Live music will play among Black Forest’s beautiful ponderosa pines once again during Memorial Day weekend. The three-day MeadowGrass Music Festival will be live under the signature yellow tent May 27-29 at the La Foret Conference and Retreat Center in Black Forest. And the 2022 performing lineup is drawing an exciting and eclectic mix of national and local talent, including a Grammy Award-winning group from South Carolina, an indie-folk quartet from Boston and a “Bayou Soul” singer-songwriter from Louisiana.
Music is the heart of MeadowGrass, but there’s always more to the forest festival than that. Day one of Memorial Day weekend includes the fourth annual MeadowGrass Beer Fest. “We will be featuring 10 Colorado breweries,” says Nicole Nicoletta, executive director of the organizing Rocky Mountain Highway. “The beer festival is included with both the weekend pass and the Friday single-day ticket.”
Nicoletta and her team have organized plenty beyond beer as well. “The Faricy Boys’ Kid Zone will have activities for kids all weekend provided by Concrete Couch and the Pikes Peak Children’s Museum,” she says.
The ZOOMobile will be at MeadowGrass on Sunday, a Cheyenne Mountain Zoo program that brings zoo animals to you.
“We have yoga on Saturday and Sunday,” Nicoletta says. “We’re offering a VIP experience with a whiskey tasting from Distillery 291, a wine tasting from Uva Wine Bar and food from Picnic Basket Catering and much more. Unique this year is the school bus studio by Boredom Fighters, an immersive experience of instruments, open jams and workshops. Also, the second annual Steve Harris Songwriter of the Year Award will be presented on Friday.”
Through it all, the music will be jamming. Here is an overview of the acts booked for MeadowGrass 2022, along with a brief commentary from Steve Harris, the music director responsible for curating the MeadowGrass lineup.
Friday, May 27
Main stage starts at 1:30 p.m.
The first night of the festival kicks off with two local bands. Spur is an Americana folk-rock duo and multi-instrumentalists comprised of Jerry Cordova and Travis Duncan. The second, Jon E. Booth and the Nightwatch will perform on the main stage Friday afternoon.
“The rest of that evening before Ranky Tanky is a strong bluegrass night,” Harris says. The Durango-based Stillhouse Junkies were named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s recipient of the 2021 Momentum Band of the Year. Then comes Armchair Boogie, a jamgrass band from Wisconsin. “Friday is also the night of the beer festival,” Harris says. “There’s an included complimentary beer tasting. So that’ll be kind of a party night for sure.”
The night’s music will be anchored by headliner Ranky Tanky, a Grammy Award-winning band from Charleston, South Carolina that won the Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2020. They are sure to deliver with a sound that celebrates the music of South Carolina’s West African rooted Gullah community. Campers wanting to keep the music flowing can head to the late-night stage in Inglis Hall, after the main stage closes, to keep jamming with the local Red Mountain Boys.
Saturday, May 28
Main stage starts at 11:00 a.m.
Saturday begins with Colorado Springs singer-songwriter Curtis Boucher. “The second band is Big Richard. It’s an acoustic supergroup of four, well-established Colorado musicians — all women,” Harris says. “There’s so much buzz around these ladies!
Local favorites The River Arkansas, led by Mike Clark of the Haunted Windchimes, take the stage next. “They played last year, but their show got cut short by rain,” Harris says. “Mike Clark is a great friend of the festival and huge personality in the local music scene.”
A pair of singer-songwriters play back-to-back next. Harris describes the acclaimed Dori Freeman as “great songwriting and a beautiful voice.” Emily Scott Robinson is a rising singer-songwriter signed to John Prine’s Oh Boy label. “I’ve watched her career get bigger and bigger,” Harris says. “She’s living in Telluride now after some time in Nashville.”
The all-female Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards follow. Cortese attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, plays the fiddle and lives in Belgium. Expect adventurous indie folk pop with dance-worthy grooves from this band.
Headlining Saturday night is the indie-folk quartet Darlingside. “They have really beautiful harmonies,” Harris says. “I think everyone is going to be blown away by them.”
The late-night show for campers will be the Armadillo Ranch Fan Favorite, to be determined by popular vote at the Manitou music venue.
Sunday, May 29
Main stage starts at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday kicks off with the School of Rock House Band, comprised of musicians studying with the School of Rock program. Then it’s long-time local singer-songwriter Craig Walter. “He’s going to be a perfect fit,” Harris says.
Next up is the Longmont-based female bluegrass band Sugar Moon, followed by singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza, a compelling Japanese-American, Indigenous, Mexican singer-songwriter and activist. “Her heritage is a melting pot, Harris says. “She’s performing solo, and it will be a powerful set.”
Then Tow’rs takes the stage. The band from Flagstaff, Arizona, is fronted by a husband-and-wife duo who mix elements of indie, folk, funk and rock into their material. Cordovas will then keep things rollicking with a collision of folk, country and groove-heavy rock. “They sound to me a lot like The Band,” Harris says.
The MeadowGrass headliner for the final night is Marc Broussard. Hailing from Louisiana, he describes his style as “Bayou Soul,” a mix of funk, blues, R&B and rock, matched with Southern roots. Broussard has appeared on various early morning and late-night television shows, including The Tonight Show.
And the local progressive bluegrass band Hickabee will close out MeadowGrass 2022 with the final indoor late-night performance.
MeadowGrass Music Festival
May 27-29
La Foret Conference and Retreat Center
For tickets, camping info and more details, visit rockymountainhighway.org.
Sample all the bands at the Spotify Official MeadowGrass Playlist 2022
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