2009 Lineup
We are thrilled to announce the complete main stage schedule for the 19th Annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (August 14-16, 2009). Headliner after headliner from Friday morning thru Sunday night...
- Friday, August 14
- 10:30am — Gates Open
- 11:15 - 1:00pm — Songwriter Showcase
- 1:15 - 2:15pm — Vance Gilbert
- 2:30 - 3:45pm — Peter Himmelman
- 4:00 - 5:15pm — Mary Gauthier
- 5:30 - 6:45pm — Dougie MacLean
- 7:15 - 8:30pm — Madeleine Peyroux
- 9:00 - 10:30pm — Rufus Wainwright
- Saturday, August 15
- 9:30am — Gates Open
- 10:00 - 11:00am — Chuck E. Costa
- 11:15 - 12:15pm — Amy Speace
- 12:30 - 1:30pm — Joe Pug
- 2:00 - 3:15pm — Will Hoge
- 3:45 - 5:00pm — JJ Grey & Mofro
- 5:30 - 6:45pm — Over the Rhine
- 7:15 - 8:30pm — Susan Tedeschi
- 9:00 - 10:30pm — Don McLean
- Sunday, August 16
- 10:00am — Gates Open
- 11:00 - noon — The Drepung Monks
- 12:15 - 1:30pm — Ben Sollee
- 2:00 - 3:15pm — Blind Pilot
- 3:45 - 5:00pm — Mia Dyson
- 5:30 - 6:45pm — M Ward (solo)
- 7:15 - 8:30pm — Brett Dennen
- 9:00 - 10:30pm — Gillian Welch
Tickets and camping are on sale now - including on-site camping passes. Once you have your tickets connect with your fellow Folks festivarians in the Festivarian Forum. Make sure to sign up for the "Notes from the Planet" email newsletter for all the latest updates.
Gillian Welch is an uncompromising musical renegade with four critically acclaimed albums and a Grammy Award under her belt. Writing and performing with her longtime partner, David Rawlings, they present their haunting songs like rock and roll chamber music, with two acoustic guitars and two voices welded together. Their tunes have been covered by such American legends as Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and Solomon Burke. Their music defies easy categorization -- it embraces, and is in turn embraced by, the pre-eminent ambassadors of folk, bluegrass, R & B, punk, and rock and roll. With its unconventional guitar work, dissonant tones, and forceful simplicity, Welch’s music has a similar spirit to work by other primitive post-moderns. The Los Angeles Times has summed up Welch’s allure best: “At every turn, she demonstrates a spark and commitment that should endear her to anyone from country and folk to pop and rock fans who appreciate imagination and heart.” 
Affectionately referred to by Elton John as “the greatest songwriter on the planet” and praised by The New York Times for his "genuine originality", Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation by carving out his own singular sound. out his own singular sound.
Born to folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Wainwright grew up entrenched in iconic music making. Throughout his adolescent years, Wainwright found solace in opera. He also loved performers such as Edith Piaf, Al Jolson and Judy Garland. His self-titled debut album was released in 1998 to critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone Magazine anointing the work as one of the best albums of the year. His most recent album, Release The Stars has been described as “simultaneously forthright and evasive, urgent as well as coy” (New York Times), “always compelling” (USA Today), and “something special” (People).
After getting his start in the folk clubs of New York City during the mid-'60s, McLean struggled for a number of years, building a small following through his work with Pete Seeger on the Clearwater, a sloop that sailed up and down the eastern seaboard to promote environmental causes. In 1971 that all changed with the release of his eight-and-a-half minute folk-pop epic, "American Pie." Initially inspired by his memories of the death of Buddy Holly in 1959, ‘American Pie’ is autobiographical and presents an abstract story of Don McLean’s life from the mid 1950s until when he wrote the song in the late 1960s. Thirty years later, “American Pie” was voted number 5 in a poll of the 365 “Songs of the Century” compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. But "American Pie" is only the beginning of Don's remarkable catalog of songs: over 40 years of songwriting that includes "Vincent," "And I Love Her So," "Castles in the Air,""Since I Don't Have You," and many others.
Madeleine Peyroux [pronounced like "Peru"] doesn't simply interpret songs, she possesses them...and vice versa. Madeleine Peyroux is either an old soul or was "born with it"; that became apparent in 1996, with the release of her debut album, Dreamland, a remarkably knowing work in which the then-22-year-old singer brought commensurate insightfulness to material associated with Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Patsy Cline. Her decision to cover Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose" reflected the decade that the Georgia-born Peyroux had spent living in Paris, from ages 13 to 22. In the thirteen years since then, she has brought a wealth of life experience to her natural affinities, first manifested on the long-in-coming sophomore album Careless Love and brought to fruition on Peyroux's new album Half the Perfect World. "These love songs all come from an extremely personal place," says Peyroux of the new album, "and therefore allowed me a most intimate reading."
