Telluride Music Festivals Return To Resound In A Colorado Canyon
Few outdoor venues in the West can rival the stop-you-in-your-tracks mountain setting of Telluride, nestled in a tight box canyon in southwestern Colorado and known for both skiing in the winter and music in the summer.
For more than 40 years, many of the greatest performers of their time have come to this small resort town to play for appreciative crowds in renowned open-air performances. Here's what's up for 2025:
The Telluride Americana Music Festival celebrates the grass roots of American music on Friday and Saturday, July 18-19. The festival features singer-songwriters in the intimate setting of the historic Sheridan Opera House. There's a cap on tickets sold.
Five musicians who write and perform their own compositions will hit the stage. Doors open at 7 p.m. and music begins at 8 p.m. Lineup includes Texas country singers Django Walker (son of Jerry Jeff Walker), Corey Morrrow and Calder Allen; award-winning singer and producer Jon Randall; and, festival producer Jack Ingram.
On August 8-10, the long-running Telluride Jazz Festival hits the Town Park stage for three days of jazz, funk and soul. Since 1977, this gathering has attracted some of the biggest names in polyphonic improvisation. Each day, music begins at 1:30 p.m. and runs late into the evening.
A dozen big acts highlight the outdoor venue. The lineup starts with legend Trombone Shorty and New Orleans Ave, and then makes its ways through top-of-the-charts Kamasi Washington, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Cimafunk, West Africa's Kokoroko and more.
Rounding out the summer music festival season will be the Blue & Brews Festival Aug. 29-Sept. 1. Music runs from noon to late night at venues that include Town Park Main Stage, Blues Stage at Town Park, the intimate Campground Stage next door, Sheridan Opera House and various "juke joints" in downtown.
Featured will be some 30 performers -- from solo to big band -- and including Southern rockers Black Crowes, progressive R&B-er Thundercat, singer-songwriter Lukas Nelson (son of Willie Nelson), multi-phonic Samantha Fish, and many more. Dozens of regional brewers will tempt all with specialty beers.
Known for its summer festivals, Telluride also hosts two film festivals, car shows, a comedy confab, horror show weekend, a mushroom festival, a gathering of "original thinkers," and several food-and-wine tastings.
