By Tami Graham
Special to The PREVIEW
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, KSUT has made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel the 2020 Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass Festival, scheduled for June 5-7 on Reservoir Hill.
KSUT’s primary concern has been and remains the health, wellness and safety of festival attendees, vendors, volunteers and staff, and does not feel it is a responsible decision to move forward with a gathering of this magnitude.
“We’re saddened that in our first year as the new owners of the festival that we’ve had to make this decision, but it was truly the only responsible decision we could have made” stated Tami Graham, KSUT’s executive director.
The festival typically draws approximately 1,500-1,800 attendees. Ticket holders will receive an email with information about refund options.
KSUT is actively communicating with this year’s artists with the goal of replicating the same stellar lineup of folk and bluegrass music for the festival in early June 2021. Scheduled to perform this year were Tommy Emmanuel, Eilen Jewel, Lil Smokies, Town Mountain, Jon Stickley Trio, Shinyribs, Tony Furtado, The Wooks, Songs From the Road Band, The Honey Dewdrops, Stillhouse Junkies, FY5, Bonnie and the Clydes, and Yellow Jacket Singers.
Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass has been an annual event on Reservoir Hill since 2006, when it was founded by Dan Appenzeller and Crista Munro of Folkwest Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Folkwest Inc. transferred ownership of Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass as well as the Four Corners Folk Festival to KSUT Public Radio in September 2019. KSUT is cautiously optimistic about the 25th annual Four Corners Folk Festival moving forward as scheduled for Sept. 4-6 on Reservoir Hill.
“We’re hopeful that we can come together and celebrate great music with our friends and festival family over Labor Day weekend in Pagosa Springs” Graham stated.
KSUT was founded by the Southern Ute Tribe in 1976. It became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1986 and now serves five counties in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico, and is an NPR affiliate with two signals — Four Corners Public Radio and Southern Ute Tribal Radio.
For more information, contact Jill Davis, KSUT festival director, at festivaldirector@ksut.org.
