Log In


Reset Password
Columnists View from the Center Bear Smart The Travel Troubleshooter Dear Abby Student Aide Of Sound Mind Others Say Powerful solutions You are What You Eat Out Standing in the Fields What's up in Durango Skies Watch Yore Topknot Local First RE-4 Education Update MECC Cares for kids

Bluegrass festival to be focus of documentary

The 2014 Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, which wrapped up Sunday, included a series of cameras and personnel filming on stage, the Strater lobby and behind the scenes at all of the venues.

The cameras and lights were documenting all of the Meltdown for a forthcoming documentary about the ins and outs of a small bluegrass festival that remains a true jewel among the local, regional and national bluegrass communities.

“For the Love of Bluegrass” is the project of Paul and Elle Ambrose, two longtime supporters of the festival whose Meltdown support goes back 18 years. The Ambroses are graphic designers who created the posters and promotional materials for the event for years, including the cartoon polar bear whose presence graced the poster and T-shirts for years.

While this will certainly showcase the talent on the stage of this year’s event, it is also a documentary of thanks for the volunteers who put on this festival. Unlike many festivals across the country, there is no corporate sponsorship of this event. No “Red Bull” energy stage, no banners for Subway Sandwiches and no deep-pocketed capitalist looking for a return on an investment in music. Unless you are a regional or national musician, it is a volunteer gig from the board members to the local bands.

“We started to document the general bluegrass community in Durango,” said Paul Ambrose last week from the KDUR studios. “We wanted to cover a lot of behind the scenes of what goes on. This is a very unique festival. It’s organic and homegrown.”

The film will also follow three local bands: The Badly Bent, Running out of Road and Loose Change.

Another portion will be to show the detail that goes into planning a festival.

“People always like to get a peek behind the curtain, see what goes on backstage and what makes things happen,” Paul Ambrose said. “It’s a fascinating part of it, and if you just go to a concert, you don’t see that.”

The Meltdown remains a beloved festival for former local musicians, past board members and fans.

“It has a 20-year history of being a locally organized, hardscrabble event. It’s fitting that a documentary on the festival’s history is coming from local talents with the same philosophies as the festival: local, independent, educational and artistic,” said former Meltdown board member David Smith.

“I feel that the film will complement the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown in the same way that the Durango local bands complement the event with local heart and soul.”

A portion of the film is being funded by a Kickstarter campaign. The $3,500 goal, which will not cover the costs of the film, will help pay hired hands that filmed throughout last weekend’s event. The Kickstarter deadline is noon Sunday.

“For the Love of Bluegrass” should debut on local movie screens in September.

Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.

Bryant’s Best

Today: Celtic stomp music with Big’Ns, 9 p.m. No cover. Irish Embassy, 900 Main Ave., 403-1200.

Saturday: White Water Ramble and the Bear Handed Killers, 9 p.m. $10. Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive, 799-2281.



Reader Comments