This year, the Glenwood Springs Summer of Music program celebrates four decades of bringing the community free, live music.

The Glenwood Springs Summer of Music program grew from humble beginnings. It was a homegrown program started by a local family, Bob and Mary Noone, who wanted to share their love of jazz with their community. The Noones started the Summer of Jazz program, which grew from a few concerts to eight world-class performances every summer.

For 25 years the program operated independently until it was taken over by the Glenwood Springs Art Council in 2011. Now coined the Summer of Music, the program expanded to include performances that crossed multiple genres and incorporated local artists.

Recognizing its importance to the community, the City of Glenwood Springs took responsibility for the program in 2017. In 2018, the Glenwood Springs Summer of Music formed a nonprofit dedicated to keeping the series flourishing for decades to come. 

This summer, the program celebrates its 40th anniversary, giving locals a midweek refresh with free performances by artists including Whiskey Stomp, Feeding Giants, Valle Musico and many more. This summer’s food vendors include the Rolling Fork food truck, Mama’s Pierogi and Taqueria El Yaqui.

The season kicked off on Wednesday, July 9 in Glenwood Springs’ Two Rivers Park with an opening by the beloved local “trashy jam” band Sweet Jessup and the Dirty Buckets followed by headliners King Cabbage Brass Band. 

“Last night’s performance knocked everybody’s socks off,” Annie Olson, president of the Summer of Music Board of Directors, told the Post Independent on Thursday. “The bands, the music, the horns that were played by the headliners.

“Everybody was so close to the stage, they were happy and smiling and dancing, and it was probably one of our best (performances),” she added. “Great get together — family, friends, the food vendors were awesome. Our team worked really, really hard to make this wonderful.”

On Wednesday, July 16, the Grand Avenue Ramblers will open for the winners of the Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest, Still House String Band. Grainne Duffy with Feeding Giants performs on July 23, followed by Flow Trine and Whiskey Stomp on July 30, and the Williams Brothers and the Colorado Currys on Aug. 6. Valle Musico and Selasee and the Fafa Family will close the program’s 40th season on Aug. 13. 

This year’s free performances are sponsored by organizations including the City of Glenwood Springs, Garfield County, Alpine Bank, Bighorn Toyota, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, Iron Mountain Hot Springs and Black Hills Energy. 

Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket, camping or lounge chair and can park for free in the lot off Centennial Street in Glenwood Springs, thanks to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and Iron Mountain Hot Springs. Pets, glass and smoking are not allowed. 

“I’m looking forward to another full house in our audience. As always, I love that people take Wednesday off, bring their families, meet their friends and loved ones that they maybe haven’t seen in a year,” Olson said. “Taking that one night off, basically from the world.

“They can just have a night to themselves and their friends and their family to meet, greet, have fun, dance and just just forget the day for another week,” she added.