Sawtooth Valley Gathering hits its fifth year
BY DANA DUGAN
Music festivals are summer’s greatest inventions. This year marks the fifth time the Sawtooth Valley Gathering will be held in Stanley, 60 miles north of Ketchum, Thursday, July 25, through Sunday, July 28.
The event is produced annually by James Fowler’s Nothing But Love organization. Fowler, who went to high school in the Wood River Valley, is now a Boise resident. He has long been a live-music enthusiast, traveling to festivals around the world. Fowler knows what he likes: contemporary bluegrass, wicked guitar action, dance jams and a field full of friends enjoying themselves.
As in the past, the festival will feature two full days of live music, camping, craft vendors and food trucks at the event. There are two stages at the venue, the Sawtooth Stage and the newly re-named (for this year) Sawtooth Brewery Nothing But Love Stage.
There are some new additions, too. For instance, there will be a pre-party at the Sawtooth Brewery in Hailey on Thursday, July 25, with Pixie and the Partygrass Boys.
“It’s the ‘Scenic Road To The Sawtooth Valley Gathering Traveling Concert Series’,” said Fowler, laughing. “We had one in Boise at Funky Taco two weeks ago, too.”
On Thursday, July 25, there will be a street party in Stanley to kick things off. The box office will open at 5 p.m. at Mountain Village Resort and camping will be available at the Mountain Village off-site camping area.
“Without Mountain Village, straight up, we couldn’t operate,” Fowler said. “They’re great to us. We’re feeling really good about it.”
Presented by the Kasino Club and Papa Brunee’s Pizza, the street party will be held on Ace of Diamonds Street from 6 to 10 p.m. with the Stanley Street Band and the band, Idaho Vacations. At 10 p.m., Andrew Sheppard, back in town from his new home in Nashville, will play at Mountain Village Resort’s Velvet Falls Dance Hall from 10 to 11:15 p.m. Jupiter Holiday will take the stage from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.
“Jupiter Holiday are my Boise jam-band heroes,” Fowler said. “They’re one of my favorite bands in Idaho. And the Velvet Falls space feels great.”
On Friday, the box office will open at 10 a.m. Up at Stanley Park, the unique festival site with its backdrop of the rugged Sawtooth Mountains, the action will start gently with yoga from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday (and again on Saturday). Earth Beverages will serve kombucha samples, and Mountain Village Resort will open a Bloody Mary bar at the same time.
Music will begin at 11 a.m. and run to midnight each day. Among the highlights—and there are many—will be ALO from Southern California; Yak Attack, Gene Evaro Jr., Brad Parsons, Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, the Quick and Easy Boys from Portland, and many others.
One thing this festival is known for is musicians sitting in with each other over the course of the two days.
Parsons is “one of our heroes,” Fowler said. “It’s his fourth show. He’s the hardest worker out there. He does a lot of sit-ins but he doesn’t leave it up to chance. The artist-at-large squad is solid this year.”
Saturday will see another lineup of regional musicians, including Cassandra Lewis, who plays a “must-see set,” Fowler said.
Lewis has played Treefort Music Fest, and Ranch Fest, and is “super-weird in the best way possible, with a voice as big as the Sawtooths,” Fowler said.
Portland-based Cascade Crescendo will also take the main stage on Saturday.
“They’re the next big bluegrass band,” Fowler said. “John Craigie from Portland is blowing up, and he’ll be followed by Colorado singer-songwriter Daniel Rodriguez, who was with Elephant’s Revival. Dead Winter Carpenters will be back, too.”
The list of artists is deep and impressive. Free Peoples will return, and Andrew Sheppard will play sets both Thursday at Velvet Falls and Friday at the festival site.
The headliner this year, Railroad Earth, will play two sets Saturday night. Hailing from New Jersey, the name comes from a Jack Kerouac poem titled “October in the Railroad Earth.” They are one of those big, hyper-talented bands that blow audiences away with their inventive rhythms. Essentially, they play amplified rock ‘n’ roll on acoustic instruments better than anyone else.
“I’m excited to have them,” Fowler said. “They’re playing two sets to fill in for Jeff Austin, who was booked, but who recently died.”
Fowler enthuses plenty about the music but he’s equally ready to share the glory and the hard work.
“We’re still a volunteer-based event,” he said. “The crew, which is as big as ever, is run by Courtney Sibbett. She works festivals all over the West Coast. Of course, there’s Luke Henry, and we fully support his Summer’s End project. I’m excited to see a bunch of our friends play in Hailey in August.”
More than 15 craft vendors and several food vendors will be on hand, including KB’s, Lime in a Coconut, Wood River Sustainability Center, and Sawtooth Brewery.
Other sponsors include Tito’s Vodka, Sawtooth Adventure Co., Clear Creek Disposal, Sushi on Second, Wood River Roofing, Pioneer Cabin Co., and others. Moss Garden Center will supply floral arrangements.
On Sunday, Velvet Falls will be cranking, with live acts all day from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., open to all pass holders.
“On Monday, we pick up the cigarettes,” Fowler said. “American Spirit is donating ashtrays so we can keep people from dropping their butts all over the park.”
For tickets, information and to reserve campsites, visit sawtoothvalleygathering.com.