Masters of American twang pick it up in Lyons

12:30 p.m. July 26, Lyons, CO – The Club Med of traditional and experimental American twang is underway in a cozy creekside field tucked away under a cliff in Lyons. The bluegrass stars are all aligned here with stellar guitarists (Bryan Sutton, David Grier), great mandolinists (Tim O’Brien, Ronnie McCoury, Sam Bush, Andy Statman), stunning dobro virtuosos (Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes), top fiddlers Darol Anger, and singular vocalists (Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Kathy Kallick).

The 41st Annual Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival opened with San Francisco’s up-and-coming Front Country band followed by a remarkable new ensemble, the Lomax Project. Old-timey music fans Jayme Stone, Bruce Molsky and Tim O’Brien breathe foot-stomping life into classic folk tunes like “Railroad Bill” that modern audiences may have never heard.

Coming up today: Helen Highwater (another new super-ensemble), Kathy Kallick, Steeldrivers, Kruger Brothers, Tim O’Brien and the Del McCoury Band.

* Tickets to Rockygrass are sold out. Information: bluegrass.com. KGNU (88.5 FM, 1390 AM, kgnu.org) will air portions of Rockygrass 9 to 1 p.m. July 27 and 28. Highlights from the 2012 Rockygrass including Ralph Stanley, Punch Brothers and Infamous Stringdusters can be streamed at: kgnu.org/rockygrass.