The festival opens on Friday February 29, 2025, for day 1. The main stage and Steamboat Ski resort viewed from the VIP section.
This past weekend was the 12th annual WinterWondergrassFestival held in Steamboat Springs, CO at the Upper Knolls Parking Lot at the base of the mountain. The festival was graced with some incredible bluegrass musicians as well as fantastic weather over three fantastic days. We break down the five best moments of the sold out 5,000 capacity festival, and all the photos!
1) The Weather
The main stage Saturday afternoon with clear blue skies and 50 degree temps!
Many artists and even the festival announcer proclaimed every day during the festival that this might have been the best weather they've ever had for WinterWonderGrass. It indeed felt like spring for early March in Steamboat Springs, with every day the temperatures hovering around 50 degrees during the day with bright sunshine. Of course, as soon as the sun set, the temperature dropped quickly to below freezing at night. However, during the day, many festival goers were wearing t shirts, hoodies and light clothing, soaking up the sun and dancing as much as they could.
2) Yonder Mountain String Band steals the show both at the after party Saturday night and on the main stage Sunday afternoon.
Yonder Mountain String Band performs Saturday night, March 1, 2025, on top the Gondola for an after party for WWG festival.
"We've been waiting for this for a few years now to come back here to WinterWondergrass!" Proclaimed Yonder Mountain String Band during their set Sunday afternoon. The band was simply incredible, but perhaps the best performance of the whole weekend was their after-party Saturday night on top of the gondola. It was worth going to as the group performed a near 3-hour set, and it didn't even end until around 1:30AM. "I'm surprised they let this many people on top of the Gondola," the band admitted Saturday night as around 200 concert folks filled in the building that normally is packed with snow sporters. Riding on the gondola for the first time made the festival a true Steamboat experience.
3) The food and drinks
The fantastic thing about Steamboat Springs WinterWondergrass is that they offer free beer and alcohol tastings to everyone in general admission all day long all three days of the festival. Not too many festivals do this, so it was especially nice to experience and taste the great free beer and especially delicious Tin Cup Whiskey. The food itself was incredible, especially the samples offered in the VIP tent which included on day 1: pretzels and chili, day 2: nachos and a full pig for pulled pork. The wine samplings were also especially good.
4) Kyle Tuttle & Lindsay Lou
Above: Kyle Tuttle joins in with Trampled by Turtles Sunday evening.
It's hard to do anything when you're expecting a baby so soon, but Colorado bluegrass legend Lindsay Lou was still able to perform all 3 days with a rather impressively large belly. While she was a bit slower than normal, her voice was incredible every time she graced the stage. Kyle wasn't with his infamous group Molly Tuttle & The Golden Highway, but he filled in every day with multiple performances. His amazing banjo skills were top notch every time he was on stage during the festival. A huge shout out to Lindsay to be able to even make the festival with her baby due very soon.
5) Trampled By Turtles
Above: Trampled by Turtles performs on Sunday, March 1, 2025, at WWG
Trampled By Turtles haven't toured in a number of years, so it was absolutely incredible seeing them rip the stage as the final headliner of the festival. Adding a more rock n roll element to the festival, the band's hard and quick style playing gave almost a metal feeling to the festival. The crowd was static, dancing and jumping their way through the entire set, which included impressive covers of Pixie's "Where is My Mind" and The Band's "The Weight" for the final closing song of the festival.
Above: Pixie from Pixie and the Partyrass Boys performs with Kyle Tuttle Sunday afternoon.
One of the best sets of the whole festival was Pixie & The Partygrass Boy's opening show early Sunday afternoon. It was their first time playing the festival, but it was absolutely fantastic, and Pixie brought the party. It was the most amount of dancing by the crowd for an opening act the entire weekend. Pixie also wore an impressive outfit to match the group's energetic performance.Photos provided by Leo Pareti & Vanessa Kay
Day 1 Photos:
Sister Sadie, Night 1 in one of the festival tents:
Day 2:
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