Wildfire Reviews: Kitchen Dwellers perform a sold out show at Surf Hotel in Buena Vista, CO A

Above: Kitchen Dwellers perform on Tuesday, January 21, 2026 at the Surf Hotel in Buena Vista, CO

Montana jam bluegrass group Kitchen Dwellers performed to a sold out crowd in the 300 person venue The Surf Hotel in Buena Vista, CO this past Tuesday night.

The entire show was a dancing fun time with most of the younger audience swaying to the grooves of the bluegrassish Kitchen Dwellers Tuesday night this week. The concert was one hundred percent sold out, and it was a unique opportunity to view the band in such a small venue. In two weeks, the group will headline the 4,000-seat venue Mission Ballroom in Denver in comparison. "Not too many times in your career do you get to play a 300-seat venue and then a 4,000 one the following week," explained the lead singer of Kitchen Dwellers. The band also performed previous sold out shows in Telluride and Crested Butte in January of 2026.

The band performed over a two-hour set with a small break in between. The sound was great in the small venue, and every instrument could clearly be heard. The vocals were spot on as well. The Dwellers are one of those groups who change the set list every night, so it was interesting how that developed and how different Tuesday's set list was than the ones the band performed the past previous nights in Crested Butte and Telluride, which they also sold out.

The highlight of the night was the groups mandolin player, who expressed a number of exceptional solos throughout the evening.

The group performed a number of non-hit songs, but did include "Gypsy" in the set list, and an excellent version of Neil Young's "Down by The River". It was surprising that no Grateful Dead songs were played considering Bob Weir's recent passing.

Being sold out, the small standing room in the Surf Hotel became incredibly warm by the end of the night, which is one of the reasons why the show wasn't completely perfect. Of course, this wasn't a fault of the band. Kitchen Dwellers are one of those groups who perform easily 10-20-minute-long songs are very jam friendly, which could be both a downside or plus depending on which way you look at it.

Overall, it was very special seeing a well-known bluegrassish group in such a small venue, which is what the Surf Hotel is known for.

Setlist Kitchen Dwellers, Tuesday, January 21, 2026, Buena Vista, CO:

Set 1:

Woods Lake

Tom Barrett

Farmer's Son

Phaedrus

Waterford Son

Gypsy

Pendulum

June Apple

Set 2: