In the valley, there’s great music for every season.
WINTER
Aspen Music Festival and School (locations vary, aspenmusicfestival.com) is lauded as one of the top classical music festivals in the country. A small series of recitals is presented this winter, featuring William Hagen and Albert Cano Smit; Joyce Yang; and David Finckel and Wu Han.
JAS puts on its JAS Cafe (jazzaspensnowmass.org) series, bringing renowned jazz musicians to the valley for intimate candlelit performances in winter (and throughout the year) at locations like Downstairs at The Little Nell and the Aspen Art Museum rooftop.
SPRING
The Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series (locations vary, aspensnowmass.com) features three highly anticipated performances, two of which fall in the spring. Last year's lineup
included Chromeo and Robert Randolph & the Family Band. Last year Aspen Skiing Company debuted The ApreĢs (aspensnowmass.com), a three-day music festival held at the base of Buttermilk Mountain. Concertgoers enjoyed spring skiing, as well as the String Cheese Incident and Umphrey’s McGee.
SUMMER
The JAS June Experience (jazzaspensnowmass.org) transformed into a festival-style event last year featuring multiple artists across more than a dozen venues. People loved it. With one wristband, attendees can hop between stages set up everywhere from art galleries to the rooftop of the Aspen Art Museum.
Aspen Music Festival and School’s summer season offers eight jampacked weeks with more than 400 classical music events around town, including concerts by five orchestras, solo and chamber performances, fully staged operas and small outdoor shows around town—like busking musicians often seen playing in front of Paradise Bakery.
Enjoy weekend melodies with the Aspen-Snowmass summer series. Ride up the gondola to Richmond Ridge for Classical Saturdays (aspensnowmass.com), with performances by AMFS students and views of Mount Hayden. On Bluegrass Sundays (aspensnowmass.com), enjoy the best of Colorado bluegrass with vistas of the Elk Mountain Range from the Sundeck patio on Aspen Mountain.
Every town in the Roaring Fork Valley has its own night for a free outdoor concert: On Wednesdays, free concerts start at 6PM in Basalt’s Triangle or Lions Park (basaltchamber.org) and Glenwood Spring’s Two Rivers Park (glenwoodspringssummerofmusic.org); on Thursdays, Snowmass Village’s Fanny Hill is the place to be (gosnowmass.com); and on Saturdays, adventure to Redstone to hear music on the banks of the Crystal River (redstonecolorado.org).
Photography by: Keagan Henman
