Music in the Mountains

The dust from Country Jam will barely settle before July's music scene starts dusting up something for everyone's tastes all over western Colorado.

On July 1 Carbon Leaf appears as part of the Sunset Concert Series in Telluride. (The series' free concerts start at 6 p.m. each Wednesday at Sunset Plaza in Mountain Village.)

The following night catch the Centennial Band as it performs concert band classics at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 2, at Fruita's Civic Center.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals kick off the Fourth of July weekend at Telluride. They'll appear from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, July 3, at Sunset Plaza.

Wednesday, July 8, hook up with John Lee Hooker, Jr., again at Sunset Plaza. An accomplished blues musician, he is the son of the legendary Johnny Lee Hooker. Count on  him to play some hits from his Grammy-nominated album, All Odds Against Me.

Back in Fruita, the following night Hard Promises plays at 7:30 p.m. as part of the 2009 Thursday Night Summer Concert Series. They bill themselves as a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band.

Want something more traditional?  Head to the Grand Mesa Shelter at Longs Family Memorial Park right by Central High School to hear the Centennial Band.   At 7:30 p.m. it will deliver marches, classics, patriotic songs and other crowd-pleasers. 

Run over to Rifle Friday, July 10, to take in the Midnight Sun Music Festival. It features Skid Row, Kahuna Beach Party and Unwritten Law.

Or, head south to Telluride on Saturday, July 11, for George Clinton, founder of two bands in the '70's, Parliament and Funkadelic.  A doo-wop singer in the '50's who hailed first from North Carolina and then New Jersey, Clinton is bound to bring some fantastic R&B to Colorado.

Also on July 11 Quemando, a popular Latin band, performs a benefit concert for the Child & Migrant Services at Grande River Vineyards in Palisade. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

Round out the weekend Sunday, July 12, at Grande River by taking in the Boys of Summer, a Don Henley/Eagles tribute band.  Gates open at 3 p.m., and the concert begins an hour later.

Give yourself a three-day breather before enjoying The Iguanas at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15, at the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park. (If you didn't score tickets, start calling your family and friends to shake loose some extra ones!)

The next night, Fruita's Civic Pavilion is taken over by Hamilton Loomis, whose artistry in rock, soul and blues is well-known to Western Slope fans. He'll appear at 7:30 p.m. at Fruita's Civic Pavilion.

The Centennial Band continues its tradition of offering all-American favorites in various parks in Grand Junction with a 7:30 p.m. performance at Spring Valley Park off 27 1/2 Road and Patterson on July 16.

The following Tuesday, July 21, Bryan Savage, a saxophonist from Glenwood Springs, continues the Jazz Among the Grapevines Series at Two Rivers Winery. The concert, priced at $10, will benefit the Western Colorado Center for the Arts. Tickets are available at Two Rivers Winery, City Market, the Art Center or at the gate the night of the performance.   

Texas native James McMurtry gets a chance to experience the mountain-town ambience of Telluride Wednesday, July 22 by playing 6-8 p.m. in the Sunset Concert Series. Concert-goers get a chance to hear McMurtry's astute musical observations on the human condition before his band and he head to Europe in the fall.  ("We Can't Make it Here," his diatribe against social injustice, has been seen more than 150,000 times on YouTube.)

 The fourth Thursday of the month, July 23, brings Pineapple Crackers, a local reggae, Hawaiian and rock group, to the stage at the Fruita Pavilion. (They were the musicians who entertained the crowd early on at the Sarah Palin rally last fall.)

At 7:30 that same night the Centennial Band brings its unique sounds to the Mesa County Fairgrounds.

Scott Betts and Hot Tubb Jazz will polish Palisade's reputation as a mecca for both wine and music by performing at the Wine Country Inn Friday, July 24.

The next night, Saturday, July 25, relive your youth with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, still performing together after 40+ years. Catch them at the Avalon Theatre. Tickets are $35 and are available at City Market and Tickets West. Or call 243-TIXS.

Wednesday, July 29, guitarist and vocalist Coco Montoya puts on a blues-rock performance befitting of the legendary town he'll play in-where else but Telluride?

The next night Desert Moon, a local country band who also belts out some southern rock, plays in the Fruita Summer Concert Series at the Fruita Pavilion.

Thursday, July 30, is also the night that Firefall finishes up the Colorado Riverfront Series with a performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. Start humming "You are the Woman" now to remember the words; they're sure to play it, and who wouldn't want to sing along with one of Colorado's most beloved bands?