2021 music stage is sponsored by Crestone Peak resource

SEPTEMBER 18 - 3 TO 6PM

Lionel Young is a high-energy performer with a bent for the blues. The LIONEL YOUNG BAND, winners of numerous awards for best in and around the Colorado region, won the 2011 International Blues Challenge (IBC) band competition. Added to his victory at the 2008 IBC in the solo-duo category, that makes Lionel Young the first double champion in the history of the IBC.

Fans of the inspired, classically trained Young, love his distinctive brand of blues on the electric violin. The band's show features not only originals but also interpretations of blues classics by Willie Dixon, Leadbelly, T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, & Magic Sam, among others. Hear the strength and passion of Young’s playing, his smooth vocals, he has concocted a singular blend like nothing you have ever heard. The songs, which include his award-winning composition ” Brown Cloud Over Denver” and "Summertime," alternately stir up social concerns and soothe the weary soul. It’s prime. It’s fun. It’s Lionel Young. 

Born in Rochester, New York, Lionel Young began taking violin lessons at the age of six with Anastasia Jempelis at the Eastman School of Music. He was a member of the Pittsburgh Opera-Ballet Orchestra and the National Repertory Orchestra which commissioned him to play bluegrass and blues for their summer festival and on a tour of Japan, Taiwan, and Korea during the 1988 Summer Olympic Music Festival.

Throughout his career, Mr. Young has won numerous awards including: The Young Artist Award (Pittsburgh Symphony); The Concerto Contest (Carnegie-Mellon); The Passamenic Award (Branchwood String Quartet); and the award for the Best Blues Band in Westword’s Best of Denver. He’s also won a position with The Denver Chamber Orchestra and premiered a solo piece by William Hill.

Lionel has had the honor of working with such show biz luminaries as: Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Paige/Robert Plant, Doc Severenson, Linda Ronstadt, Living Color, Billy Taylor, Woodie Herman, Stanley Turrentine, Homesick James, Homer Brown, Hamlet Bluiett, Chief Bae, and Johnny Long.

SEPTEMBER 19 - 12:30 TO 4PM

With a voice loaded with smoky soulfulness, it’s easy to see why Cass Clayton Band is landing on some of the best stages and festivals across the country. CCB has become known for its tight chemistry and high-energy stage presence. Clayton is a songwriter’s songwriter, lyrically and musically, and she takes care to speak her heart and mind and share her journey with the listener. Her new album, PLAY NICE, pulls together disparate influences but ties it all up in a framework that would seem as at home in Muscle Shoals or on Beale Street as it would on Michigan Avenue or Sunset Boulevard – and that’s no accident. Known for their non-denominational approach to music and genre, CCB blends rock, R&B, funk, blues and soul into their own contemporary sound. 

Cass and co-writer/producer, Taylor Scott, have won six songwriting awards through Colorado Music Business Organization and have garnered top reviews from magazines nationally and internationally. PLAY NICE is ranked #1 in the national R&B Chart in January, 2020. Cass’s previous self-titled record from last year won Album of the Year 2018 in the Colorado Blues Society Members’ Choice Awards. In addition, Cass has been voted as one of the top 3 slide guitar players in Colorado and top 2 vocalists (CO Blues Society Members’ Choice Awards). In February, 2019, she was featured on the cover of RECORDING Magazine with a 4-page feature article. Known for a uniquely soulful and velvety vocal style, Cass effortlessly moves from gentle and contemplative to a belting range that will knock you flat. 

The Band includes some of Colorado’s favorite seasoned musicians: Loren Phillips (bass, bkg vocals), Dann Burke (lead guitar, bkg vocals), Steve Saviano (drums), and John Stilwagen (keys, bkg vocals). Internationally touring musician, Taylor Scott, is a regular guest musician producer, and co-writer for the band.