Photos by Tara Labovich
At 11 a.m. on Thursday morning, a Colorado College bus took off from Cache La Poudre, headed to the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown.
The bus was packed with sleeping bags, three upright basses, a myriad of other instruments, and 30 musicians.
By the time the bus drove past Pueblo, the members of Spring Fever had retrieved their instruments from under the bus and began to jam on and off for the rest of the eight hour drive.
Once the bus pulled up to the Durango Lodge early in the evening, the next three days were filled with non-stop casual jam sessions on balconies, performances, and watching bluegrass groups from all over the country take the stage.
“The Durango Meltdown was the most incredible opportunity for our band,” said sophomore Caleigh Smith, a fiddle for the ensemble Hit Factory. “I think we improved more in those three days than we have during many other blocks full of music. There’s nothing like watching masters of music from morning until night and practicing and jamming in between. We lived music for that time and I left wanting to never put my fiddle in its case.”
Among the 30 musicians that traveled together to Durango were three Colorado College ensembles, some tag-alongs, and the members of Professor Keith Reid’s newest bluegrass band, Spring Fever.
Spring Fever is fairly new, having been established last fall in anticipation for this festival. The core members include bassist KC Groves of the all-girl band Uncle Earl, CC graduate Sam Steele on dobro, banjo player Keith Reid, fiddler Jake Simpson, and singer/guitarist Greg Blake. They were joined by 21-year-old Tristan Scroggins, an accomplished mandolin player.
10 minutes before Spring Fever took the stage in Durango’s historic Henry Strater Theater, every seat in the house was filled. Latecomers filed in and found spots on the floor. While the group has not been playing together for long, each individual member is well known in the bluegrass community and incredibly experienced.
Sam Steele of Spring Fever graduated from CC in 2010, but still maintains his connections with the school through bluegrass. Originally from Texas, he now resides in Boulder, Colo. Steele has mastered several instruments, most recently the dobro, which he says he taught himself while standing in a river at Eleven Mile Canyon. “I play bluegrass music today because I met Keith Reed when I was a senior,” Steele says. “He has continued to mentor me and put me in contact with other musicians to keep me playing. I feel lucky to be an alum of the program, and I make it a point to never stop listening and learning.”
The bluegrass program at CC has been described by the Meltdown as “burgeoning.” The private lessons, ensembles, and bluegrass block place high importance on the technical and practical aspects of performance.
Guitarist Max Hittesdorf of Duck Soup, the top ensemble from CC, notes that the experience he had in Durango will stay with him for life. “It’s an immensely lucky opportunity to play on the same stages that many talented musicians from across the country also perform on, not to mention the opportunity to jam and perform with those musicians too,” Hittesdorf said. “What I learned was how to be a more professional performer on stage as well as a deeper understanding of the bluegrass tradition.”
All of the ensembles performed multiple times: at an elementary school in association with a local music outreach program, in several venues at the Meltdown, and on the final night in the Super Jam.
First-year Ali McGarigal said that her experience with the bluegrass ensembles has given her “a sense of community. It feels like a little family within a larger family at CC with people who are all interested in music and having fun. It’s a really great group of people to be a part of.”