Bluegrass releases preliminary lineup
from the Telluride Daily Planet
Jackson Browne, Feist, Emmylou and House Band to appear at 40th
By Katie Klingsporn
“We’re really excited,” said Brian Eyster, director of communications for Planet Bluegrass. “It’s a great start, and we will have a few really exciting additions.”
Singer-songwriter giant Jackson Browne, who played Bluegrass in 2000, is returning to the festival with an acoustic band. Bluegrass couldn’t release many specifics on single-day lineups, but Eyster said this is certain: Jackson Browne will perform on Sunday before the Telluride House Band closes the festival down.
“He’s just such a great performer,” Eyster said.
Also returning to the festival is bluegrass siren Emmylou Harris, who will be joined by country star Rodney Crowell, who started his career playing guitar in her band.
Richard Thompson, a British folk rock legend who penned songs like “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” and has been named one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone, will be back for the first time in 20 years. Eyster called Thompson a “brilliant guitar player, singer and songwriter.
“He’s just a knock-out artist,” he said.
Into the non-traditional slot comes Feist, a Canadian Indie folk singer who is a member of Broken Social Scene as well as a successful solo artist. Feist, whose albums include 2004’s “The Reminder,” is a tremendous artist known for her lovely vocals and jangly folk songs.
Up-and-comers Lake Street Drive, a band that features the bassplayer from Joy Kills Sorrow, will likely wow the audience with their rootsy acoustic soul sounds, Eyster said.
Also on the lineup: Celtic fiddling star Natalie MacMaster and her husband, Canadian fiddler Donnell Leahy, Minnesota string rockers Trampled by Turtles, fiddler and former Nickel Creek member Sara Watkins, Colorado jamgrass kings Yonder Mountain String Band and longtime favorites like Peter Rowan, Hot Rize, Tim O’Brien Band and Sam Bush Band.
The festival still has some major lineup additions to announce, Eyster said, and is planning for a banner year.
“In many ways, the lineup is rootsier than it’s been in the past few years and is sort of a reflection of the genre that Telluride Bluegrass has become,” he said.
Four-day passes to the 2013 Telluride Bluegrass Festival sold out in a record-shattering three and a half hours when they were released to the public on Dec. 5, and Friday and Saturday single day tickets have also vanished.
Thursday and Sunday single-day tickets are still available, Eyster said, and locals can also look into volunteering for passes.
Planet Bluegrass obtained permission from the Telluride Town Council to increase the maximum crowd size in Town Park from 11,500 to 12,000 for its 40th anniversary festival.
In addition, Planet Bluegrass revamped its local ticket option by selling locals passes at a holiday discount price during the month of November, much earlier than in years past. It was the first time ever that Planet Bluegrass sold tickets to locals before the general public.
For more information the festival or to purchase tickets visit www.bluegrass.com.
