As the fog turned to rain and then back to fog, the ominous tone set by the weather created a fitting mood for a climactic end to the festival. The third day of Outside Lands largely focused on genres born in our own backyard. From living legends with decades of experience revolutionizing their genres to fresh faces who have seemingly appeared out of nowhere to define this year’s summer soundtrack, there was an undeniable spotlight on artists representing their roots in the American Midwest and South.

Often resembling a real-life musical snow globe in the California’s high Sierra, the eighth annual WinterWonderGrass-Tahoe, April 5 to 7, brought a hardy bunch of musicians – and resilient attendees – to Palisades Tahoe ski resort, in the midst of the Olympic Village that hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics.

Making Room 41 nearly killed Paul Cauthen. Ironically enough, it’s also the very thing that saved him.

“Finishing this record was one of the craziest experiences I’ve ever been a part of,” reflects Cauthen, the larger-than-life Texas troubadour nicknamed Big Velvet for his impossibly smooth, baritone voice. “I’m honestly glad it’s done because I don’t thinkI’d survive if I had to do it all over again. No way.”