Sunshine, songs and six strings filled the mountain air of the 2025 WinterWonderGrass Music Festival this past weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Now in its twelve year, WWG has grown from its humble parking lot beginnings to a multi-state, multi-genre, world-class music festival and music fan destination. WWG is special for so many people largely from its grassroots community vibe and stunning locations. The army of staff, volunteers, production personnel, restaurants, beer vendors, musicians, sponsors and fans all come together as one, creating a unique communal musical experience.
The amount of planning and hard work behind the scenes is staggering. From sun-up to deep into the night, the festival machine is churning away with carefully crafted creativity and attention to detail. The fact that these yearly events are held at majestic and adventurous surroundings is no accident. The sheer thought of carving turns on the mountain by day and rocking your soul all night by incredibly talented bands of many genres is simply genius. Steamboat Resort supplied the breathtaking backdrop and the rest was up to everyone on site working together in harmony.
The weather was stunning with abundant sunshine, with a mix of calm clouds by day and typically chilly temps by night. The guests were dressed in their warmest clothes, some still in their downhill boots, sipping beers, laughing with friends and warming up inside heated tents or huddled in front of the main stage enjoying the outside action. I must say the production aspect on all of the stages was excellent with great sound and lighting. Bands rotated on and off the stages, giving fans many different opportunities to catch their favorite acts or acts they have never seen. The site was really well laid out for music and for getting what you needed to fill your belly and your mug.
The hills were alive with the sounds of Americana, bluegrass, rock, jam grass, psychedelic country and more. This year's musical line-up was extraordinary, giving the fans a vivid musical palette to soak into their bundled up souls. Friday night was a pickin’ party for the ages. The main stage featured Shadow Grass, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, Pickin’ on The Dead, Sam Bush Band and Kitchen Dwellers closing out the night. There was plenty more music emanating from the inside, heated tent stages, pretty much every direction you turned there were songs to fill the air.
On the mountain was 'Grass After Dark'; these special ticketed shows were held in the evenings in the warmth and charm of the Grand Ballroom of The Grand Hotel and The Thunderhead Lodge, which was just a quick gondola ride up Steamboat Mountain. Music also filled downtown Steamboat with shows at the Old Town Pub and The Press. There was so much music happening at different times in different environments, keeping your senses on full alert. There were acoustic music workshops for all ages and much more to fill your musical plate every day.
Saturday, day number two on the mountain, again yielded beautiful sunshine, mile-high smiles, friendly faces, wonderful food and drinks by the numerous vendors. Once again a wide variety of incredible music was never far from your position on site. The merchandise tent was bustling with folks picking up cool swag from their favorite bands. Each day, the festival also provided free beer tastings from 2-4:00 pm. This is a WWG tradition that is welcomed with open arms every year, giving folks an opportunity to check out new beers and get acquainted with one another inside the massive heated tents. Main stage acts included The Fretliners, Mountain Grass Unit, Brothers Comatose, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country and closing out the evening was Leftover Salmon. Many other bands also performed on the tent stages.
Sunday, the final day of the festival, was exceptional with talent stacked as high as the mountain peaks visible from all corners of the venue. The gates opened, the people poured in and the beer flowed freely from the numerous bars around the festival site. It’s always a little bittersweet when a festival is on its last day. You're a bit tired and you don’t want it to end, but in your mind you had the best time of your life and you can’t wait to come back. The main stage was a kaleidoscope of talent starting with Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, WinterWonderWomen, Yonder Mountain String Band, The California Honeydrops and a wonderful finale featuring Trampled By Turtles. Holy cow WWG! You once again brought it and brought it big!!
Here are two quotes from two very special artists who performed at WinterWonderGrass 2025. Grateful Web spoke with Emma Rose from WinterWonderWomen and she said, “WinterWonderGrass is like a family reunion every year for me. It's an opportunity for us all to get together and have giant party in the middle of the winter, making February/March my favorite time of year”. We also spoke with first-time WWG musician Dana Giove, bass player and one of the vocalists for Pickin’ On The Dead, and here is what he had to say. “WWG is kind of overwhelming for me with the sheer scope and size of the event. I have never played in front of such a large audience with such great stage production. The experience has been trial by fire for me and I really am having the time of my life”.
Ok, now it’s time for me to get a little personal with ya’ll. I must share an incredible experience I had with some old and new friends on Saturday afternoon at WinterWonderGrass. This very special event was The Fretliners Fish Fry Backstage Tailgate Party that occurred before their afternoon set. I ran into my friend Tom Knowlton, singer and guitar slinger of the Fretliners, and he informed me that he and his partner Jenny Lynn de Groot and Derek Blake caught some beautiful rainbow trout while ice fishing at Stagecoach Lake and Steamboat Lake State Park the previous morning. My excitement level was pegged in the red when Tom invited me to join them for lunch. I could smell the fish cooking from out in the audience and I was eager to get back to the truck to try Tom’s recipe. The cook stove on the tailgate of his truck was on high heat boiling the oil for the freshly caught fish. Tom had his favorite New Orleans seasoning mix and a hearty dose of gleam in his eye as he showed me the prep and cooking process. Once it was all done, I tried a piece and was blown away by the taste and texture of the meal, and even more so the experience of friends together enjoying each other's company. WinterWonderGrass has that family vibe and it was a wonderful opportunity that I will always cherish. I saw and heard a lot of music over the weekend, but this impromptu friendship encounter was all rock n’ roll!
WWG is so much more than a music festival; it’s an outpouring of love, community, sustainability, and gratitude for our surroundings. Each event encourages and supports sustainable event production practices. Recycling and compost stations are abundant as well as kid zones, multiple stages and a vast array of artists to entertain you for three days. A portion of proceeds from each WWG event is donated to local charitable organizations. Food vendors and local craft beer are everywhere on site at affordable prices with lots of variety to choose from.
Thank you to the WWG staff, volunteers, security, artists and of course the fans who traveled from all over our state and other parts of the country to attend. Special thanks to all of the production crews that worked tirelessly to put on a great live music event. Many of you are still there taking it all down and packing it up. Another special thanks goes out to the numerous sound crews for making it sound so sweet. Last but not least, and I feel comfortable speaking for every photographer on site, we would like to thank Brad Wilson for lighting the main stage with style and class. It sure made for some great pictures!
