Tahoe Onstage photos by Rachel Lopez
The Pickathon continued with Day 2 of WinterWonderGrass Tahoe at Palisades Tahoe on April 2. With multiple bluegrass sets on a beautiful sunny day and Grammy-winning band “The Infamous Stringdusters” headlining, we knew Saturday is going to be a good one. Campers lined the parking lot and festivalgoers wore their most funky costumes as they filed in.
AJ Lee & Blue Summit hit the Jamboree tent, filling in for Trout Steak Revival, which unfortunately had to bow out of the festival due one of its members testing positive for Covid. But AJ Lee & Blue Summit band did not disappoint. With major solos and each band member performing at their peak they mesmerized the crowd with their innate talent.
The Kitchen Dwellers started off their set with a reggae cover and finished with a country cover, which just about blew everyone’s minds. Their hard-strumming, fast bluegrass picking style otherwise known to the universe as galaxy grass is a unique blend of bluegrass you don’t want to miss out on. Hailing from Montana, the boys brought the heat to the main stage, setting up the audience for long-awaited Fruition.
The Larry Keel Experience was downhome classic rock grassy vibes in the Soapbox tent perfect for this Tahoe bluebird day.
Fruition came straight from the Pacific Northwest. It’s been a while since they’ve played in Tahoe and the crowd warmly welcomed them back. With jammy tunes paired with a rock ‘n’ roll sound, they released mountain energy like no other.
Winning a Grammy in 2018 and nominated for many others throughout the years, The Infamous Stringdusters have came a long way. Their musically talent band members with amazingly fast picking beats have continuously blown away fans and this performance was no exception. Looking down the audience from main stage the crowd was backed up to as far as the eye can see on this Saturday night. Jeremy Garrett on fiddle pulled such a mind-blowing solo, you could see his broken strings waving around on stage. How they play so fast and pick so hard I don’t know, but it’s a sight to see.
Day 2 of WinterWonderGrass was an amazing day. Let’s keep up the good times with more bands to come Sunday.
-Rachel Lopez
