On June 17 we kicked off the summer solstice weekend in Telluride with one of our favorite bands: a packed late-night Conference Center show with Yonder Mountain String Band. Midway through the Colorado summer, "tba" became "ymsb" as Yonder shared the stage with Hot Rize to close the 37th Annual RockyGrass.

This Saturday we complete the summer Yonder trilogy, as we celebrate the equinox with Adam Aijala & Ben Kaufmann in the intimate Wildflower Pavilion in Lyons (for the 3rd year in a row!).

We call it the Mabon. The Autumnal Equinox. Pumpkins and bonfires. One final weekend of camping, food, and music on the Planet Bluegrass Ranch. And it's not too late to get your tickets to join us for this Saturday's enchanting celebration...


Plan to spend the day (and night) with us on the Ranch enjoying Mabon revelry. The gates open at 2pm on Saturday to get your campsite setup. We'll be serving New Belgium seasonal beers and wine all day. And, of course, join us after the show for the Mabon bonfire along the St. Vrain River (sorry, no fires in the campground).

We'll be serving up a special Mabon Feast from 5-8pm featuring: wild mushroom gorgonzola soup, caesar salad with grilled chicken, BBQ pulled pork served with homemade roasted corn salsa, and grilled beef burgers with smoked chipotle and roasted red pepper aioli.

The Pavilion doors open at 7pm and Ben & Adam take the stage at 8pm for 2 intimate sets of music - delving deep into the Yonder repertoire, re-discovering fun and obscure covers, and welcoming special guest Elmo Otto. (Check our Facebook Page on Friday for more details about Mr. Otto).

Ticket and camping are still available at shop.bluegrass.com or 800-624-2422. Rally your festivarian family for one more enchanting weekend on Planet Bluegrass. We expect to have a few tickets available on Saturday at the gate - we'll update bluegrass.com if we sellout before then.

We're excited to add two more additional shows to our fall Wildflower Concert Series... in the venue the Daily Camera describes: "like summer camp after the adults have hit the hay."

The supergroup WPA (Works Progress Administration) made their festival debut at this year's Telluride Bluegrass. Sean Watkins (of Nickel Creek), Glenn Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket), and Luke Bulla (Telluride House Band) come to the Wildflower on Saturday, October 17 for an evening of perfect acoustic pop.

Then stars of this year's Telluride Bluegrass (Saturday's NightGrass show at the Sheridan, anyone?) Greensky Bluegrass play 2 epic jamgrass sets at the Wildflower on Saturday, October 24.

The energy is still in the air from last Friday's sold-out Colorado debut of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. If you weren't one of last Friday's lucky few, check out some videos from the euphoric high-energy show.

Hopefully you've already marked your calendar for Boulder Acoustic Society & Gregory Alan Isakov (October 9), and an evening of virtuosic bluegrass duets from David Grier & Mike Compton (November 7). It's going to be a colorful autumn of music in Lyons. Tickets are available for all the remaining fall shows (as well as Saturday's Mabon) at shop.bluegrass.com or 800-624-2422.

Thanks again to everyone who joined us for the 19th Annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. Help us start planning for the 20th anniversary by taking 5 minutes to complete our online festival survey. One randomly-selected survey response will win a pair of tickets to next year's festival.

If you missed out on Folks, have a look at what the Colorado Springs Gazette or Huffington Post had to say. Or check out the Song School feature in the L.A. Times.

Mark your 2010 calendar now for the 20th Annual Folks Festival (Aug 13-15). We'll have details about all the 2010 festival tickets and lotteries in the next few weeks. Watch for our next "Notes from the Planet" for all the details; or for the most up-to-date info follow us on facebook or twitter.

Before or after Saturday's Mabon Celebration, plan to join Planet Bluegrass at the 10th Annual Sustainable Living Fair (Sept 19-20) in Fort Collins. This hands-on, family oriented event is designed to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about modern living practices, renewable energy solutions, environmental & social responsibility in their daily lives, green building, local economies, and much more.

For the $8 cost of admission the Fair offers four diverse keynote speakers, 250 exhibitors and vendors, 75 workshops, several hands-on demonstrations, Planet Youth with a Natural Parenting Nook, Zen Zone, an alternative fuel vehicle showcase, food, live entertainment, and a beer garden.

The fair is open from 10am-6pm on Saturday and 10am-5pm on Sunday. Learn more at: www.sustainablelivingassociation.org. Be sure to stop by the Planet Bluegrass booth for free CDs and your chance to win Wildflower and 2010 festival tickets.

Best,
The Folks on Planet Bluegrass