Take In The Music And Some Brew
Reggae music and a microbrew.
If this isn’t an excellent idea for an outdoor summer event, I don’t know what is.
On Saturday, the area’s first Microbrew Festival and Reggae Concert lands at the Silver Mountain Amphitheater in Kellogg.
Nearly 20 microbreweries from across the region will set up booths at the mountaintop outdoor theater. They’ll offer 34 blends of microbrew.
The list of participating microbreweries includes Sierra Nevada, Widmer, Northern Lights, Hales Ales, Portland Brewing Co., Full Sail Ale, Thomas Kemper, Deschutes, Rogue, Bridgeport, Lang Creek, Redhook, Coeur d’Alene Brewing, Pyramid, Spanish Peaks and M.J. Barleyhoppers.
In other words, the choices of brews are endless.
Those partaking in the microbrew festival will receive a four-ounce mug. And for the $14.95 price of admission, people get five, four-ounce samples of any microbrew of their choice.
Coupons for three additional samples will be sold at $2 each.
Performing throughout the afternoon are two reggae bands, Seattle’s Clinton Fearon and the Boogie Brown Band and the 8750 Band from Telluride, Colo.
Before moving to Seattle, Kingston, Jamaica, native Fearon played in one of roots reggae’s most influential bands, the Gladiators.
The Gladiators, although never a big name in this country like Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, released numerous ground-breaking albums in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
There’s little doubt the band helped launch the reggae genre. Most of the Gladiators albums are still available in the United States on various independent labels.
Clinton Fearon and the Boogie Brown Band have a lot of outstanding material, including their own, to draw from on Saturday.
The members of 8750 Band - named after Telluride’s elevation, 8,750 feet above sea level - call themselves the “world’s highest reggae band.” Hmmm.
The 8750 is considered one of this country’s best home-grown reggae bands.
Much of this has to do with the 7-year-old group’s eponymous debut CD, which came out in 1993.
The album was voted the No. 1 album released by an American reggae band in 1993 by the Reggae Report, an industry trade magazine.
What makes the 8750 a must-see band is that it covers all scopes of reggae music: dancehall, roots reggae and dub.
The cost for those who don’t wish to drink is $12.95. Tickets are available at all G&B outlets.
For obvious reasons, use a designated driver.
xxxx Microbrew Festival and Reggae Concert Location and times: Silver Mountain Amphitheater in Kellogg, Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Tickets: $14.95 for brew samplers; $12.95 for non-drinkers.