Bluegrass Festival comes to Hard Rock Lake Tahoe on July 11

Pioneers in the progressive bluegrass scene, Greensky Bluegrass headlines the inaugural Lake Tahoe Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, July 11 as part of the BaseJam Summer 2015 Outdoor Concert Series at the new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe outdoor arena.

Winner of the Telluride Bluegrass festival’s band competition in 2006, Greensky Bluegrass fuses acoustic bluegrass with the feel of a rock and roll party. The five member group has forged a defiant, powerful sound that, while rooted in classic stringband Americana, extends outwards with a fearless, exploratory zeal. The tension and release between these components – tradition and innovation, prearranged songs and improvisation, acoustic tones and electric volume – is what makes them so thrillingly dynamic, in concert and on record.

Fresh off their recent Grammy win for Best Bluegrass Album, Jerry Douglas’ bluegrass super group, The Earls of Leicester have brought bluegrass mainstays Tim O’Brien, Shawn Camp, Johnny Warren, Barry Bales, and certified guitar expert Charlie Cushman together to pay tribute to bluegrass pioneers, The Foggy Mountain Boys. The Earls’ award- winning album features 14 tracks hand-selected from The Foggy Mountain Boys’ songbook with the hopes of introducing modern bluegrass fans to their roots.

Joining the all-star lineup is fellow Grammy Award-winning bluegrass artists, The Del McCoury Band. Formerly known as “Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals,” the Del McCoury Band has won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album twice, once in 2006 for “The Company We Keep” and again in 2014 with “The Streets of Baltimore.” The band is named after their founder and legendary bluegrass guitarist Del McCoury, whose open-mindedness towards his music has brought the band critical and mainstream success for over two decades.

Along with these bluegrass heavyweights, The David Grisman Sextet will be performing at the festival. The David Grisman Sextet marries alternative folk, hot jazz and classic rock for their one-of-a-kind sound and quick tempo. Grisman has been a part of the music world since the age of ten and in 1990 started his own record label Acoustic Disc. During their 40 years on the road the band has played with notables Tony Rice and Jerry Garcia.

Then there is New Monsoon, whose genre-less music has gotten them to festivals ranging from Austin City Limits to Bonnaroo to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The San Francisco jamband blends free-flying rock with acoustic stylings, tight vocal harmonies, and lyrical songcraft.

Rounding out the line-up is the Tahoe-based group, The Dead Winter Carpenters. Founded on the shores of North Lake Tahoe in 2010, the five-piece band brings a truly alternative sound to the festival stage by blending Americana-roots-rock guitars and a blistering fiddle with in-your-face country lyrics. Their newest release, a six-song EP called “Dirt Nap,” covers a range of emotions with songs like “West Shore Town,” a somber look at the darker side of existence, and the upbeat “Triumph,” which conversely details persevering through the dark to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Doors for the Lake Tahoe Bluegrass Festival open at 12 p.m. and the first band starts at 12:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $45 and a limited number of VIP tickets are available for $90, which include access to a special front-of-stage viewing area, private bars and upgraded restrooms. Event organizers are offering special children’s ticket pricing for children 12 and under for $10 and can be purchased on the day of the show only with proof of a full-price adult ticket. All children six years and under are free.

For those looking to keep the party going there will be an after party inside Vinyl with Del McCoury’s band The Travelin’ McCoury’s and The Dead Winter Carpenters.

Tickets for the Lake Tahoe Bluegrass Festival can be purchased at https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/821687, www.ticketfly.com or by calling 877-987-6487.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe is teaming with PR Entertainment, Inc., which is building and operating the temporary outdoor concert amphitheater that holds up to 7,500 people. The property is transforming its back parking lot into an outdoor arena that will host top-name national artists performing in an intimate setting with the unparalleled backdrop of Lake Tahoe. The outdoor arena offers food concessions, full-service bars and a sponsor/vendor village to purchase retail items.