Grand Junction, Colorado may not be known as a Mecca for live music aficionados but it has plenty to offer. Throughout the year, music lovers in the area (which is commonly known as the Grand Valley because of the river that connects each town through a winding road) can participate in various festivals that both feature live music and center around live music of all genres.
Let’s start with Farmer. Every Thursday evening from mid-spring through late summer, local farmers and business owners converge on Main Street at the Historic Downtown Grand Junction to share their work with the community. Since the beginning of Main Street Farmers, several other venues have joined the bandwagon, so to speak, but the main venue is still the biggest and best known. .
The farmers market spans four blocks of Main Street and in each block participants can indulge in fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade food and live music. Everything is represented in the music festival, from classical to Hawaiian pan pipes to belly dancers to mainstream folk music, and each patrons of the week are sure to find out what’s new at the party.
Thirteen miles west of Grand Junction on Interstate 70, in the one-stoplight town of Mack, country music lovers will find it. Jam Ranch. Country is four days of music a festival that falls on the last month of June each summer, starting on Thursday and ending around eleven o’clock at night Sunday For more than a decade, music lovers have enjoyed the festival around the state of Colorado and neighboring states. , which not only features country/western acts and artists such as Brooks and Dunn, Dolly Parton, Clay Walker, but also classic bands and rock artists including The Monkees, Styx, and ZZTop.
The first summer Country Jam was not the only chance to see Colorado residents ZZTop on the Ranch stage. In 2003, the town became home to Rock Jam as well. The same principle applies to big-bill bands and solo artists, but Rock Jam, held the first weekend in September, is only scheduled for a two-day event. Rock Jam-goers were treated to the singing styles of Joan Jett, Sammy Hagar, Alice Cooper and many others. (For information and tickets to both events, visit www.countryjam.com).
The Palisade Persian Festival is growing in national recognition. Every year, in early August, the farmers of the Pali region (about ten miles east of the Grand Junction on Interstate 70) gather to display their crops. While the focus of the weekend is peaches, life music provides the ambiance. From Friday afternoon through Saturday-night, each type of Peach Festival is viewed in one live, local or cohort . the other. (For more information, visit www.palisadepeachfest.com.)
Finally, throughout the year, music aficionados can live in a variety of concerts at the Mesa Theater, located in Historic Downtown Grand Junction at 582 Main Street. Once the movie theater that closed to the public in 1980, he reformed the recently restored Mosa Theater. and at an 800 capacity concert hall, the local concert band has drawn concert bands and nationally touring artists of similar caliber. Also at Mosa Theater, nights with no music live, a dance club with a focus included. children. Teen dance parties are not uncommon events at Mosa Theater. (For the matters of the cards, see
Although Grand Junction isn’t known for its live music scene, it’s not completely lacking in opportunities. In addition to these major venues and festivals, many local restaurants and bars have live music from once a month, as well as some other places two or three times a week. Finding live music in Grand Junction can take a little work, but it’s definitely worth the effort.
