Saturday – September 1st
Music begins at noon.
- The Long Players – Tribute to The Byrds
- Joe Robinson
- Guitar Army featuring John Jorgenson, Lee Roy Parnell, Joe Robinson
- Rodney Crowell
- Hooker, John & Harry
- Richie Furay
- Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Sunday – September 2nd
Music begins at noon.
- Country Showdown – Colorado State Finals
- The Long Players – Tribute to Tom Petty
- Marc Broussard
- Christie Lenée
- Lee Roy Parnell
- The Mavericks
Saturday Performers
The Long Players
The Long Players are a group of Nashville-based musicians who have, since 2004, taken classic albums and performed them live in their original sequence. Recruiting guest artists from their exceptional musical community, the band has celebrated well over 50 seminal albums over the last eleven years and gained national notoriety with features by NPR Radio and in The Associated Press.
Their faithful renditions of LP’s like Bob Dylan’s “Blonde On Blonde” (with sidemen from the original album, Al Kooper and Charlie McCoy sitting in) or The Rolling Stones “Sticky Fingers” (when Stones sax man Bobby Keys sat in), have raised the bar of what “playing in a cover band” is all about. These shows are treated by both the fans and the band as a celebration of the music that shaped their lives.
The founding members of The Long Players include Bill Lloyd (from 80’s RCA country hit-makers Foster & Lloyd), Steve Allen (from LA power-pop icons 20/20), Steve Ebe (from Human Radio) and Garry Tallent (Bruce Springsteen’s E. St. Band).
Since Tallent rejoined his “other” band for another round of touring all over the globe, The Long Players have been fortunate enough to enlist musician/record producer, Brad Jones (who has worked with Josh Rouse, Jill Sobule, Hayes Carll and many others) to take over the bass duties.
Ricky Skaggs
Ricky is a 2018 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee!
Ricky is a 15-time GRAMMY Award-winner and Grand Ole Opry winner who continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music. His last 12 albums have been nominated for GRAMMY Awards! He is a perennial winner of International Bluegrass Music Association Awards for Best Bluegrass Album.
Rodney Crowell
Rodney is a multiple GRAMMY Award winner. He is also an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and a Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Hall of Fame Member, whose writing credits include the #1 songs, “Please Remember Me” (performed by Tim McGraw), “Making Memories of Us” (performed by Keith Urban) and Top 10 songs “Ashes By Now” (performed by Lee Ann Womack) and “Song for the Life” (performed by Alan Jackson).
Joe Robinson
Joe is a world-class virtuoso guitarist and singer/songwriter with a unique musical sensibility, injecting a unique fusion of rock, blues, R&B and jazz into a fresh sound entirely his own. He’s known for his current solo acoustic & electric shows. He was voted “Best New Talent” in the Guitar Player Readers’ Poll and landed a coveted spot as one of Australian Guitar Magazine’s Top 50 Best Guitarists. His talents were further recognized by Guitar Player magazine as part of a cover story entitled “Youthquake 2017: Ten Mind-Blowing Young Guitarists.” In the article, Guitar Player observes Robinson is “equally mind-blowing as an acoustic fingerpicker and electric soloist…his YouTube videos display an astounding combination of taste, speed, cagey phrasing, and a clear, articulate, and sparking tone.” At 16 years old, Joe won “Australia’s Got Talent” television series competition. He is working on a new album for release later this year. The Washington Post has said this about Joe: “It’s not hard to imagine him rivaling the popularity of, say, John Mayer in coming years.”
Guitar Army
Guitar Army is comprised of three world-class musicians: John Jorgenson, Lee Roy Parnell, and Joe Robinson. The three distinct guitarists, singers and songwriters, along with their band, join forces to perform each show in enthralling five-piece super group fashion. Their show is a full-on, captivating display of guitar prowess. It’s a magical combination of virtuosos rarely seen on one stage — a triple-threat featuring compelling songs, soulful singing, and of course, blistering guitar playing.
Richie Furay
Legendary singer-songwriter and author RICHIE FURAY is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his work with Buffalo Springfield, a group he formed with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin. In addition, he was recently inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame for his work with Poco, alongside bandmates Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham, and Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit.
