At Telluride Bluegrass: Pickin’, grinnin’ and Intense Encounters of the Third Degree

10:49 a.m. June 24, Telluride Town Park under meditative partly cloudy skies – Resonant guttural baritone chants are echoing through the box canyon around Telluride Town Park as the fourth and final day of the 40th Telluride Bluegrass Festival begins. This is the fourth time I’ve seen the Drepung monks from Tibet present their ceremonies. They just performed Intense Encounters of the Third Degree and a dance featuring two monks in skeleton costumes. A snow lion came to say “hi” to me. This is why I love bluegrass, Telluride-style.

I previewed the 20th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in the June 13, 1993 Sunday Camera. This is how I began: “Twenty years ago, some long-haired bluegrass musicians decided to put on a little festival in the high Colorado mountain town of Telluride. Bluegrass – and Telluride – has never been quite the same.”

Onstage now: Solo banjoist Bela Fleck, followed by Infamous Stringdusters (12:45 p.m.) Much of today’s music will be streamed on koto.org.

Find all of this weekend’s blog posts and photos at https://secondstorygarage.com