The 2013 Telluride Bluegrass Festival broke records for its ticket sales, selling out its 4-day passes in just hours — all before a single act had been announced. Now weeks later, Reverb has the first wave of acts, which includes theSam Bush Band, Jackson Browne and Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell.
The biggest surprise comes in five little letters tucked near the bottom of the first third of the bill: Feist. While there is a bit of banjo slipped in her “Sesame Street”-co-opted hit “1234,” Feist’s music wouldn’t be mistaken for bluegrass by her fan base, bluegrass fans or even Cookie Monster, whose grasp of music (and food) has never been more questionable. That said, she is certainly capable of re-imagining her songs across genre lines, so who knows. If nothing else, it wouldn’t be surprising to see her work an Emmylou or Gillian Welch cover into her set at the festival.
Fellow outlier Jackson Browne, who played the festival back in 2000, will return to Telluride on the heels of his own touring revival. Browne’s recent tour-opener and former Nickel Creek fiddler Sara Watkins will also be gracing the stage. Chris Thile’s Punch Brothers also have a spot on the bill, so if Sara +1′s her brother, Sean Watkins, you’ve got a Nickel Creek reunion going, in (farfetched) theory at least.
Bluegrass/country legend Emmylou Harris will also make a repeat trip to Telluride alongside country legend and fellow former Hot Band group member, Rodney Crowell. Their duet album, “Old Yellow Moon,” is slated for release on February 26 of next year.
With the likes of Jerry Douglas, Trampled by Turtles, Steep Canyon Rangers and so many other top-notch string bands (including those fellas from Yonder Mountain), the 2013 Telluride Bluegrass Festival looks to outdo its reputation as the best weekend in bluegrass. If you want a piece of the action and haven’t locked a ticket down yet,single day passes are still available for Thursday and Sunday over at Planet Bluegrass, but act fast: tickets will be out the door lickety split.
Lineup for the 2013 Telluride Bluegrass Festival:
Sam Bush Band
Jackson Browne
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
Telluride House Band featuring Sam, Bela, Jerry, Edgar, Bryan & Stuart
Yonder Mountain String Band
Feist
Hot Rize
Richard Thompson
Leftover Salmon
Jerry Douglas Band
Punch Brothers
Peter Rowan
Tim O’Brien Band
Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy
Trampled by Turtles
The Infamous Stringdusters
Sara Watkins
Steep Canyon Rangers
Sarah Jarosz
Elephant Revival
Lake Street Dive
BlueBilly Grit
Telluride Troubadour
and many more…
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Bluegrass blogger Dylan Owens is a new contributor to Reverb.
By Dylan Owens