The 54th annual RockyGrass Festival exceeded all of my expectations. RockyGrass takes place in the small town of Lyons Colorado about 50 miles northeast of Denver. From arrival to departure everything was run smooth and the years of experience shined through. The staff was beyond friendly and sincere beginning at check in which was the calmest and easiest check in I’ve ever experienced at a festival. I was able to arrive Thursday evening for the three day festival, which would officially kick off Friday morning.
     My early  arrival allowed me to attend the band showcase Thursday night which was put on by the RockyGrass Academy. The Academy is a school for all musicians from novice to advanced and it takes place  on the festival site. The showcase took place in the Wildflower Pavilion an intimate indoor stage that would be used over the weekend for the band contest and various workshops. The  Academy starts earlier in the week and  this year‘s academy had children as young as nine years old and seniors well onto their 70s. The talent and passion displayed by these students was unbelievable and the audience of family and friends made for an enjoyable first evening of music and set the tone for what the weekend would become. 

     The festival is broken up into four campgrounds all with a little bit different personality. I was camped in Shady Grove which was furthest away but still only a third of a mile walk from the festival grounds. Shady Grove may have been the quietest of the four yet there was ample amount of late nite picking and the perfect setting for sleeping later in the mornings. It wouldn’t be until Saturday night that I made it to the On Site Campground South which is where most of the musicians, academy students, and bands were camped. This campground has the most treasured campsites and sells out almost instantly. Many of the sites had very impressive jam spaces set up for late night picking jams. On the final night I was able to watch Bela Fleck pick late into the final evening at one of these intimate gatherings. There were many local bands camping who were not performing at the festival but use this festival as an annual gathering reminiscent of a family reunion. They would just add to the organic picking circles for some of the finest late night festival jamming that I’ve ever witnessed. 

      The festival is a quick half mile walk away from the town of Lyons, I would actually start my mornings with a walk into town for breakfast. The town was very welcoming to festival attendees. The temperatures were rather warm with highs in the mid to upper 90s, but unlike New Orleans as soon as the sun went down, it would begin to cool off with lows in the low 70s which is perfect camping weather. The setting itself is very majestic nestled along the St Vrain River which flows right through the festival grounds under picturesque sandstone cliffs. The river provided one of the prime viewing areas of the main stage with people sitting in chairs with their feet in the water while watching and listening to the main stage. 

     RockyGrass is a family event and there’s a family area which has many activities for the kids and a shaded dining tent. The kids area even had an Instrument Petting Zoo which was very popular with the kids. There was a very eclectic selection of food vendors and merchandise vendors. One thing that I immediately noticed, there were speakers all around the vending areas and other areas of the festival where you could hear the main stage, no matter where you were. This worked well since there is only one outdoor stage at this festival and it was nice to be able to walk around, get some food or do some shopping but still hear the main stage music clearly. 

       I was able to witness the tarp run on the first morning which is when attendees wait in line to be handed lottery numbers as to where they will position themselves in the line. Then, when the gates open those with the first numbers are allowed in first and everyone else runs in behind them as they head to the main stage to lay down their tarps and claim their space. It was entertaining and somewhat comical to watch this event. There would be a tarp run each morning. 

        Rocky Grass has an annual band competition of which the winner opens the festival the following year. Last year‘s winner Slay and Stinson would open the festival Friday morning with a very energetic, eclectic and impressive set. They’re based out of the Denver area and provided a blend of Bluegrass and Americana music that set the festival off on a perfect tone. I was so impressed with Slay and Stinson that I made it a point to attend this years band competition on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. This year‘s winner was Ms W's Flower Hour also based out of the Denver area. Keep your eyes and ears open for Ms W’s Flower Hour they’re the whole package with incredible musicianship woven together with a very entertaining show and the old school style of old-time music. The opening round of band contest would  include ten bands performing three songs each of which three of the bands would make it to the finals on Sunday.  Any of the  10 bands that competed in the contest were worthy of winning this event. Congratulations to Ms W’s Flower Hour on winning the 2026 Band Competition. 

      Obviously it’s the main acts that bring the crowds out to any festival and this festival has a number of them. The headliners were female super group I’m With Her on Friday the Sam Bush Bluegrass Band on Saturday and Sunday’s headliner was the Punch Brothers who would close out the weekend on the Main Stage. Other bands who performed many who would’ve fit into the headline slot as well were the Del McCoury Band, Rhiannon Giddens & the Old Time Revue, Tim O’Brien, Della Mae, the Steep Canyon Rangers, Willie Watson and Tony Trishka’s Earl Jam. 

       I'm always looking for the next band that I've never heard of or seen before to steal away my heart and take me on a musical excursion. I was able to see several bands which  met this criteria over the weekend and one of my three favorites was Tanasi who played the second set of the opening day bringing  their World Grass  sound which was blend of Bluegrass and World Music to the crowd which was very moved by the Asheville, North Carolina base band. Another favorite was The Onlies based out of Seattle Washington. I had seen their fiddler Sami Braman on Friday as she and her fiddle accompanied  Willie Watson ( presently and formally of Old Crow Medicine Show.) The Onlies  say they’ve “grabbed this old music we love by the reins and dragged it into the 21st century.” The musicianship and energy that they showed during their set was highly received  by the audience and they certainly got the midday Saturday afternoon fired up. Another one that really impressed me was the Kody Norris Show which brought their incredible and explosive stage presence to the RockyGrass stage. They were formally dressed in their very impressive and colorful Nudie style suits and worked the one microphone set like the true professionals they are. They’re based out of Mountain City in northwestern Tennessee but they project the old school Nashville country sound with perfection. Keep your eyes and ears open for  Tanasi, The Onlies and the Kody Norris Show as they make their ways around the country sharing their music. 

      As I travel to numerous festivals throughout the year, experiencing these different styles of music RockyGrass set itself  apart from all the rest with the combination of its setting under the sandstone cliffs with the flowing St Vrain River  running right through the festival and the comfy host town of Lyons Colorado. RockyGrass is produced by Planet Bluegrass who are the producers of the legendary Telluride Bluegrass Festival and RockyGrass takes place on Planet Bluegrass’s home site. I’m certainly looking forward to attending the 55th annual RockyGrass Bluegrass Festival 2027 and  hope to see some of you there. This festival does sellout each year so to attend will take proper planning. 

     https://bluegrass.com/planet