual Palisade Bluegrass and Roots Music Festival.

A town known as Western Colorado’s “home of fruit, wine, mountains, and more” Behrman and Kimberly are extremely thrilled to be part of weekend festival. Behrman and Mountain Groove Productions Inc. are also the Marketing Department for this year’s festival.

“I’m so excited to have the opportunity to work with the Town of Palisade and the Palisade Bluegrass and Roots Music Festival,” says Promoter and Marketing Director Behrman. “The site is exquisite, the campground is pristine and the venue has more potential than a promoter can hope for. We’re equally excited to work with the Town and bring an exceptional music lie-up to the Western Slope.”

So, make plans to be at the Second Annual Palisade Bluegrass and Roots Music Festival on June 11, 12, and 13, 2010. There’s no better way to kick off summer than a weekend in a shady park enjoying excellent acoustic music – Sip one of Western Colorado’s native beers, wines or spirits while the Colorado River rolls past the main stage.

This year’s festival is held right on the banks of the Colorado River in Riverbend Park featuring bluegrass musicians, on-site camping, jam sessions and children’s activities. Palisade is known as the Peach and Wine Capital of Colorado with the state’s greatest concentration of wineries/vineyards and orchards making it an ideal location for a weekend music festival. Local wines, micro-brews, food and artisans are ready to help make this the perfect weekend getaway for live music enthusiasts.

The weekend’s daily headliners are promised to make any music enthusiast smile and dance at the sound of bands listed below:

Friday, June 11, 5:30 p.m.: Missed the Boat
With the recent recording of their debut album “Rollin”, Missed the Boat has been stunning listeners at live shows and over the airwaves throughout Colorado with their unique Americana-Rock sound. Featuring acoustic guitar, mandolin, electric mandolin, tenor banjo, electric bass, drums, and harmonica, the band produces the energy infused, positive, upbeat sound that radio listeners deserve and concertgoers love. Recently nominated for the 2010 Grammy's in 4 categories, Missed the Boat is taking the Colorado and national music scene by surprise. From lonesome high country bluegrass to Americana-fed rock n' roll, this is a music experience you will not want to miss. www.missedtheboat.com.

Friday, June 11, 7:30 p.m.: Hot Buttered Rum
Initially formed as an acoustic string band, seven years of constant touring has transformed Hot Buttered Rum into a plugged-in, percussive powerhouse that wows critics and fans alike. Their left-coast rock reveals an access to jazz, country, and world music that few groups can match. While the band's music belies simple categorization, its songwriting and stage chemistry delights listeners at every turn. They’ve played stages at the Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, Grey Fox, High Sierra, Wakarusa, and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Along the way, the group shared the stage with some of today's most accomplished artists, including Phil Lesh, Bela Fleck, Ben Harper, and more. Their most recent album, Limbs Akimbo, was released this fall and has received excellent reviews and acclaim. Hot Buttered Rum will kick-off the weekend in Palisade. www.hotbutteredrum.com.

Saturday, June 12, 11 a.m.: Stray Grass
Stray Grass specializes in a high-energy interpretation of acoustic music. Although played on traditional instruments, the musical stylings of Stray Grass are anything but traditional. Inspired by artists as diverse as Tim OBrien, Peter Rowan, Dave Matthews, New Grass Revival, Bob Dylan and Crosby Stills and Nash, their music has been categorized as Americana with a New Acoustic Flair. Stray Grass’ enthusiasm and love of great acoustic music will certainly keep you entertained. www.myspace.com/straygrass.

Saturday, June 12, 1 p.m.: Bearfoot
Bluegrass music from Alaska. It may sound like a bit of a non sequitur but Bearfoot, a band from Anchorage, is proving that the two aren't as unrelated as you might think. Bearfoot’s journey from music camp counselors to an established über talented national touring band has been nothing short of meteoric. Bearfoot earned one of roots music’s most prestigious awards – Telluride Bluegrass Band Champions – an honor they share with artists Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek. They tour extensively and are regular crowd favorites at prestigious festivals including Wintergrass, Grey Fox, Strawberry Festival, and six consecutive years at RockyGrass. Bearfoot has nine years, major festivals, and three albums under their belt and the sound of their music will please roots and bluegrass fans. www.bearfootband.com.

Saturday, June 12, 3 p.m.: The Wiyos
The Wiyos play and compose Old-Timey American music inspired by the early American musical idioms of the 1920s and '30s. Everywhere they play, The Wiyos charm and amuse audiences with their exuberant style of old-timey music, passionately carrying this rich musical heritage into the 21st century. With an instrumentation of washboard/harmonica/kazoo, resonator guitar/banjo, upright bass and three harmony vocals, The Wiyos’ live performance transports audiences back to an era before TV and mass-media were the main sources of entertainment. With infectious exuberance and theatrical skill, they create a visual spectacle in the tradition of vaudeville-esque performers. They have released three full-length albums, seamlessly blending their original songwriting with a wide spectrum of vernacular American music. www.thewiyos.com.

