Photo: Keller Williams & Grateful Grass
By Clayton Chaney
This year marks the 17th annual Rhythms on the Rio Music Festival taking place August 2 – 4 in Del Norte, Colorado, and it’s promising to be another classic. The festival takes place along the Rio Grande River and offers camping with every 3-day festival ticket.
Rhythms has been known to showcase up-and-coming artists, like Tyler Childers back in 2017. This year’s line-up is no different and is full of attention grabbers with artists from an exciting mix of genres. Everything from country and bluegrass to funk, rock, soul and other psychedelic sounds will be on display all weekend long.
A Thursday pre-party features Easy Jim, who will be playing music from The Grateful Dead, as the festival pays tribute to Jerry Garcia. Rhythms takes place during what is known as The Days Between – a nine day period beginning with the birth of Garcia, ending with the anniversary of his passing. The celebration is available to all those who purchase a Thursday Early Entry Pass.
Friday’s headliner is an exciting one for sure; The California Honeydrops. A group that started out by playing in subway stations in Oakland, CA, the retro-soul group has performed in festivals around the world. Festival goers can expect a truly one of a kind experience at this show, as the group is known for its improvisational skills and completely abandoning the use of set lists — it’s a guarantee that no two shows are the same. The California Honeydrops are set to begin a two-month long North American tour following their appearance at Rhythms.
Another Friday artist that is sure to excite is Clay Street Unit, a southern country/folk group based out of Denver. The group released its first EP in 2022 and since then has built a following with some captivating live shows, offering a refreshing take on some classic country sounds.
Alysha Brilla, a self-produced award winning artist from Canada, will get things started with uniquely healing sounds drawing from a wide range of cultures. Brilla has toured around the world bridging cultures and genres with intimate storytelling shows bound to leave feeling good about something.
Also performing Friday will be Animal Liberation Orchestra, or ALO, a trio with some undeniably smooth, funky and groovy sounds that simply can’t be categorized.
Saturday features five more artists with the likes of Shadowgrass, The Fretliners and Armchair Boogie. A couple of classic bluegrass pickin’ bands that are sure to get your feet stopping as the day warms up.
Also performing on Saturday will be The Lil Smokies, an American-roots group formed out of Missoula, MT with influences from the 1970’s Laurel Canyon storytelling scene to west Texas country classics.
One of the most exciting sets I’m looking forward to, well actually two sets, is Saturday night’s headliner Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country set, followed by his rendition of Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline which he’ll be performing in its entirety. Donato crosses and blends genres with classic bluegrass twang and passionate improvisational rock n’ roll. Or as he describes it, “It’s yin and yang in a musical form. It’s three chords and the truth, and then on the other side it’s exploration and bravery…”
The festival doesn’t slow down on Sunday with another full day of music. Cousin Curtiss will get things going with a high energy set with some bluegrass twang. The Runaway Grooms will take on the afternoon. They’re a group that encapsulates the Colorado mountain spirit by mixing psychedelic classic rock sounds, funk and blues.
Sunday will also feature a festival debut with Magic Beans, a downright groovy band that will make it hard to stand still.
Diggin’ Dirt will keep things going with some more funky soul-inspired tunes. The seven piece from Humboldt County, CA is deeply rooted in classic soul but flashes signs of reggae, afrobeat and psychedelic rock.
Sunday night’s closes out with another nod to the Grateful Dead with headliner Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass featuring The Hillbenders. Their music might seem far different from original Grateful Dead tracks or traditional bluegrass music, but the two combined makes for an intriguing and energetic live show.
One of the best parts about this non-profit festival is that all the proceeds benefit the South Fork Music Association; a group that provides materials and lessons to music programs all across Southern Colorado.
For more information and tickets to the festival, visit their website at rhythmsontherio.com. All 3-day festival passes include camping! Attendance is capped to ensure an intimate festival feel, so don’t hesitate getting tickets…
Clayton Chaney writes about music and culture in Colorado’s Four Corners region.