Susan Tedeschi’s knack for musical truth–telling has been apparent in the years since she first captured the public’s musical imagination. Growing up in a Boston suburb, she began singing with local bands at the age of 13, and subsequently pursued her passion for music while studying at the Berklee College of Music. After establishing herself as one of New England’s top–drawing live acts, and making her recording debut, Tedeschi achieved an impressive musical and commercial breakthrough with her 1998 indie release Just Won’t Burn. The album became a massive grass–roots success, achieving Gold sales status and winning Susan a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, alongside such unlikely company as Britney Spears and Kid Rock. Her subsequent albums have encompassed a broad musical and emotional palette, earning her additional Grammy nominations and showcasing her multiple talents as a deeply expressive singer, a soulful and melodic guitarist, and a distinctive, evolving songwriter.
Of the numerous striking qualities Brett Dennen has displayed during his ascendance onto the national music scene, it is perhaps simply his own authenticity that accounts for his remarkable rise in popularity and acclaim. With his long red hair, headband and guitar held high on his stocky frame, he may seem like an unlikely front-man for 2008, but the 28 year-old singer/songwriter/musician is the rare performer that radiates confidence and ease in his own skin, a quality that has earned him an increasingly devoted fan-base and accolades such as Rolling Stone's "10 Artists to Watch in 2008." It's Brett's impact as a live performer, and the undeniable, positive connection he's made with listeners everywhere, that has been essential to his rise. Supporting and touring with artists as diverse as John Mayer (a huge Dennen acolyte), the John Butler Trio, and Colbie Caillat, Brett has played and won over audiences that have little to do with one another except for an incredible reaction to his music.
Mention M. Ward to any folk or guitar aficionado and you’ll be met with an avalanche of praise. Over the past few years, he has found an ever-increasing and dedicated audience; his last three albums—Transfiguration of Vincent, Transistor Radio, and Post-War, all released on the Merge label—have struck a singular chord among music fans. His deft guitar picking, bar room piano, and voice like drizzled honey have also made him a huge favorite of music critics. In 2008, he was part of the duo known as She & Him, a project he began with Zooey Deschanel and whose debut album, Volume One, has enjoyed international success. M. Ward is also renowned for his intricate production work, having helmed not only his own releases but also Jenny Lewis’ much-lauded Rabbit Fur Coat. He has collaborated with some of the world’s best musicians including Gillian Welch, Norah Jones, Conor Oberst, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and Neko Case. A son of southern California, he resides in Portland, Oregon.
Described as "…a musical hero" (Wall Street Journal), Dougie MacLean is renowned for the uniqueness of his meaningful, haunting and emotion-filled music and one of Scotland's greatest musical treasures. Based in Butterstone near Dunkeld in the beautiful Tay Valley in Perthshire Scotland, Dougie's songs have been covered by hosts of artists, including Paolo Nutini, Amy MacDonald, and Kathy Mattea, and his song, "Caledonia," has become one of Scotland's most popular contemporary songs. His music has been used in Hollywood films ("Last of the Mohicans"), TV dramas (the BBC's "A Mug's Game") ,and he has been the subject of three BBC TV music documentaries. He has also been featured in "Transatlantic Sessions," "Scotland's Music," the BBC's "Hogmanay Show," and his music is regularly featured on more than 300 radio stations in the USA on the NPR-Award-winning "Thistle & Shamrock" program.
After more than 15 years making music, it’s obvious Ohio duo Over The Rhine is in it for the long haul, and for keeps. Their commitment is underscored by the opening track to their latest CD, “I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time,” a manifesto of sorts for the artists recently named to Paste magazine’s list of 100 Best Living Songwriters. To call Over the Rhine’s followers “fanatical” would understate the point. Why? For starters, there’s Karin Bergquist’s torchy, devil-may-care voice, brimming with Midwestern soul, unafraid to lay bare every emotional resonance. And again, there’s the life-and-death commitment dripping from her every word. “I’m either into it or I’m not, because there’s no faking it with me,” Bergquist notes. “Life’s way too short for that.” Together with her husband, Linford Detweiler, the evocative, earthy songwriting and impassioned delivery celebrates American music in the most richly imaginative ways.
A truly multi-faceted musician, Peter Himmelman is an Emmy-nominated TV
composer, an acclaimed creator of children's music, and a critically lauded
rock troubadour. In 1985, Himmelman released This Father's Day, which
Rolling Stone called "stunning." The Rolling Stone Album Guide, called 1989's Synesthesia "a delight", awarding it with four stars. Time heralded Himmelman as one of "the New Troubadours" upon the release of his
Epic debut From Strength to Strength, asserting that he writes "songs with
the same emphatic edge and aesthetic urgency that impelled the Lost
Generation to write novels." During the '90s, Himmelman, expanded his musical
horizons to scoring a number of television shows and films, including the
Disney series Bug Juice, NBC's American Embassy, and the Touchstone film Crossing The Bridge. In 2002, he earned an Emmy nomination for his work on Judging Amy, a show he has scored since 1999. He is currently scoring the
show Bones on Fox and the new ABC hit, Men In Trees. This troubadour has found no limits to his
ability, nor do any seem waiting to stop him.
