We have the makings of a festival!
by Chris Murphy
The inaugural Higher Ground Music Festival was a smashing success! If you made it, you know the non-stop music was laced with amazing talent throughout the 29 hours of performance. Forty-four bands gave it everything they had in an inspiring representation of what our local music scene has to offer. The scenery was beautiful and the backdrop of our double-decker VIP Reserve Casino Hotel Stage was breathtaking. Top that off with warm dry August weather all weekend, and campground jam sessions until the wee hours of the morning, and we couldn’t have asked for a better beginning.
Nestled in the historic mining town of Central City, CO, and bordered by a turn-of-the-century cemetery, the setting for Higher Ground is what we hoped it would be…. Perfect. The residents and local government officials welcomed us with open arms, and supported our concept from the start. It was a first for the city, and although we all had concerns about the camping facilities, traffic, parking, noise volume, and security, the event went off without a hitch. We had three VIP Areas, Food Trucks, a General Store, Vendors and a Llama…
Many moments stood out for me throughout the weekend, and as band after band arrived, it was plain to see that our vision was becoming a reality. From the first Friday set by Too Late For Tomorrow, to the last performance by Fierce Bad Rabbit on Sunday, the atmosphere was magnetic. We put our emcee, Brett Finn of www.MileHighUnderground.com to work! Our schedule was tight, and as each band readied for their performance, it was Brett’s responsibility to get fans to the neighboring stage. With mic in hand, and his voice ringing through the festival grounds, the masses followed his call to arms in a flow of humanity that could best be described as a school of fish searching for their next meal. It was an awesome sight for us to see, and proof that the layout of the festival grounds would work quite nicely. Thank you to you fans that logged a mile or two over the weekend between our sponsored Strainwise and Reserve Casino Hotel stages. We hope you had fun!
If you’re reading this, I’m sure you follow local music and musicians, and understand why the Colorado Music Buzz team wanted to take on such a monumental task. The quality of musicianship that was displayed all weekend was second to none, and I would put our talent and scene up against any in the country. We, and the rest of the attendees, were awarded with an inspiring collection of talent that gave me a feeling of true accomplishment. There are many other concerts and festivals you can attend, but where else can you witness every moment of stellar performance? We brought forty-four bands and an audience together in a communal setting that had me in a state of perpetual bliss. On many occasions, I was moved to near tears within the beauty of moment. This is why we do what we do and attempt to support a local music scene that is so good. We don’t take credit for the scene, but we are so proud to cover it and be a part of it for the last seven years. And moving forward, we are so excited to see what the future of Colorado Music holds for all of us!
We are already working on the 2013 Higher Ground Music Festival, and for those of you who attended, we plan to make many additions that will be fan friendly, and make your experience even better next year. For those of you that missed out on the fun this year, you can expect a weekend of great local music and camping in a beautiful pristine setting. We also plan to add a couple National Acts to the mix, so stay tuned, and Get to HIGHER GROUND!
If you missed it this year’s lineup featured performances from: PLACES, The Photo Atlas, Fierce Bad Rabbit, MTHDS, Kinetix, Bop Skizzum, The Royal Heist, Sam Lee, Eldren, Caleb Slade, Input, The Epilogues, Post Paradise, The Swayback, iZCALLi, Wheelchair Sports Camp, James and the Devil, The Hate, Red Stinger, Regret Night, Caramel Carmela, Nautical Mile, DELLA, Hearts In Space, Rubedo, Too Late For Tomorrow, Gang Forward, You Me and Apollo, Kill Paradise, T Shirts 4 Tomorrow, Flashbulb Fires, Five Day Rhetoric, Foolish Ways, Musuji, No More Excuses, The Foot, Ashtree, In The Whale, Kyle Coy, Red Fox Run, The Say So and Talisker Skye
Category: What's Up?
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