Steamboat 2005 – The Music Fest

Sorry For Partying took on a whole new meaning and was definitely an aptly Galleywinter designated quote for this year’s Music Fest. I don’t know from experience, but I was told by a lot of folks and artists that this trip was indeed the best one yet. The average hours slept, is probably as good as any reflection of how much fun we had and I would gauge that our Condo was about 3-4 hours per night. Yeah… SFP… I’ll try to hit on every show that I went to and fill in some gaps with some reviews posted by other folks. We may not get to every show… but that’s what has already started me thinking about going back next year. And let me tell you.. Out of all the shows I went to, Galleywinter was representing front and center of every crowd. Maybe twice I didn’t recognize the people up there but did notice that there were some folks from Galleywinter maybe 2 rows back That just shows you the dedication of the fans that frequent this website! Oh yeah, and thanks to anyone that held that spot for me when I got there late. LOL

Tuesday – Day 1 Lots of checking in, complaining about the lack of Oxygen, and gearing up for the big week. Everyone arrived and headed to Lupo’s (a local bar) for the pre-party of sorts on Tuesday night. Just about every one of the artists were there and having a great time. Not really any music,but lots of good time and good friends… so we’ll just move on to Wed.

Wednesday – Day 2 I pulled into Steamboat about a quarter past two and we headed up to Bear River (another bar) just in time to catch Bleu Edmondson Band put on an awesome show. When he went into Dallas and hollered out the lyrics… “Stuck in the middle of a 3 day bender” Everyone around us kinda looked at each other… smiled… and proceeded to rock totally out! Boland was up next and capped off a great first concert set. I met probably 10 or 15 people from Galley that first day that I had never met before. It was great sharing that opening show with everyone!

Next up, our crew had to split up because Pat and Cory were throwing a huge show in the MusicFest Tent at the same time as an acoustic show was starting up the mountain. I opted for the acoustic set, so we took the journey up the lift to a bar on the mountain. I got a chance to hang out with Dierks Bently while we were waiting and let me tell you… I know it’s been said before but this guy is great. He was just as excited to go up and listen to the show as we were. The Braun brothers (yes, all of them) were the first we saw go on and they ripped it up! The talent in that family never ceases to amaze me. Next up was Boland, Stoney, Cody Canada, and Randy Rogers. The thing that really stuck out was when Boland sang Train to Birmingham. That song is pure greatness. Cody and Dierks got up and sang a little “42 Miles” and Dierks even sat in and did one of his songs.

Stoney LaRue getting down!

Our counter parts that headed over to Pat and Cory were floored by the performance. I was defiantly jealous I didn’t go to that one. June said Cory and Pat were what else, but amazing and fantastic…during “hank”, about 10 different artists got up there with Pat…Cory of course, Roger Creager, Django, Wade and Stokes. During “don’t break my heart again”, Pat called Wade out and the song became a duet instantly…it was just AWESOME!!

We all converged back on the finale show of the evening.. Doug Moreland and Randy Rogers. By the time we got back down the mountain, Randy had already started and that place, Levelz, was filled to capacity. We made our way to the front and had a blast till Randy rocked us into submission. It was Brillant. We moved on to the nightly party back at the Condo to regroup.

Thursday – Day 3 Thursday started with mixed emotions as Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers and Roger Creager were going on in the big tent just about the same time that Django was going to be playing at Bear River. I opted to start out with Django, which was a great show! It was early and they played 5-6 songs that were great! He played a couple new ones, and even played one of my favorites… Life’s Great Mysteries! After he went off stage I ran down to meet up with some other friends and caught the beginning up Randy Rogers. Dang it! I had missed all of Wade’s show! But, let me tell you… The tent was packed! Renee was there for Wade and said the band started rocking out the tent with the first note and didn’t let up. She said one of the highlights was getting to hear Wade’s new song, “Mood Ring” – love it! The new CD that is coming out this year is going to be amazing – well worth the wait!! Randy did an awesome job and it was great hearing that many people sing “Tonight’s Not The Night”. We decided we needed some dinner at this point and head back up the mountain to the Condo.

Part of Team Galley having a great time!

