The box canyon known as Telluride turns into the festival capital of Colorado come summer, starting with the Bluegrass Festival in June and ending with the Telluride Film Festival in September. For the next three months, Telluride hosts a festival every weekend. Locals got so fed up with festivals, they created the Nothing Festival, the only weekend Telluride takes a supposed break from the festivities.
Every September, the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, a three-day celebration of music and microbrews, descends on Telluride Town Park, among the most spectacular outdoor music venues in the country. When B.B. King performed in 2004, he told the crowd, "Out of the 90 different countries I've been to, I've never seen anything more beautiful than what you have here."
The 18th annual festival this summer will feature headliners Willie Nelson, The Flaming Lips and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. The undercard features some other worthwhile acts like soulsters Fitz And The Tantrums, Mavis Staples, and Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit. When the music ends in the park for the night, the festival continues on in various music venues in town and Mountain Village.
The Grand Tasting on Saturday features more than 150 beers from more than 50 microbreweries.