Before Buffalo Springfield, Furay performed with Stills in the nine-member group, the Au Go Go Singers (Roy Michaels, Rick Geiger, Jean Gurney, Michael Scott, Kathy King, Nels Gustafson, Bob Harmelink, and Furay & Stills), which was the house band for the famous Cafe Au Go Go in New York City.
Sunday
Colorado State Final of the Country Showdown
The 32nd Annual Country Showdown is designed to find the most promising country music talent in America and to give these performers a chance to launch their professional music careers.
The Country Showdown begins each Spring with over 450 local talent contests sponsored by country music radio stations throughout the US. Winners advance to their respective State competitions held at leading fairs and expositions. Acts then compete for a $1,000 prize, the State Title and the opportunity to advance to one of five Regional Finals. It’s the last step before the prestigious National Final held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. The audience cheers on the Regional Winners, as they compete for the Grand Prize of $100,000 and the National Title. A uniform judging system is used at all levels of competition to help ensure fairness.
Marc Broussard
Marc Broussard is an artist with a unique gift of channeling the spirits of classic R&B, rock and soul into contemporary terms. This gift has been a matter of common knowledge since 2002, when Broussard released his debut album, Momentary Setback, which he recorded and released independently at age 20. It was no secret before then, going back to those lucky witnesses who heard him belt “Johnny B. Goode” onstage at age 5 while sitting in with his father’s band. Throughout his life, Broussard has been tapped as a talent to watch.
Marc’s song “Home” was successful at radio and catapulted him onto the national touring stage. His music has been placed in many TV shows and movies. The timeless, soulful nature of Marc’s vocal lends well to Film and TV, and will continue to do so for years to come.
Christie Lenée
2017 International Fingerstyle Guitar Champion Christie Lenée is a captivating performer with a devoted following among instrumental, folk-pop and rock band audiences. Combining guitar mastery, contemporary singer/songwriter and a passion for storytelling, she thrives on bringing people together through the language of music.
Christie’s unique guitar work and profound instrumental compositions are well described as‘Michael Hedges meets Joni Mitchell and Dave Matthews.’ Among the vast community of fingerstyle and tapping guitarists, her niche is the integration of melodic pop lyricism with catchy hooks that excite both modern commercial listeners and classic purists. With a menu of percussive and sonic effects, and larger than life sounding instruments, her solo shows embody layers of orchestral elements with a wide array of dynamics and harmonic textures.
Lee Roy Parnell
Lee Roy is a multiple GRAMMY Award nominee known as one of the best slide guitarists in the world. He’s also recognized for his blue-eyed soul vocals and award-winning songwriting. His long list of hits include “A Little Bit Of You,” “What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am,” “Tender Moment,” “Love Without Mercy,” “On The Road,” “I’m Holding My Own,” “When A Woman Loves A Man,” and “Heart’s Desire.” Gibson has honored Parnell with the creation and production of the Lee Roy Parnell Signature ’57 Les Paul Goldtop guitar. Parnell has toured/collaborated with many music legends including The Allman Brothers Band, Merle Haggard, Delbert McClinton, and Bonnie Raitt. In 2011, Parnell was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, joining the likes of such talented composers as Kris Kristofferson, Rodney Crowell, JD Souther, Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, and others. In late 2017, Parnell released his first new album in over a decade — the critically-acclaimed Midnight Believer — on Vector Recordings/BFD. Midnight Believer made All Music’s “Best of 2017 Favorite Blues Albums” list alongside releases by Jonny Lang, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Guy Clark Jr., Robert Cray and Delbert McClinton. Parnell and Midnight Believer received vast praise in a brand new Vintage Guitar review that called the album “one of the most pleasant surprises from 2017’s record releases” and noted that the song “‘Too Far Gone’ features a gorgeous, melodic solo that is warm enough to melt ice.”
The Mavericks
The Mavericks are GRAMMY, Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association and Americana Music Association Award-winners known for their incredible live performances. They’re an eclectic band, combining neo-traditional country music, Latin, rock, pop, and rockabilly influences. Their hits include “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” “What A Crying Shame,” “Oh What A Thrill,” “There Goes My Heart” and “Here Comes The Rain.”
