PICKIN' PRODUCTIONS: Free Summer Concerts

The Overview / Free Music Every Thursday in July & August

This is Pickin' Productions fifth year producing outdoor free summer concerts series in two beautiful Western Colorado towns. July is in Ridgway's Town Park and then we move to the lovely Paonia Town Park. The concerts bring a variety of top notch national bands, with local and regional groups opening the shows. To see what acts we're presented in the past, click here. The 2012 lineup will be announced soon - check back!

The music genres can be just about anywhere, but tend to lean in the Americana roots direction - bluegrass, folk, funk, swing, county, rock n roll, alt-county, jazz - you name it, really! It's not so much the style, or whether the artist is a household name... it just has to be great music and quality performances. It's always family friendly so the young, the elders and everyone in between enjoy the concerts.

Both town parks have endless grassy lawns to lay blankets and chairs on, with plenty of room for the kids to run around or a game of frisbee or some hoola-hooping. All the concerts provide vendors selling locally prepared and often locally grown food as well as locally brewed beer and local wine - and you're welcome to bring a picnic too.

The concerts are from 6pm and go til dark, and are live broadcast on KVNF

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE RIDGWAY SUMMER CONCERT SERIES EVERY THURSDAY IN JULY, CLICK HERE, OR SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

PICKIN' IN THE PARK - PAONIA

Thursdays in August in Paonia Town Park, Paonia, CO

We couldn't bring you this music series without our sponsors. Please scroll down to see a list of all our 2011 sponsors. We are currently looking for 2012 sponsors, so please be in touch if you are interested.

THE PAONIA 2011 (Last years) LINEUP

Every Thursday in July

August 4 – THE MARCH FOURTH MARCHING BAND

Not Your High School Marching Band - Portland, Oregon ~ Website

Opening Set by Russ Chapman

To describe this band is to say you’ve never seen anything like this band. They bring a blend of horn-driven grooves reminiscent of a second line from New Orleans, a little burlesque, some vaudeville, and lots of marching band madness. The costumed horde, many with their faces painted and several on death-defying stilts, make for the kind of spectacle that deserves the word awesome. We are thrilled to bring this show to Paonia. And will be a show.

August 11 – SHANNON WHITWORTH

Gorgeous Alt Country Infused Folk Music – Brevard, NC ~ website

Opening Joe Alan & Devon Meyers

The first thing that you notice about Shannon Whitworth is the voice—smoky, elegant, a bit husky, and patient at all the right moments. It’s no wonder she’s garnered comparisons to singers from Patsy Cline to Billie Holiday as well as contemporaries like Neko Case. Her songwriting is deep, dark, emotional and rooted in the Appalachian Mountains. Formerly of the bluegrass group The Biscuit Burners, Shannon will bring her guitar, banjo, uke and her full band from the hills of North Carolina to serenade us with beautiful songs and stories.

August 18 – OLD CALIFORNIO

Roots Rock and Roll – Los Angeles, CA ~ website

Opening set by Doctor Robert

Like many of the best bands of some forty years ago, Old Californio finds its roots in a time that once gave California it's own identity, the late sixties and early-to-mid-seventies. Old Californio’s influences include the likes of Neil Young, Canned Heat & Gram Parsons. Yet they find themselves a part of a fresh new sound bubbling up once again from California. You’ll hear bright guitar-driven melodies with sometimes complicated, sometimes earthy arrangements, mixed in with a little down-home country twang and dovetailing instrumental jams, providing ample evidence that they also have a tacit understanding of what made those great classic rock outfits of yore so exhilarating and memorable in the first place. And with that, we bring a little rock and roll to the park this year.

August 25 - THE BLACK LILLIES

Americana Music at its Freshest and Finest – Knoxville, TN ~ website

Opening set by The Quiet American (Aaron Keim from Boulder Acoustic Society)

Born in the rumbling cab of a stone truck and aged in the oak of Tennessee’s smoky night haunts, The Black Lillies have come to the forefront of the Americana scene seemingly overnight. Founded by multi instrumentalist and vocalist Cruz Contreras (co-founder of Robinella and the CCstringband), The Black Lillies have created their own unique brand of country, roots, rock and blues. We’re excited to have one of our favorite new bands close the series.

* Visit the Pickin' Productions Facebook page HERE for updated information.

To visit The Ridgway Summer Concert series website - CLICK HERE

2011 LINEUP FOR RIDGWAY TOWN PARK

Thursdays in July - Ridgway Town Park - Ridgway, CO

JULY 7 - BIG SAM'S FUNKY NATION

High Voltage, Horn Driven Rock & Funk - New Orleans, LA ~ website

Opening Set by Rob Drabkin Trio

Big Sam's Funky Nation have established their presence on the forefront of the New Orleans music scene. Trombone powerhouse and band leader "Big Sam" Williams, formerly of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, has been celebrated as "the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz" by the San Francisco Chronicle and the band has been touted for consistently "bringing a straight raw party". Catch Sam on the HBO original series "Treme". These guys will kick summer right into gear.

July 14 - GREAT AMERICAN TAXI feat. Vince Herman

Colorado's Favorite Front Man, Rockin' Jam Band - Denver, CO ~ website

Opening Set by The Haunted Windchimes

In the past five years, Great American Taxi has become one of the best-known headliners on the jam band circuit. Their uninhibited sound is a swinging concoction of swampy blues, progressive bluegrass, funky New Orleans strut, Southern boogie, honky tonk country, gospel, and good ol’ fashioned rock ’n’ roll! The band features Vince Herman from Leftover Salmon.

July 21 - LAKE STREET DIVE

Groovy Soul, Fresh Songwriting - New York, NY ~ website

Opening Set by Truckstop Honeymoon

Lake Street Dive are at once jazz-schooled, DIY-motivated, and classically pop obsessed. Beginning with catchy songs that are by turns openhearted and wryly inquisitive, this northeastern quartet proceeds to inject them with an irresistible blend of abandon and precision. It's a band with a very cool new groove. And opening is our old friends Truckstop Honeymoon from Lawrence, KS via the Ninth Ward. They bring a whole lot of fun, and a whole lot of great songs.

July 28 - EUFORQUESTRA

Afro Caribbean Barnyard Funk - Fort Collins, CO ~ website

Opening Set by Sticky Mulligan

Originally from Iowa City, IA, Eufórquestra (pronounced: yoo • FOHR • keh • struh) relocated to Fort Collins, CO in August 2008 and has made a splash on the Colorado music scene with its progressive, genre-crossing funk fusions and a relentless tour schedule. They will bring the funk!

PAONIA

Paonia Town Park - August 2011

Children's Music Scholarships: Pickin' Productions in conjunction with the Cocker Kids Foundation will be once again offering children scholarships for music lessons, a musical instrument or a regional music camp. Kids can find applications at the concerts this summer, at the KVNF Studios, and they were submitted to the local schools in May. The winners will be announced at the last show on August 25. Stay tuned for more information on the scholarships as the concerts get closer.

There is a strong focus on the children during these shows. We will also have an area full of games and art projects to keep the kids happy while you watch the show or get up a dance. Feel free to bring a picnic or enjoy some of the local flavors provided by one of our food vendors. We'll be selling local beer (Revolution Brewing) and local wine (Stone Cottage Cellars, Alfred Eames Cellars) at the shows this year too! The opening act begins at 6pm, and the headliner starts at 7pm and will play 2 sets until dark.

Paonia slide show

PAONIA 2011 SPONSORS