Wildfire Reviews: Both Up and the Sky and Kasey Musgraves try but fail this weekend in Aspen, C

Despite a rather large crowd that filled up the grounds at Buttermilk Ski Resort's brand new Up in the Sky Festival, sound issues and a less than stellar performance by Kacey Musgraves made the festival just average.

New festivals always seem to struggle in their first year of existence, and Up In The Sky was no different. Despite good efforts by the festival itself and great security, including guards passing out waters to everyone up front throughout the day, the festival itself suffered from a number of issues that made it a bit unpleasant to attend for twelve straight hours.

There was some great things about the brand new Up In the Sky Festival. The layout, festival staff and security were all superb throughout the weekend. The festival was so thoughtful that all non-alcoholic drinks besides beer were free. This was a great thing to have on a warm, August afternoon. Luckily, the rain seemed to hold off for both days, and both Friday and Saturday had pleasant weather for the festival.

The majority of the crowd were young teenage girls there for Role Model, electronic group Glass Animals and country superstar Kacey Musgraves. However, there were some older folks in attendance. While most were from Colorado, some traveled far and wide to reach the festival. California residents Cindy and her friend Naz flew into Denver to see the festival, traveling all the way from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

A festival hero in Saturday was the guy who was doing continuous summersaults on the back hill, with even some of the bands commenting on his performance.

Unfortunately, the festival suffered from several major mishaps that made it less than stellar throughout the full day Saturday.

The sound was a major problem throughout the afternoon and evening, making it hard to hear all the instruments on stage even while up front. Electric and acoustic guitars were hard to hear as well as vocals throughout the day and evening.

Unlike other festivals in Colorado, Up In the Sky suffered from transportation-there was no festival parking at the event itself-folks had to shuttle in on regular transportation from parking lots several miles away. However, this is ultimately the cost of having an event in Aspen where there's normally not a lot of parking anywhere.

While her performance was good, Kacey Musgraves hardly spoke to the crowd Saturday night, and she seemed to truly shed off of her beginnings to new and greater things. She only played one song from her first record. Understandably while many artists like to play newer songs, it would have been nice to hear her play 'Merry Go Round' and other hit singles that made her become the country star she is today. It would have been nice if she had played a bit longer as well.

There was a large crowd in attendance Saturday evening, so this hopefully will make a profit for the festival and they'll return next year at Buttermilk Ski Resort with better sound and a more enjoyable experience for everyone.