Live review: Snowy Range Music Festival @ Albany County Fairgrounds in Laramie, WY
By Amy McGrath | September 7th, 2010 | 3 comments
Los Lobos headlined Saturday night at Laramie's second annual Snowy Range Music Festival, the band's first performance in the area. Photo by Michael McGrath, denverpost.com/reverb.
The Snowy Range Music Festival, now in its second year, provided a killer lineup on three stages in an intimate setting at the Albany County Fairgrounds in Laramie, WY, and it was the best single day of festival music I’ve seen in a very long time.
The lineup on Saturday included Mississippi boogie babe Eden Brent, who was finishing her spirited (and a bit boozy) set as we arrived. She was followed by a crisp and entertaining set by Chicago harpman Billy Branch and his excellent band, the Sons of the Blues. I often find myself spacing out or socializing while listening to live blues bands, but Branch and his band truly kept my attention. His easygoing, affable presence combined with his wicked harp skills and tight band created a great mid-afternoon set. Branch took full advantage of the beautiful weather and small, engaged crowd as he leapt off stage and strolled through the audience for an extended harmonica jam.
View a full photo gallery of the Snowy Range Music Festival!
The Subdudes have been a fixture on the Colorado music scene since the late ’80s with their likeable zydeco/folk/blues/rock hybrid. The New Orleans-to-Fort Collins transplants may not be on as heavy KBCO rotation as they once were, but the dudes definitely brought their A-game to Wyoming. Their set was cheerful, energetic and full of good vibes and killer harmonies.
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, another New Orleans staple, took the stage mere minutes after the Subdudes set, and upped the enthusiasm even more. Grinning and gasping for air at the same time (at 7,100 feet, Laramie’s elevation is nearly 1,000 feet higher than our own Red Rocks) the band made short order of bringing their party music to Snowy Range. The Dirty Dozen seemed undaunted by the small crowd; they rose to the challenge of making their authentic New Orleans-style Dixieland/R&B/funk relevant to the Laramie audience. That means there were a whole lot of white people shaking their butts and chanting “When the Saints Go Marching In!”
Yugoslavian blues babe Ana Popovic and her band probably found the Dirty Dozen a hard act to follow. Popovic put a gutsy effort into her hard-driving opening number, only to be interrupted by power failure. The sound guys started problem-solving and the band quickly regrouped and put on a solid set of blues rock. Her guitar playing was more impressive than her songs, but Popovic is definitely interesting to watch; in fact, one might call her an easy-on-the eyes guitar goddess.
By the time Los Lobos hit the stage just after dark, I had already been surprised by the caliber of music offered up at this small festival in Laramie. Unquestionably, however, the Lobos earned their place at the top of the bill.
“Where are we?” asked the eternally-sunglassed Cesar Rosas, mentioning that in 36 years of touring, the group had never before played Laramie.
Opening with “Dream in Blue,” the band launched into a set of greatest hits, as well as some strong new material from “Tin Can Trust,” and the traditional Spanish and Mexican dance numbers that got the crowd moving. The highlight of their set was a smoking medley of “Papa was a Rolling Stone > I Can’t Understand > Oye Como Va” that ended with the band taking a round of tequila shots before launching into more music.
I headed out into the warm Wyoming night with a smile and a sunburn. After a long day of music, that was much more than I expected. I’m not sure how they’ll keep putting up such a big lineup for such a small crowd, but if the Snowy Range Festival puts together a third year, next year I’ll be spending Labor Day in Laramie.
View a full photo gallery of the Snowy Range Music Festival!
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Amy McGrath is a Denver-based writer and regular contributor to Reverb.
Michael McGrath is a Denver area photographer. His work is available at Twist and Shout Records. Visit his website.
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