CBMS - Colorado Bluegrass Music Society

01/22/2025

🚨The ever-so-talented David Smith has written a new piece about the ever-so-amazing Midwinter Bluegrass Festival. This festival is a MUST ATTEND Y’ALL!! Don’t sleep on this friends; read the article, buy the tickets, have the fun. 🎉🎶

“And when it comes to those mainstage acts, there are headliners for the upcoming February 14-16 festival that you simply will not see anywhere else: Tony Trischka's Earl Jam, Wood Box Heroes, and Sister Sadie. There are traveling and local favorites who will play with the tone and honesty that the festival is known for: Mike Compton & Joe Newberry, Damn Tall Buildings, Jake Leg, Blue Canyon Boys, Ms. Amy & the Jet Set, Ragged Union, Charlie Stevens Band, and KC n' Co (KC Groves and friends!).”

Midwinter Bluegrass festival will be held February 14-16, 2025There is one key word, a proper noun in a literary sense, that I’ve heard again and again over the last ten years or so in Colorado. With each passing season it seems to grow in number, like the miracle of mitosis creating life as cells...

01/17/2025

FOLKS!! We have some REALLLLY big announcements today! 🙌 You’re going to want to read all of this!!

New year, new website! 😍 Thanks to Nadine Sekerez, we are pleased to introduce a website like never before. You can find jams, festivals, workshops, history and more, all in one very fancy place. Y’ALL!!! Please check it out, girl worked incredibly hard and it shows.

💥 also- NEW CBMS HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES coming to you via Midwinter Bluegrass Festival!!! That’s right, this cherished tradition of honoring those that honored Bluegrass before us is returning this year in the same fashion as before. The ceremony will be held Sunday at 10am in the venue.

Created in 2006, the CBMS Hall of Honor now has FORTY individuals, and for the first time ever, we will be honoring two bands as well. It’s important to know who came before us and what part they played, so please make sure to check out the rich history on our website and join us Sunday at the festival to cheer on the new inductees.

Don’t see your band, join! Want your festival to be included in our newsletter, sign up for a business membership. We are here to answer questions, we are here to keep you in the loop, and we are here to keep Bluegrass alive and thrive in ‘25. 🎶

Click here to see more 👇🏼
https://www.coloradobluegrass.org/post/cbms-to-induct-honorees-to-the-cbms-hall-of-honor-at-midwinter-2025

01/12/2025

“It’s Never Too Late” is an article written by Mike Jackson that for SURE needs to be read by at least one person today. That person out there who has been wishing they had learned how to play sooner, someone who thinks everyone in the circle has been there all along, someone who would like to be in one of those chairs too.

“Bluegrass is a genre built on musical tradition and playing music in community, with an open and welcoming invitation for all to join.”

The timing of the article couldn’t be any better, because our CBMS beginners bluegrass jam is tomorrow (Monday), 630-830, at American Music School. If you play an instrument, come play bluegrass with us. 🙏🏻🎶 If you’d like to start playing an instrument, reach out. We’d love to help.

If you have spent much time in Colorado, you have probably walked into a bar and seen a bunch of musicians sitting around in a circle playing bluegrass music.  If you said to yourself, I’d love to play like that but I am too old to learn, well then read on.  Starting a to play a bluegrass instru...

01/11/2025

Order your Midwinter Bluegrass Festival t-shirt and poster early this year! In an effort to buy and use only what’s needed 🌎 shirts will be made to order this year. Pre-order by January 28th for pick up at the festival. There will only be a few extra printed, so don’t miss out!! 👕🐇🎻

Celebrate the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival in style!✨Pre-order your 2025 Midwinter Bluegrass Festival merch by midnight on January 28th for pick-up at check in. Only a few extras will be available at the festival, so grab yours today!🎶

https://www.midwinterbluegrass.com/t-shirt-poster-pre-orders

01/07/2025

Who likes saving money?! GET YOUR early bird SnowyGrass Music Festival in Estes Park tickets now to receive 15% off! You have until midnight on the 7th! (Tuesday/ Tomorrow/ Practically Tonight!!).

Can we even tell you how much it means to festival producers when they can plan better? 🙏🏻 Every time a festivarian buys an early bird ticket a producer gets their wings. (or something like that!!) Be the one y’all.

We're kicking off the new year with putting the festival Tix on sale! Lot's of prep goes into getting that ready. I worked with James Armington to get everything formatted on our ticketing platform, TicketSignup. James has worked really hard with the developers to use their platform--originally desi...

01/03/2025

Since we KNOW one of your new year’s resolutions is to hit more bluegrass festivals, we want to remind you that we keep a full list of Colorado festivals and jams right on our website. 🎶 We have MORE THAN 30 of both!! 🤯🙌 So get these festival dates on your calendar y’all! We’ll keep filling them in as dates are announced.