Mary Gauthier’s (pronounced "go-shay") latest album, Between Daylight and Dark, is filled with both hope and anguish, with faith as well as fear. Mary Gauthier knows these places well, having traveled through a night that had stretched into years, from a turbulent Louisiana childhood through odd juxtapositions of accomplishment and devastation. The result is reflected in the music, starting as a trickle of songs almost from the moment of her sobriety and swelling into the stream that fed her first two self-released albums, an indie-label release, and her stunning Lost Highway debut (Mercy Now). Acclaim has followed Mary. Mercy Now was continuously “discovered” and lauded in the two years following its release, earning mentions on a score of year end “best of” lists in ’05, including the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and No Depression. The album even received a benediction from Bob Dylan, who included one of its songs on a playlist for his XM Satellite Radio program.
Like Florida’s state flower, the orange blossom, musician JJ Grey’s songs are fascinating, beautiful, and complex. Both are products of the same ground: the rich, fertile and ancient soil of the Sunshine State. Born and raised just outside of Jacksonville, Florida, Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern musical storytellers and, like the best of the great Southern writers, he fills his songs with details that are at once vivid and personal, political and universal. Relix Magazine writes "[JJ] is oozing with a deep Southern soul that fills every corner." His multi-textured music overflows with dynamic rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. From raw funk to deep soul, blues and rock, JJ and his band Mofro consistently deliver devastating performances. As a performer, Grey is influenced by the sexually charged blues of Howlin' Wolf, the country soul of George Jones, the hard funk of James Brown, and the smooth R&B of Donny Hathaway.
Will Hoge is what some refer to in the business today as a "career" artist, a dedicated, straight-talking guy more interested in longevity than a hit single, in building a fan base than winning a Grammy. "In my mind I don't have a choice. I want a career in music, and to me, a ‘career' is not five years, but 35." In life, and on his brilliant new album, Draw the Curtains, Hoge follows in the footsteps of musical archetypes like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Hank Williams, Van Morrison, Patty Griffin, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. These artists inspire him not just for their work, but for their approach to their art. They exist outside the traditional economic constraints of "success" and "failure," and do their own thing on their own time. In a way, Hoge himself is homeless. That is, if you don't think of a tour bus as home. That's where he spends most of his time, 200 nights a year, zig-zagging the country, doing what the good Lord put him on this earth to do. He headlines most of those dates, but has also played supporting slots for the Black Crowes, My Morning Jacket and the Drive-By Truckers, among many others, as well as dates at Bonnaroo and the Austin City Limits festival.
The band Blind Pilot literally rode a pair of bicycles to success. The folk-pop outfit, formed by singer-guitarist Israel Nebeker and drummer Ryan Dobrowski, has taken two bike tours, playing its music all along the West Coast. The first of these two tours was supposed to run from Vancouver all the way down to the Mexican border. Unfortunately, the trip was cut short when the band's bikes were stolen outside San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art (Check out the NPR story). Nebeker and Dobrowski met in college at the University of Oregon. Although based in Portland, the pair wrote many of the songs in the coastal town of Astoria, where the two friends spent a summer living in an old cannery building with no plumbing. Blind Pilot is on another tour now, with six members, and this time they're all traveling by van. It's a far cry from those first bike trips, where they didn't even have a support vehicle to haul gear. The indie-folk duo is now a colorful and dynamic sextet (including banjo, vibes, trumpet) with a critically acclaimed debut Three Rounds & a Sound, which Paste Magazine calls "quite wonderful." Like a wistful mix of The Shins with a bit of Iron & Wine folksiness, Blind Pilot has been called the next break-out band from Portland.
Mia Dyson, Australia’s ARIA award‐winning (Grammy equivalent) and beloved Blues rocker, has landed in the United States and will inevitably take this country by storm! The combination of soulful lyrics, extraordinary guitar playing, and her gritty, yet gorgeously haunting voice are a winning formula. Mia broke into the Australian music industry with success at radio and ARIA nominations for each of her three albums in the “Best Female Artist” and won an ARIA for “Best Blues & Roots Album” for her second release Parking Lots. Mia’s reputation and outstanding performances and brilliant musicianship garnered her national tours opening for iconic artists including Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and Joe Cocker. Mia has been featured at many major music events including Montreaux Jazz festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, and Central Park NY Summer Stage w/ Ani DiFranco. Rolling Stone Magazine's 4-star review describes Cold Water as "a stark, soulful wonder, driven by Dyson’s husky temptress of a voice and her very spare, very bluesy guitar picking and strumming."