Saturday, June 12, 7:30 p.m.: Dave Alvin and The Guilty Women

Grammy award winning singer/songwriter/bar-room guitar player Dave Alvin has been a constant force in traditional American roots music, both electric and acoustic, for over 25 years. During those decades he's busted speakers with roots rock kick-starters, The Blasters, as well as mined the depths of country, folk and blues with his solo projects. A mainstay during much of this journey has been Alvin's electrifying band The Guilty Men. Following the recent death of Dave's best friend and Guilty Men accordionist Chris Gaffney in early 2008, Alvin decided to move in an exciting new musical direction. In October 2008 he stepped onto the stage of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival with an all-star, all-female group. Since dubbed The Guilty Women, the group consists of Americana scene vets Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Sarah Brown, Amy Farris, Christy McWilson and Lisa Pankrantz. www.davealvin.net.

Sunday, June 13, 11 a.m.: Sweet Sunny South
Sweet Sunny South is an acoustic old-timey string band that plays a unique blend of new and traditional music. Based in Paonia, Colorado, the band has been making a name for itself at festivals and theaters throughout the region for the past 8 years and received invitations to perform as an official showcase band for both the IBMA and The Folk Alliance in 2006. The group was also featured as one of Colorado’s "Movers and Shakers" in Denver's Westword Magazine in 2007 and were selectedAudiences can expect a highly entertaining stage show featuring rollicking fiddle tunes, soulful ballads, tight vocal harmonies and an exceptional array of original songs combined with a heavy dose of humor that keeps the crowd smiling. They have recorded 4 unique and entertaining CDs which are receiving heavy airplay across the country. www.sweetsunnysouth.com.

Sunday, June 13, 1 p.m.: Spring Creek
Spring Creek, the award-winning Colorado bluegrass band, are bursting into the national scene. These musical road warriors have held tight to the bluegrass tradition, emulating the first generation greats while presenting a youthful, fresh sound. They eat, sleep and drink their craft within a musical community steeped in bluegrass. Spring Creek from Lyons, Colorado, are quickly gaining a reputation as the hottest young band in the Rocky Mountains. The quartet play a mix of bluegrass standards and compelling originals, and all four musicians are also accomplished vocalists. Spring Creek is built on the fundamentals of bluegrass, yet they create their own classic contemporary style. The band won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival band contest in June 2007, and won their second Planet Bluegrass title later that summer at the 35th annual Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival (RockyGrass) held in Lyons. Though they clearly appeal to traditional bluegrass fans, the Spring Creek musicians mix in a little something for everyone at their live shows. The band is the first ever to win back-to-back Planet Bluegrass titles in the same summer and earned the honor of performing on the mainstage at both prestigious festivals—Telluride and RockyGrass—in 2008. www.springcreekbluegrass.com.

Sunday, June 13, 3 p.m.: Jim Lauderdale

Jim Lauderdale is a multi-talented performer and songwriter, with successes in both country and bluegrass music. His roots stem from the Carolinas, yet his career has taken him all over the United States and abroad, making him an international recording artist with an ever-growing fan base. Jim won "Artist of the Year" and "Song of the Year" at the first "Honors and Awards Show" held by the Americana Music Association in 2002. Subsequently, he has hosted this same show for the last seven years. He is among Nashville's "A" list of songwriters, with songs recorded by artists such as: Patty Loveless, George Jones, The Dixie Chicks, Solomon Burke, Mark Chesnutt, Dave Edmunds, John Mayall, Kathy Mattea, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, Blake Shelton. Vince Gill, and George Strait. He also contributed several songs to the successful soundtrack of the George Strait film, "Pure Country." Not content to just write hits for the stars, he's toured with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rhonda Vincent and Elvis Costello, among others. http://jimlauderdale.com.

Sunday, June 13, 5 p.m.: Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel, the famed western-swing, boogie, and roots-music outfit that is, amazingly, still on the upswing. That’s saying something, too, considering the group has been around for nearly 40 years, turning out an incredible 25+ albums while playing an unrelenting schedule of one-nighters that would make any musician dizzy. Nine time Grammy Winning Kings of Texas Swing, they have charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard country charts. www.asleepatthewheel.com.

“The opportunity to bring community and music together to create something that benefits all involved is a passion of mine,” says Kimberly. “Palisade is such a unique town and the festival site is a dream come true. With Josh's and my expertise, the town staff support and a community of creative people coming together, we can make this one of the best events on the Western Slope.”

Palisade’s moderate temperatures, fruit orchards, vineyards and a quaint downtown make the perfect location for a weekend getaway. So, take advantage of the music in the mountains and float on down to Palisade where you can kick back, relax, and enjoy the movement during the Palisade Bluegrass and Roots Music Festival June 11, 12, and 13, 2010.

Check out www.palisademusic.com for tickets, music line-up and more! Tickets are available at a special discount until mid-February, pre-event prices until June 10, and then gate prices after that.