After eating and partying with a ton of people at the Condo, we headed over to the Grand Ballroom for a huge acoustic show. There were a ton of people going to see the Trailers and Gary Allen play at the Tent (which was at the same time) and I heard that it was a great show. I think someone around here still has a knot on her head from Stokes, of the Trailers, stagediving onto her forehead! We got in to the ballroom and headed front and center to hear Django, Ryan Bingham and Dub Miller start it off. Ryan Bingham wins the “why haven’t I heard of this guy” award. What an amazing guitar player! If you get the chance, go see him! Django played a slow acoustic version of College Life which was really cool and I think Dub capped the set with the Sail Boat Song. If you don’t know this one.. well… I don’t think I can explain it here. Next up, Randy Rogers, Bleu, Wade, Cody Canada, and Stoney got up there. Jeremy Watkins and Doug Moreland took turns playing the fiddle and even Dierks Bently came up and sang his up coming single. Cody Canada broke out into Sick and Tired and brought up a great surprise… LeAnn Womack!!! Rock On! A few songs that stuck out to me were Wade doing Atlantic City, Bleu starting out $50 and a Flask of Crown with Kurtis Lowe (w/ Matt Powell) and my absolute favorite was stoney playing “On The Other Side”. Everyone was chanting “Stoney… Stoney…” and I had no idea that many people knew that song. Everyone on stage was playing along and I have never seen an acoustic show get that wild. Yeah.. that’s Stoney LaRue alright. At the end the all sang “The Weight” (you know, the ‘take a load off Fanny’ song) Even after that, the guys wouldn’t get off the stage! My favorite quote was from Randy Rogers… “This is my last show in Steamboat, I mean what are they gonna do? Send me home?” The sound guys eventually had to pull the plug on them. This show definitely wins my vote as the favorite of Steamboat 2005.

Boland was playing the finale show at Levelz, but I was so spent I just walked on by when I saw that it was “one in/one out”. I heard that Boland was in rare form and blew everyone away, as usual.

Friday – Day 4 Friday started much like the others. Everyone was debating whether they wanted to ski or stay home and recover. To draw off a quote from a new found buddy, “You can’t party all afternoon, if you don’t start at noon.” So we did… Stoney Larue opened up the day for us at Bear River. It was a quick five songs and there was a tremendous amount of disappointment in the air when he had to go off stage. Everyone just wanted him to keep playing. I headed over to the main tent to catch some Jack Ingram and Cross Canadian Ragweed. Bleu Edmondson had kicked off that show as everyone said it went off in true Bleu form. I’m kicking myself for missing it. Anyway, Jack rocked the tent like only he can do and even brought Django up on stage for some fun and singing. Nobody rocks like Ragweed and they showed everyone how it was done. We stayed through Boys from Oklahoma and saw everyone get on stage and sing a verse. Funny Stuff.

We left Ragweed and headed back to Bear River to see the Trailers doing an up close and personal set. We missed a lot of the show but were there enough to enjoy it. They walked off stage, but were forced back on with chants of “3 more songs”. So they did 3 more! I think today was, by far, the toughest set of artists to choose from, but seeing a little of each was great!

That evening held another acoustic set, which we choose not to go to. We had met up with a few other groups and decided to go back to the condo and hang out. Hanging out turned into partying all night long with guitars and good friends. One of my favorite night was Friday even though we didn’t see any “real” musicians.

Saturday – Day 5 Well after the craziness that was Friday night turned into Saturday morning we all got up and got geared up for another run at the last day of Music. We started this day just like all the rest.. at Bear River. South Austin Jug Band was in full force! Those boys are one talented group of musicians. Mickey and the Motorcars were up next and those guys put on one of the best sets I’ve seen them do in a long time. Everyone was excited and couldn’t wait for the night to begin! There were so many good bands playing we had to kind of pick and choose. We started out at Seth James in the Grand Ballroom. Seth had a three piece band that sounded so smooth. I’m definitely catching him the next time he comes around. From there we headed over to the big tent to catch Cory and PG do an acoustic set with Roger Creager and Jack Ingram. Unfortunately, time was not on our side and our goal was to see the complete finale show at Levelz. So we left the tent and headed straight to Levelz to be sure to get that front a center spot. But before I got out of the tent I did notice June and Karina front and center at the PG show. Later I heard June say that PG put on one of the best ones ever. I’m kicking myself for missing that one, but I had to choose I guess. At Levelz, Django took the stage with a sound the reminded me how they do things… Loud and Proud! Greg Combs is back with the band and his 1 year stint with a rock band really brought so much to the sound. I can’t wait to hear these guys rip it up again. Wade took the stage and it was all good. He brought up each of the musicians at one time or another and even Seth James and Matt Powell played so duets and solos that would make a grown man weep. The night ended with “The Weight” and everyone was joining in. A great fitting end to a week of hard core music and fun. A quick 1 hour nap and I’m headed back to the airport to catch the plane back to Texas! What a night!

It was a great trip indeed and even after 4 days of recovery I’m still feeling rough. There’s that feeling of “Wow, I can’t believe I made it through” and “ I can’t wait to go back!” It’s a great mixture of feelings for sure. Many, Many thanks to Dickson Productions for bringing Texas a little north and putting on such a great event. Everyone from Galleywinter had such a great time and can’t wait to be a part of things as they get bigger and better every year. You all worked hard so we could play hard… Thanks!

Team Galley, Tank

See you in 2006!