Preview: Rhythms on the Rio Music Festival

12th Annual Rhythms on the Rio Benefit Music Festival

Rhythms on the Rio is a music festival with a cause.

We love a festival with a cause. Sure, we’re going to attend and have a great time and dance our butts off regardless, but if we can save a few baby whales in the process, all the better!

And as far as causes go, Rhythms on the Rio Music Festival sure supports a good one.

The South Fork Music Association and the Greater South Fork Community Foundation have been putting on this great event for 12 years, helping to provide music education to the children of the local community. (Last year, the Del Norte School District received $3000 for instruments they were lacking!) According to SFMA President Scott Stecken, this festival exists for 2 reasons: To keep music in children’s lives, and to provide a festival for Coloradans.

Now those kids can grow up to shred on the guitar and get you to dance your butts off at a festival in Colorado!

See? Philanthropy is cyclical!

This it truly a grass-roots festival. Rhythms on the Rio is produced by a non-profit board that puts in countless hours to bring this festival to the people. For the people!

And as if that isn’t reason enough to attend this fest (we all could use some Karma points, right?) did we mention the 3 days of music while camping on the banks of the Rio Grande?

Yeah, Rhythms on the Rio.

Get it?

In case you’re still on the fence for some crazy reason, here are a bunch more reasons you should definitely go to the 12th Annual Rhythms on the Rio Benefit Music Festival in South Fork, August 4-6:

The Rio Grande River

What is better than live music by a river? Oh yeah, camping next to that river after listening to the live music. And then waking up next to that river before listening to live music again. Yeah, we like rivers.

Jon Stickley Trio.

If you haven’t yet heard this power trio out of North Carolina, you are in for a wild ride when you see the Jon Stickley Trio. Jon’s flat picking combined with Lindsay’s at times impossible-sounding fiddle and Patrick’s intense grooves can be incredibly beautiful and insanely weird at the same time, but always fun. Get ready to pick your jaw up off the ground.

Cost

Talk about bang for your buck! This amazing little festy is offering 3-day passes WITH camping for only $85! Beat that! There’s also an assortment of single and multi-day options ranging from $30 – $80. Wanna go for free? Rhythms on the Rio has a volunteer program that will get you there for just a few short hours of work! They even allow you to choose your job preference.

Liver Down the River

We just recently had a chance to catch Liver Down the River at LoHi Music Festival in Denver, and man are we glad we did! The energy and attitude of this group from Colorado is infectious on stage, and their pickin’ ‘aint too shabby either! The group definitely seems to know their way around a river and a campfire as well, so they should be right at home at this fest.

Buses and Bluegrass

They go together hand-in-hand, and Rhythms on the Rio is celebrating that union with Buses and Bluegrass!

Buses and Bluegrass is a new concept this year giving the vintage VW crowd a place to enjoy their love of VW’s while listening to good tunes. Anyone who arrives in a Vintage VW bus can get a pass for $75 for 2 adults. This includes the entire weekend of music and camping!

Free instruments for kids!

Bring your old guitar, or that banjo you never learned to play, and donate it to the South Fork Music Association. They’ll get it into the hands of someone who could really use it! To date, the SFMA have given out over 100 instruments, and around a 125 children have received, for free, 8 weeks of lessons!

Larry Keel Experience

We never miss a chance to catch the Keels, and if you add in Jeremy Garrett and Andy Hall of the Infamous Stringdusters, and Alwyn Robinson (Leftover Salmon) on drums, well the party goes to another level. And you know Larry can get to many levels. This Larry Keel Experience set is going to rock!

South Fork Colorado and the surrounding areas

Rhythms on the Rio is set in an amazing part of the country, with over 2 million acres of National Forest ripe for exploration and relaxation. Spend a few days fly fishing, camping, or hiking. Hop on a railroad, or go on an ATV tour. Just get out there and enjoy it!