Steamboat Springs Free Summer Concert Series
The Steamboat Springs FREE Summer Concert Series is a Steamboat summer tradition with five free concerts throughout the summer. Come down to the Howelsen Hill amphitheatre, in the heart of downtown Steamboat Springs, for a night of FREE live music. Don’t forget your picnic blanket, chair and dancing shoes!
The free concerts start around 5:00 p.m. with an opening band and then the main act to follow. There will be food vendors, kids activities and beer sales at the concert. No alcohol or dogs can be brought into the concert.
Recent artists include: Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Little Feat, John Hiatt, North Mississippi Allstars, Steel Pulse, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Keb Mo and the String Cheese Incident among others.
The 2009 concert line-up has not yet been completed. Here are some sneak peaks:
 The Avett Brothers are a folk-rock band from Concord, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Seth Avett and Scott Avett, who play the guitar and banjo, respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass. They are often joined on tour by cellist Joe Kwon. Risen from the ashes of Seth and Scott's former rock band Nemo, The Avett Brothers combine bluegrass, country, punk, pop melodies, folk, rock and roll, honky tonk and ragtime to produce a sound described by the San Francisco Chronicle as having the "Heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones." The group itself eschews labels, feeling that "none would do the music the justice. It's simply left up to each person to extract his or her own account from the Avetts' music."
In the past year, The Avett Brothers have gone from relative unknowns to the poster children of a brand new and rapidly growing genre of American music, described by critics and fans as "indie roots", "folk-punk", or "grungegrass".
Their live performances showcase their use of three-part harmony and southern rock feel, and are admired for being intense, energetic, and soulful.
Michael Franti first gained notoriety in the late '80s with the industrial group The Beatnigs, which crafted a relentless barrage of noise and political lyrics. Built around innovative samples and Franti's stridently booming voice, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy then attracted attention as a peer of Public Enemy in the early '90s. Franti now leads the San Francisco-based Spearhead, and his ability to provoke debate hasn't waned since his revolutionary beginnings.
Since the release of their first album in 2000, Franti and Spearhead have toured relentlessly, headlining hundreds of shows as well as sharing the stage with acts as diverse as Dave Matthews, Ani DiFranco, Trey Anastasio and KRS-One. Michael Franti & Spearhead's latest album, Yell Fire!, draws on Franti's recent travels to Iraq, Israel and Pakistan.
More Steamboat Summer Vacation Planning Links:
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Rusted Root is known for their fusion of Grateful Dead style bluegrass rock with a strong percussion section that draws from African, Latin American, Native American, Indian influences. Rusted Root will be releasing 'Stereo Rodeo', their first studio album in 7 years, on May 5, 2009. Stereo Rodeo is filled with all the different styles you’ve come to expect from Rusted Root, from the energetic dance euphoria that Dance in the Middle evokes to the powerful epic sound of Weary Bones. Rusted Root has sold more than 3 million albums worldwide. 
The Greyboy Allstars (GBA) are a San Diego funk and jazz group created in the early 1990s. The group began as collaboration of DJ Greyboy (turntable) with Karl Denson (saxophone, flute). The Greyboy Allstars were a major part of the mid-90s acid jazz movement and a catalyst for renewed interest in late 60s/early 70s soul jazz. Denson has described the Greyboy Allstars as a boogaloo band, a distinction which has set them apart from other contemporary soul jazz/acid jazz combos.
The Freddy Jones Band are roots-rock specialists in the tradition of groups like the Eagles, The Band, and The Allman Brothers. Their influences stretch across the archives of musical history. Their sound is a blend of blues, rock and folk music all together. Throughout the 90's, endless tours across the U.S. helped build a loyal fan base for The Freddy Jones Band.
Susan Tedeschi (pronounced te-DES-ki) (November 9, 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American blues and soul artist, who has risen to fame with multiple Grammy Award nominations, her powerful singing voice, fearless stage presence, and her marriage to Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band. She is also known for the "Soul Stew Revival", a conglomeration of both her band, that of The Derek Trucks Band, and assorted other personnel. 