*Things can change without notice, please understand there may be cancellations on this list. As always, we are happy to add another festival to the list - send any additions, changes or questions to: [email protected]

12/31/2024

Ball drops at midnight, prices go up. GET YOUR EARLY BIRD TICKETS TODAY!!! 🎶 You know you’re going, don’t delay! .bluegrass.festival

12/31/2024

LAST DAY FOR EARLY BIRD PRICES Y’ALL!! You know you’re going, so don’t delay!!!!! When the ball drops at midnight prices go up. It’s also a great service to our local festivals when we buy our tickets early, be that guy (gal). We’ll see you there!!!

Join me at the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival

12/22/2024

Want to improve your mandolin or guitar-playing skills? Here’s a very cool workshop from one amazing musician, John Moore! January 4th (mandolin) and January 5th (guitar) 10am-4pm at American Music School in Lakewood. Lunch break, new friends, pro tips and lots of fun included. $150/day. Call the number below to reserve your spot.

12/21/2024

Last Old Grass Gnu Grass of 2024 this morning on listener supported KGNU Community Radio.

From Matt (the man) himself, “Nothing fancy, no Christmas bluegrass, and no favorite tracks of the year. They're all my favorites and it was an epic year of new music overall. If I don't say it enough...THANK YOU for tuning in each week and supporting KGNU.”

Boulder/Denver/Fort Collins 9am-12pm.
Tune in or stream online.
Boulder 88.5 FM
Denver 88.5 FM & 1390 AM
Fort Collins 98.7 FM
Nederland 93.7 FM
KGNU.ORG

12/18/2024

🎶 FREE Festival opportunity for those in financial need 🙏🏻

Apply today if you could use the leg up, all applications are handled with anonymity and grace. No one should miss Midwinter Bluegrass Festival. It’s one of the best 🙌❤️🎶

🎻 BUILDING ON A LEGACY 🎶

Ken founded the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival in 1986 and was a cornerstone of the Colorado bluegrass community. His legacy lives on through the Ken Seaman Memorial Scholarship Fund, supporting young, aspiring bluegrass musicians.

💫 Scholarship Details:

🎟️ Covers attendance at the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival
🎤 Connect with performers and join workshops
🧒 Open to musicians 12 years and older
💵 Two scholarships available for those with financial need
⏰ Applications close December 31, 2024.

🌟 APPLY TODAY! https://www.midwinterbluegrass.com/scholarship 🌟

12/17/2024

The 3rd annual Jingle Jam was a festive night of ALL good things. Good friends, good music, good times. 🙌🎶❤️ SO many amazing professionals coming together on one stage to deliver old music in new ways. These folks raised over $8,000 for Sister Carmen Community Center!!!! Y’all, YOU DID THAT. Thank you for showing up and glowing up, and thank you to Brandy Ray and Tom Buswell for putting it all together. WELL DONE!

Photos in backwards chronological order 🤣 Because why not?! 🎄 sorry to those we missed, we also jingled. (Dan- we did not jam 😂 IYKYK)

12/16/2024

As we begin to wrap up a quite profound year in Colorado bluegrass, we MUST acknowledge the perfection that is “Fire on the Prairie,” the 2024 album release by Jake Leg, and who better to do it than our own CBMS poetic journalist David Smith.

“An aspect of the album that stands out in a perfect manner is its production. It is flawless to the ear like audio made for the systems of Bose, Beats by Dre, or to cruise a well-paved mountain pass in a Lincoln Navigator with the volume holding you lost in a world of melody and tone.”

You don’t want to miss the rest, click below to read the full review, and LISTEN TO THE ALBUM Y’ALL!!!

There are perfect moments in time across all musical genres. In bluegrass there are many. Some well-known, such as the revolutionary meeting of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and Earl Scruggs in 1946. Or another revolution of 1971 when the low lonesome John Starling and the high soaring John Duffey foun...

12/15/2024

Have you ever wanted to build your OWN mandolin? Tried to get into the course at Rockygrass, but didn’t quite make it? Here’s your chance to make it happen with III mandolin. Makes a great gift for the holidays too!! Music is the greatest gift of all 🎶❤️

Join the instrument building craze and make your own mandolin with luthier Geoff Burghardt of iii Mandolins. Geoff is a natural born teacher and it shows as he teaches you all the steps needed to make a quality mandolin.

12/11/2024

We love when cool national bands couple with our very cool CBMS bands for a very cool night of music. Look what has been announced for February at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. 🤩🎉 Sister Sadie with Slay & Stinson and Might Holler. Save the date y’all, and grab a ticket. This will be HOT 🔥🔥🔥🔥

https://cervantesmasterpiece.com/