Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Summer Festivals
For the past 60-odd years, the Aspen Music Festival has given this town its artistic gravitas.
Some of the best classical musicians from around the world come to perform and learn
from the masters of their craft. Students form orchestras led by world-famous conductors
and perform at the Wheeler Opera House or the Benedict Music Tent, or in smaller duets,
trios, quartets and quintets on Aspen street corners. All told, there are more than 350 clas-
sical music events taking place over eight weeks. You can't escape - nor would you want
to.
If you're hungry to hear the best music in the sweetest venue, the Benedict is a must.
And you don't even have to pay - just unfurl a blanket on the Listening Lawn.
And that's not even the only music festival worth mentioning in Aspen . Jazz Aspen
Snowmass is a bi-annual event held at the beginning and end of the summer, featuring jazz
masters such as Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton and Natalie Cole in June, and major
pop and rock acts such as Wilco around Labor Day. Theatre Aspen is another annual tradi-
tion, where Tony-winning romantic comedies and deliciously subversive musicals are
staged (mostly in the summer and early autumn) in a gorgeous, tented complex in the heart
of Rio Grande Park.
Of course, summer music festivals aren't exclusive to Aspen. Breckenridge hosts a sim-
ilar summer-long classical music festival with free concerts along the Blue River, and Tel-
luride hosts a bluegrass festival in June that attracts a mix of straight-up bluegrass players,
up-and-coming rockers and global icons. It's worth planning your life around. And
bluegrass isn't even what put Telluride on the map. That would be the Telluride Film
Festival. It's now considered on par with Sundance, featuring indie and edgy domestic and
international fare, and attended by Hollywood stars and career-makers. Celebrating its 40th
anniversary, the film festival is an iconic international event attracting 4000 cinephiles each
September for a sneak peak at innovative new films. The first megahit to come out of it
was
Slumdog Millionaire
(2008), and with guests like Salman Rushdie, Stephen Sondheim
and Noah Bombach, it has hosted some heavy hitters. Festival-goers on a budget can enjoy
free films, open-air cinema and conversations with influential moviemakers. There are also
discounted passes to the late show. But if you want to rub elbows with Hollywood elite at
the ticketed social events, you'll need to pony up.
Another solid bet is Telluride's Mountainfilm, a Memorial Day festival showcasing ex-
cellent outdoor adventure and environmental films sure to whet your appetite for the San
Juans, which loom over the town.
