MUSICMARAUDERS

Nederland, CO Photos By Miles Photography View Derek's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.nedfest.org

Pisgah Brewing Company Black Mountain, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.pisgahbrewing.com

Solshine Festival Winter Park, CO Photos By Nancy Isaac Photography View Nancy's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.leftoversalmon.com

Darrington, WA Words By Mitch Melheim Photos By Coleman Schwartz Darrington, Washington’s Summer Meltdown is one of the most beautiful festivals I’ve ever been to. Whitehorse Mountain soars over the intimate amphitheater as a gorgeous river flows behind it. The camping is mostly shaded and close to the stages, local bands still make up a large chunk of the line up, and scheduling conflicts are almost never a problem. That being said, a growing emphasis on larger crowds and more expensive line ups has proven to be a distraction towards the festival’s initial focus on community and sustainability. Thursday, August 11, 2016: We pulled up to a very long check-in line that we luckily avoided since we were media. After parking, we walked to the box office to pick up our credentials. Acquiring our passes was easier than expected with minimal lines and helpful staff. The only problem was that I wasn’t given a schedule. No big deal. I was curious where I could get one so I asked the b

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO Photos By Nancy Isaac Photography View Nancy's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.yondermountain.com

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO Photos By Elliot Siff Photography View Elliot's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.crowmedicine.com www.brandicarlile.com

Rancho Del Rio Bond, CO We at MusicMarauders have been attending and covering YarmonyGrass in some form or another for going on six years. This is one of our absolute favorite festivals due to the great line-ups, incredible site, the ability to float down the Colorado River and the fun staff! So many amazing memories have been created among our team at Rancho Del Rio and this year will be no different! Get your tickets now and join us for Jeff Austin Band, Roosevelt Collier's Colorado Get Down, The Drunken Hearts, Coral Creek, Andy Hall's Joint Set, The Grant Farm, Rapidgrass Quintet, The Railsplitters, Dead Winter Carpenters, Caribou Mountain Collective, WhiteWater Ramble, Kitchen Dwellers, Uptown Toodeloo String Band, Whiskey Tango, Missed The Boat, The Lonesome Days, Mile High Express, Hog MaGundy, Timber, Liver Down the River, The Robin Davis Duo & Cosmic Mesa August 18 - 21 at Rancho Del Rio in Bond, CO! Tickets are available at www.yarmonygrass.com

Cuthbert Amphitheater Eugene, OR Words By Mitch Melheim Photos By Coleman Schwartz Saturday July 23, 2016: There’s weird, and then there’s Eugene. Even further past that is the String Cheese Incident playing in Eugene. Having been prepped the year prior during their Sunday-Monday two night run at the tiny McDonald Theatre, I knew what exactly I was in for. We stocked the car full of weirdos and took off down I-5 towards the People’s Republic. My buddy was raving about this brewery called Block 15 Brewery in Corvallis that we had to stop at on the way. Good decision. They had some of the best beer I’ve had in this hop-addicted state and great food to go along with it. They explicitly serve only fresh hops and it makes for an unrivaled fresh taste. My favorite was the Sticky Hands Hop Experience Ale. Advertised as featuring ample additions of sticky, resinous, lupulin-packed hop buds grown in the Pacific Northwest with an aromatic blast of citrus and dank herbs, it tasted exac

Darrington, WA Words By Coleman Schwartz Photos By Jason Charme Photography Summer is finally in full swing here in the Pacific Northwest, and as August arrives, anticipation is building in Washington for the annual Summer Meltdown Festival. Started by local jamband Flowmotion as a backyard party back in 2000, this event has expanded into the state’s premier boutique music festival. The event takes place at the incomparable Whitehorse Mountain Amphitheater, located in Darrington, WA. The venue takes its name from its jaw-dropping view of snow-capped Whitehorse Mountain, one of the jewels of the North Cascade. One thing about Meltdown that I haven’t seen before at any other festival is their offerings of outdoor adventures to occupy your daytime hours. They have licensed whitewater rafting guides and horseback riding instructors on hand to lead day-trips for interested festival patrons. This offers patrons the chance to see more of the area’s natural beauty as they relax and pre

Horning's Hideout North Plains, OR Words By Mitch Melheim Photos By Coleman Schwartz The third weekend of July brought upon an agonizing decision for many in the Pacific Northwest. The region’s favorite music festival, the Northwest String Summit, was returning to magical Horning’s Hideout for its fifteenth year. That very same weekend Phish was playing two nights at the Gorge Amphitheatre, a bucket list item for most who live in the area. While most contemplated and beat themselves up about it, my decision was easy. Two nights of Phish at the Gorge or four nights with most of my favorite bands at Horning’s Hideout? The trees were calling and it sounded grassy to me. String Summit was my decision and there was no alternative. I, like everyone else, spent a large chunk of my early summer asking others which they chose. The Phish fans would be at Phish, that was a given. Which of the usual faces at Horning’s would be absent this year? That was the real question. One by on