Janelle Monae performs at Red Rocks on June 11, 2010. Photo by Joe McCabe, heyreverb.com.
“Baby bend over, baby bend over. Let me see you do that yoga,” sings Janelle Monáe on her new song, “Yoga,” which she’ll likely perform among the many hours of banjo plucking, floor stomping and good ol’ acoustic music at this weekend.
Monáe isn’t exactly who you’d expect to be performing surrounded by mountains at the iconic bluegrass festival.
Much of Telluride Bluegrass Festival is based on tradition — Sam Bush has played virtually every fest for the last 42 years, Bela Fleck, Emmylou Harris and others are regular guests. But the festival has long been known for experimentation, helping to popularize the newgrass and jamgrass genres.
“We’ve had classical, we’ve had rock ‘n’ roll, they try all sorts of things at Telluride Bluegrass Festival. They try to throw you a curveball every once in a while,” said Dan Sadowsky, a.k.a. Pastor Mustard, who emceed the Telluride Bluegrass Festival for 29 years. “I would hope that when there’s an oddball choice for an act that it would be someone who understands where they are — they can relate to the musicianship on stage at the bluegrass festival.”
Do bluegrass purists turn their nose to a rock or pop or funk act on the TBF lineup? Sadowsky says they shouldn’t.
“Bluegrass purists shouldn’t go to TBF if they only want to hear bluegrass, because TBF has never been a bluegrass purists festival,” he said. “It’s the Telluride audience. They not only know their bluegrass in a purists sort of way, but the Telluride audience has no problem crossing over to a dance party.”
In honor of Monáe’s presence at the festival this weekend, here are some of the weirdest acts to have played Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
Cake (2002): It’s hard to imagine Cake as a string band. The talk-singing, those tight, funky bass lines, it’s all a real electronic, alt-rock feel. Cake goes down as possibly the weirdest act to headline Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
Jewel (2005): “Everyone thought we were braced for a huge flop when Jewel got up and sang solo,” Sadowsky said. “But as it turned out, holy, she killed it and she showed everyone.” Way to stick it to the haters, Jewel.
Barenaked Ladies (2006): You’d never exactly expect weird reggae-rapping — like that heard in Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” at a bluegrass festival. Then again, before 2006, you’d never think to see them as a headliner at TBF. This booking marked the festivals attempt to start appealing to more mainstream audiences.
Counting Crows (2007): No one has ever mistaken Counting Crows for a bluegrass band. Maybe people have mistaken the pop band for a rock band, but never for a bluegrass band. Nevertheless, Counting Crows headlined Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2007 as the fest continued the trend it started in 2006.
Mumford & Sons (2010): Mumford & Sons might be known for its banjo and stomps, but it’s not a bluegrass band. While it doesn’t seem like an out-there choice for TBF, at the time, Mumford & Sons wasn’t a very well known act. Sticking with TBF’s history of popularizing certain sounds, the fest kind of “discovered” Mumford and the avalanche of indie-folk that followed.
Janelle Monáe (2015): Janelle Monáe is a vocal powerhouse, a fashion icon and a jaw-dropping performer, and it was shocking and a bit exciting to see her name among the long list of acoustic and legacy bluegrass and jam acts. As Sadowsky said, many of these unconventional acts try to tailor their sets for the festival. We’re excited to see how she approaches her Friday set.
