13 Years Strong: WinterWonderGrass Steamboat Reinforces Its Role as a Tastemaker in Roots Music

The 13th annual WinterWonderGrass Steamboat wrapped up yesterday. This year festival goers were treated to three days of sunshine, fresh powder on top of the mountain, and world class music. Over the years, WWG has developed a reputation in the Americana/bluegrass/roots communities as being a tastemaker and ahead of the curve when it comes to seeking out the best emerging talent.

This year’s edition featured 30 bands on 4 stages over 3 days with 11 acts that made their WWG debut. Sit-ins were prevalent throughout the entire festival. In addition to artists at large Andy Frasco and Lindsay Lou, the weekend saw band members from the entire bill sitting in with one another. Artists like Billy Failing and Jay Cobb Anderson also made some special appearances throughout the weekend.

There were numerous memorable moments that helped make the 13th annual WWG Steamboat one for the ages. From the WinterWonderWomen super group's energetic performances, to Leftover Salmon’s all-request “will it grass” set, which featured fan-requested non-bluegrass songs including Green Day’s “American Idiot,” “Hold On” by Alabama Shakes, and “Loser” by Beck, which featured a surprise appearance from festival director Scotty Stoughton. The full list of songs played is below.

• Soundgarden - “Black Hole Sun”
• Green Day - “American Idiot”
• Men at Work - “Down Under”
• Traffic - “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”
• The Flying Burrito Brothers - “My Uncle”
• Alabama Shakes - “Hold On”
• Radiohead - “Weird Fishes”
• Allman Brothers Band - “Southbound”
• Iron Maiden - “Run to the Hills”
• Beck - “Loser”
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive - “Takin’ Care of Business”
• Tom Petty - “Runnin’ Down A Dream”