I have been going to shows regularly for over 15 years. Somewhere along the line, I came to understand that live music is my adopted religion and venues of great renown are, collectively, my house of worship. Being a Deadhead, in particular, is a sect onto itself. Until recently, I only understood this spiritual manifestation in the abstract.

After hanging out with Mike Gordon a bit the night before his show during the Toubab Krewe concert at the Fox Theater, I was more than ready to see his new lineup at the Boulder Theater. I pre-ordered his new album and enjoy listening to it especially on vinyl. Each time I have met him has been a peculiar, but enlightening experience.

It’s felt like eons since David “Dawg” Grisman has played in Boulder. Not that is really been all too long, but since then residents have all sorts of jammy and traditional grass growing underneath them. Theater performances and community picks become increasingly popular and plentiful. A sort of roots resurgence has blossomed and a generation of newgrass players is inheriting while reinventing this tradition. Purists need to a look back a few generations to what Dawg music did for what was then current in bluegrass.

After a great interview on Valentine’s Day with probably the best blues Americana musician alive, it was my pleasure to see him perform at the Boulder Theater. As I approached the theater, I noticed that there were a lot of people looking for extra tickets. I should not have been surprised, but the show was very sold out.

On a cold, snowy Friday night, the inimitable Dr. Ralph Stanley brought the heat to the Boulder Theater in his latest stop on his Man of Constant Sorrow Farewell Tour. Backed by the excellent Clinch Mountain Boys, Dr. Stanley sang some of his best-known songs along with the usual heaping of bluegrass standards made unique by him.

When the collection of talent present in Blue Sky Riders finds itself under the roof of the Boulder Theater, you make sure you get a seat (literally, it was a seated event). While their story is one of chance, their music is no leap of faith.

It was another really cold night in Boulder after night one of an amazing five-night run tradition in the band’s hometown venue, the fabulous Boulder Theater. This band has grown so much in the last decade, and they deserve all the success that they achieve. About fifteen years ago, I was searching for a band to play at my wedding.

Yonder Mountain String Band graced us again this holiday season with a five night run at Boulder Theater. Each night featured a different master musician as a guest for the entire show, and on the third night, December 29, Jerry Douglas, the dobro virtuoso, was our guest star.

New Year’s Eve 2013 was going to be a special night for the Colorado jamband scene before any notes were even played. String Cheese Incident was about to tie a bow on their 20^th anniversary as a Boulder band. Yonder Mountain String Band would soon cap off their 15^th year as a Nederland quartet. And for a certain faction of music lovers, recreational marijuana would become legal to purchase at the stroke of midnight.

Last September a devastating “100 Year Flood” about fifty years overdue devastated parts of Colorado, in particular Boulder County. The historic town of Lyons, a beautiful gateway town to Rocky Mountain National Park and precious wilderness was affected worse than most. The St. Vrain River and other waterways turned the town into a riverbed, destroying and displacing many homes and lives. One of the worst hits was the Planet Bluegrass Ranch. Festivarians celebrated their 41^st Rockygrass Festival last summer a little over a month later the property was underwater.