The Crested Butte Summer Music Guide

Most of it, yes. Four free series run every week through the summer: Sunday afternoons at the Umbrella Bar Deck, Monday evenings at CB Town Park, Tuesday evenings in the Courtyard at the Center for the Arts, and Wednesday evenings at the Red Lady Stage. Ticketed shows fill in around them at the Center for the Arts, I Bar Ranch, and the bars on Elk Avenue.

Sundays run 2 to 5 pm, Mondays and Tuesdays start at 5:30 pm, and Wednesdays run 5 to 8 pm. Bring a chair or a blanket for the outdoor ones, and a layer for after the sun drops behind the ridge.

Not for the weekly free series. Ticketed shows sell through the venue, and the popular ones do sell out, which is worth knowing before you drive over.

June through September. Bookings build toward the week of the Fourth of July, hold through August, and close with live bluegrass at the Chili and Beer Festival in September.

Low profile lawn chairs, blankets, snacks, a full picnic if you want one, and non alcoholic drinks in cans or plastic. Leave the alcohol and the glass at home: the Center sells beer, wine, and liquor under a special event license, so outside alcohol is not allowed, and glass is banned in Town Park. Dogs are not allowed either. The show runs rain or shine, and the Town asks that nobody empty an ice chest onto the grass, which cold water kills.

Music on the Mountain at the Red Lady Stage takes camp chairs and blankets on the lawn, with food and drink for sale and a local opener before the headliner, rain or shine. Tunes at Ten Peaks is a deck at the top of the lift, so it is table seating rather than a picnic. Neither one publishes a dog policy, so ask the venue before you count on bringing one.

The Right Now block at the top of this page counts tonight's shows straight from the events calendar, and every listing on this page links to the show it names. Nothing here is hand maintained, so it does not go stale.