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Hill Stompers bring joyful sound to Brewfest

Let’s hear it for beer. The magical elixir made up of water, hops, malt and yeast has been brewed, consumed and enjoyed since the dawn of time. And for good reason.

People plan vacations around visiting places with great breweries or beer history. Books have been written about the art of brewing, and lives have been dedicated toward the pursuit of the perfect pint. Craft beer is everywhere, and along with the traditional pale ales and lagers, breweries are stepping it up, experimenting with different ingredients, researching ancient recipes and making beers that are far from a rice-brewed pilsner in of a can.

Durango will celebrate beer tomorrow in Buckley Park at the 16th Annual San Juan Brewfest, a benefit for United Way of La Plata County. More than 50 breweries and well over 100 beers from around the nation will represent, all served up in tasting glasses amid a back-drop of music. Three local bands will perform, along with one band from Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Bluegrass band Blue Sage Bandits, rock, reggae, funk and jam band Elder Grown and blues band One Roof Blues will all represent Durango. They’ll be followed by the rowdy, perfect-for-a-beer-festival band The Hill Stompers.

The Stompers have history with Durango, having come through town each Snowdown for the last decade to play music in the parade followed by their musical flash-mob, crashing local restaurants to surprise and entertain Snowdown revelers with a rogue and impromptu song or two. As soon as you recognize that they’re playing a brass-band version of a Queen cut or the theme to “SpongeBob Squarepants,” they’ve moved on.

It’s fun, not only for the listener but also for the musicians. Many of the players learned through forced instruction of an instrument as kids, and the band offers a more relaxed atmosphere for music.

“It’s just really fun to do,” said drummer Jeff Favorite on the phone last week from Los Alamos. Favorite said there are a lot of people out there who played in marching bands in high school or even college.

“Then you don’t get a chance to play your horn a lot after you leave high school and college,” he said. “Our band takes your old high school musician and throws them out on the street in unexpected ways. It’s really fun to be a part of that, and really fun to watch the band come in. We like to stay mobile. We don’t march, we don’t drill, we don’t turn corners. But we are completely mobile, ambulatory as they say, so we can come to you.”

Performing on a stage is something new. The 25-person band, which also includes dancers and hula-hoopers, is typically more fond of being in the crowd than above it. Yet look for the band to utilize all the grounds of the event, and perhaps even perform a post-show flash mob somewhere on Main Avenue.

“We like to play where its unexpected,” Favorite said. “Durango’s been so good to us, we’re happy to be a part of the San Juan Brewfest and closing the event ... It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

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

Bryant’s Best

Today: Rock music with the Lawn Chair Kings, 6 p.m., free, The Balcony Bar and Grill, 600 Main Ave., 422-8008.

Saturday: 16th Annual San Juan Brewfest, 1 p.m. $25/VIP $50. Buckley Park, 1200 Main Avenue, www.sanjuanbrewfest.com



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