Telluride Bluegrass Festival 2011 // Nights

When night falls at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the beauty of still-snowcapped peaks and late-melt waterfalls gives way to starry skies, the vibe changes. Dusty and sunblocked nouveau-hippy cowgirls don puffy down jackets in preparation for the steep drop in temperature that accompanies the headline acts they came to see.

And then they wait.

bluegrass fan with horns

And play with beach balls.

Beach Ball high in the Air, Set Against the Mountainous Backdrop of TellurideCrowd at Telluride Bluegrass Festival at Duskbeach-ball-telluride-evening

And eat chicken.

Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Chicken Vendor

And then, finally, the stage lights come on.

Sarah Mclachlan at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, 2011Old Crow Medicine Show, Telluride Bluegrass Festival 2011Colorado State FlagMumford and Sons join Old Crow Medicine Show on Stage, Telluride 2011old crow medicine show, joined by mumford and sons, telluride 2011

This year, our first at the festival (after years of my father trying to talk us into attending), we saw Sarah Mclachlan (pictured, top) on opening night, and Old Crow Medicine Show (pictured three times above, in the last two joined by a very-late-for-their-opera-house-engagement-downtown Mumford and Sons) on Saturday night.

When we left both shows, we walked down main street and saw festivarians pouring out of local bars and cafes, often enjoying live music in more intimate settings like the Last Dollar Saloon…

Telluride Bar, Bluegrass Festival Evening

And the Telluride Opera House.

On the way to see Mumford and Sons at Telluride Opera House

Perhaps most importantly, we found a hot dog stand…

Hot Dog Stand Downtown Telluride

And some excellent night tacos…

Telluride Night Tacos!

Gear: Nikon D700, Nikon 85mm f/1.4
Processing: Cinnamon Rose ACR Presets (upcoming) – la playa, sessions e, and telluride

Mitchell McKenna - July 8, 2011 - 11:50 pm

The 1st photo, and the one of the flag against the crowd, powerful photos. I’m also jealous of all the little treasures you know about in downtown.

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