Mike Farris wows the outdoor crowd at this year’s Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Photos by .
By Susan Viebrock
sang gospel on Sunday morning. His set, his sentiment, summed up : 36 years and counting, the music festival second to none never fails to take Festivarians higher and higher.
Telluride Bluegrass is the flagship event of Planet Bluegrass, an umbrella organization which also includes Rockygrass, the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, band and troubadour contests, record production and lots more.
Year after year, Telluride Bluegrass, since 1989 under the direction of Craig Ferguson and Steve Szymanski, features names you know — this year, dobro giant Jerry Douglas, Grammy winner Tim O’Brien, Queen of Rock & Roll, Emmylou Harris, rock stars Elvis Costello and David Byrne, rebel with a cause Todd Snider — and names you will want to know — Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson, Greensky Bluegrass and Mike Farris.
Mike’s story begins in rural Tennessee and winds down a rocky road with the Nashville-based alternative rock group, the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies. He was the group’s wild and wooly frontman, trashed by day and hell raising by night, in a losing battle with booze and drugs. In 2007, Mike put out “Salvation in Lights,” explaining his return to the church-patinaed truths of his boyhood. In the two years since “Salvation in Lights,” Mike’s live performances across the country, including Bonnaroo, SXSW, Austin City Limits Festival and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, have left music novices, fans and seasoned artists with the same awe-struck response.
Festivarians at Telluride Bluegrass were blown away Sunday morning by Mike Farris & the Roseland Rhythm Revue. During the gospel set, his vocal pyrotechnics brought the crowd to its feet: hair of the dog became hallelujah.
For more On Susan Viebrock’s coverage of Mike Farris and the Bluegrass Festival, . (www.tellurideinside.com)
More photos:
Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes
For more Telluride Bluegrass photos, .
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is a Denver photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb.
