Telluride (Colo.) Park sets up a stage for the festival.
What started out as a fundraiser for a local, publicly-funded radio station has blossomed into what its founder thinks is one of the must-see attractions of the increasingly crowded summer festival season.
"I've lived in Telluride for 25 years and I think it's one of the greatest venues on the planet," said The Ride Festival (July 13 -14) founder Todd Creel of Telluride, Colorado's scenic Telluride Town Park. "I think it compares to Red Rocks and The Gorge. We've taken the venue and programmed it with rock and a diverse type of music. As a longtime member of the local radio community, it really is all about the music."
This year's festival will feature headlining sets from former Talking Heads singer David Byrne with St. Vincent, as well as Colorado favorites Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Rodrigo y Gabriel, Drive-By Truckers, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, and Cake.
Creel, president of show producer Telluride Productions, said he moved the event up from last year's late August date to take advantage of better weather and avoid bumping into the start of the school year. The park's capacity is approximately 12,000 and Creel is expecting around 6,000-9,000 fans per day. Last year's event drew just over 4,000 attendees per day.
The other big change for 2013 is the addition of more shows at smaller venues both nights after the music on the main stage has ended. "We're going to focus on newer talent and less discovered talent along with the headliners," said Creel.
Those groups, which have not yet been announced, will set up at the 300-capacity historic Sheridan Opera House as well as four or five other venues around downtown. The late events will kick off at 11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 p.m. on Sunday and go until 2 a.m. The night shows will require a separate ticket and will likely be accessible through a pass that will be good for all the venues and include drink specials.
He's also offering a free outdoor show at the Mountain Village on Sunset Plaza on the Friday before to help kick off the festival and raise awareness. "The goal is to have a whole melting pot of newer talent that people can go see, some of whom may also play on the main stage," he said of the late-night clubs' shows. The secondary hard ticket for those concerts will also be available on a per-show basis with cost based on the venue and band.
One of the other big selling points for The Ride is the close proximity to the outdoor events that are a landmark of life in Southern Colorado, including hiking, biking and hot springs.
David Byrne with St. Vincent.
The Ride launched last year after Telluride's mayor asked Creel what could be done to organize a big music event to complement the city's iconic bike festival and the long-running Telluride Bluegrass Festival. In addition to being a promoter, Creel was also the president of the listener-supported local radio station KOTO and he conceived The Ride as a fundraiser for the station. While it is a for-profit venture – which he hopes to get into the black within several years – 100 percent of the beer sale revenues go to KOTO FM.
"The primary function is to raise money for KOTO and we expect to make a profit at some point, but we're not expecting it to be a big money maker," he said.
Creel and a partner are footing the bill for the event, though he declined to get into specifics on the total production cost and talent fees. They are working with Red Light Management and San Francisco-based Partisan Arts in booking the event.
Two-day passes are being offered for $125.50 plus service fees, with one-day passes going on sale closer to show date. While most fans will stay at local hotels, organizers have set aside 600 camping sites ($45) and are offering camping and RV packages ($100) as well. VIP passes, which include special sections near the front of the main stage, living room-like chill-out tents as well as VIP bars, bathrooms, a cocktail hour and Sunday brunch are available for $225-$250.
Because the downtown park is such a beloved local landmark, Creel said he will rely on word of mouth, as well as Facebook and Twitter to get out the information to potential attendees. In addition, he plans to buy time on national radio stations and do interviews on public radio stations in the region to promote the show. The total marketing budget is about $50,000.
Interviewed for this story: Todd Creel, (970) 729-2222