Steamboat - Day 1
Day one of music started off great with an early 1:30 set on the outside stage! Wade Bowen kicked off Musicfest better that any other day 1 that I’ve been to in years. It was great to have the first show outside with a beautiful mountain backdrop… it really set up that right vibe that you need to engage music up here. As cold as it was out there, Wade and the boys played an awesome set that everyone really seemed to get into including the band. Next up was Jack Ingram… a band that traditionally I’ve not been too fond of. But I’ve got to say that Jack won me over in that short set because the energy, stage presence and music was nothing short of phenomenal. And yes.. that is Frenchy playing lead in the picture below… good to see him back on stage.
After a quick trip back to the condo for some dinner we made the walk down to the tent to see Dub Miller. I’ve got to say that I sorely underestimated this show. I showed up expecting to see a cool reunion show with Dub Miller, Brady Black, Adam Odor, Les Lawless and Matt Skinner. What I saw was a wheels off show that would give ANY band in this scene a run for their money… and that’s after not playing together since last year. It’s shows like that.. that make Steamboat what it is. Here’s a clip of Brady going to town…
We left the tent where Cory Morrow and Roger Creager were about to take the stage, but based on the crowd coming in.. I don’t think we were missed. Bonnie Bishop (with Adam Hood playing lead) was playing over at Bear River and we got there just in time to snag some front row seating. I’ve seen Bonnie off and on since Steamboat 2 years ago and she sounds better than I’ve ever heard. She played a few songs off her new album which she says is more blues based and all I can say is wow. I can’t wait for that one to drop. Ryan James took the stage next and had Ryan Turner play with him which was another great treat for the day. What a freaking fun show that was the perfect way to end the night… complete with Cory Morrow coming up and playing a song. These two guys are 2 of my favorites that I don’t get much of a chance to see on a regular basis… that is definitely going to change this coming year.
I’ll leave you with one more picture that capped the day off of making snowangels on the way back to the condo! That about does it for day 1 and after looking at the schedule, day 2 looks to be even better!
Comments
I miss it all, got a couple of calls yesterday to let me know what I was missing. Hoping I’ll be able to go next year.
That clip of Brady epitomizes what Dub and the Hwy 6 band were capable of doing to a stage circa 2002ish. They were always very intense and impressive, glad the reunion show was awesome again. Also glad that Tank finally understands why I was so passionate about Jack all these years.
How could day 2 possibly be better!??! Wade and Jack in the same show?!!? Then the Dub Miller reunion, Bonnie and Adam AND the Ryan’s. The only 2 missing in my book would be RRB and Brandon, and I heard they were in attendance at an acoustic show as well. I don’t miss the snow but I dang sure miss the music. And all of you… yeah, that too.