Possessing a commanding voice, a distinctive melodic sensibility and an uncanny knack for nailing complex emotions in song, Amy Speace makes music that’s both illuminating and effortlessly accessible. Raised in small-town Pennsylvania, Speace initially had her sights set on a career as a playwright/actor, touring with the prestigious National Shakespeare Company. After moving to New York, she taught herself to play guitar, setting her poetry to music. With her debut album in hand - recorded with $5000 donated by fans - Amy become a full-time musician, booking herself into every club, café and college that would have her. After catching a performance at SXSW, Amy was brought to the attention of Judy Collins, who signed her to her Wildflower label. While her 2006 release Songs for Bright Street won her a loyal international fan base, her latest The Killer In Me finds Amy forging into deeper, darker lyrical and musical terrain, delivering an album of startling intimacy and resonance.
Vance Gilbert burst onto the singer/songwriter scene in the early 90's when buzz started spreading in the folk clubs of Boston about an ex-multicultural arts teacher who was knocking 'em dead at open mics. Once word got to New York about this Philadelphia-area born and raised performer, Shawn Colvin invited Gilbert to be a special guest on her Fat City tour. Gilbert took audiences across the country by storm. Boston Globe describes his 2000 Somerville Live album as the disc "young songwriters should study the way law students cram for bar exams." Vance's latest Up On Rockfield finds Gilbert exploring and unabashedly celebrating the influence of various songwriters and performers - each song is penned by Vance as if he was co-writing with some of his musical heroes, from Van Morrison to Tom Waits, Prince to Bob Dylan.
It was the cat-poles around the lake at his grandfather’s farm that inspired Ben Sollee’s debut album Learning To Bend. The frailty of those awkward looking plants standing stoutly against winds that challenged even the strongest of nearby trees is an affecting metaphor for human struggle and perseverance. Ben has found considerable success in recent years through his ability to bend. In 2007, he was named one of NPR’s “Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year.” His distinctive cello technique and soulful voice have been marinating for years in his work with avant-garde bluesman Otis Taylor, The Sparrow Quartet, (featuring banjo-master Béla Fleck), and on the internationally known Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. Ben’s unique performance experience and creative vision trump his 24 years and traditional classical training; he is poised to emerge as a solo artist, bridging genres and demographics with earnest and dynamic songwriting.
We begin our Sunday morning with some of the world's most sacred and spiritual music. Featuring the famed multiphonic singers of Drepung Loseling monastery, The Mystical Arts of Tibet shows have taken the world by storm. Endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a means of promoting world peace and healing through sacred performing art, the Drepung Monks have been featured on major film soundtracks (Seven Years in Tibet, Kundun), performed at the 1996 olympic opening ceremonies, and shared stages with Philip Glass, Paul Simon, Sheryl Crow, Michael Stipe, and the Beastie Boys.
The day before his senior year as a playwright student at the University of North Carolina, Joe Pug sat down for a cup of coffee and had the clearest thought of his life: I am profoundly unhappy here. Joe packed up his belongings and drove the longest route possible to Chicago. Working as a carpenter by day, the 23 year-old Pug spent nights playing the guitar he hadn't picked up since his teenage years. The songs were recorded fast and fervently at a Chicago studio where a friend snuck him in to late night slots other musicians had cancelled. He released his debut EP, Nation of Heat, last April to widespread acclaim. Since then Joe has played shows with Todd Snider, Susan Tedeschi, Kasey Chambers, and James Hunter.
Chuck E. Costa is a fresh voice delivering a mix of unique, intimate and honest songs that draw on a range of influences unfettered by time or place, defying common labels like "folk-pop." After receiving a degree in philosophy and studying with poet Lorna Dee Cervantes, Chuck moved to the Northeast to write and play music. With the tacit goal of challenging his audiences to think (or re-think) about what may often be taken for granted, Chuck's songwriting has been recognized by NPR's All Songs Considered and the Mountain Stage Newsong Festival. His powerful and sincere vocals (comparisons range from Jonathan Edwards to Michael Stipe) and acoustic guitar delivery seamlessly complement the lyrical content of the songs. Chuck was raised in New York City, part of an Italian family with a mother from Norway, which may be partly responsible for the creative breadth of his musical expression.
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| Folks Fest stage |
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In addition to the main stage, look for more performances in our Wildflower Pavilion throughout the festival. But don't wait - 3-day passes, single-day tickets, and camping are available right now.
Connect with your fellow Folks festivarians and share your favorite Folks Fest memories in the Festivarian Forum.
Make sure to sign up for the "Notes from the Planet" email newsletter for all the latest updates.