Since 2011, the Durango Blues Train has been playing its way through the Animas Valley into the San Juan Mountains on warm August nights, courtesy of Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad cars.
Now, a new version of the fun musical train ride will load up passengers in May, featuring bluegrass music, that perennial Colorado favorite.
Tickets for the May 28 through 30 runs will go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 19. The artist lineup will be released Feb. 17, said Jacob Bomersback, director of marketing for SBG Productions, the company putting on the train as well as the Durango Blues Train, Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival and Telluride Gay Ski Week. There will 280 tickets available, and if the quick sellout rate of the blues train is any indication, it’s probably a good idea to get online as early as possible for the bluegrass version.
If you go
WHAT: Durango Bluegrass Train
WHEN: May 28-30
WHERE: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
TICKETS: $165 per person, 21 and older. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 19.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.durangobluegrasstrain.com
Bomersback said the idea for the bluegrass train was a natural progression from the blues train: The company wanted to offer a different genre of music using the same fun format.
“Colorado, especially the southwest corner, and Durango in particular, loves bluegrass, and so we’re just taking the same concept and bringing a new genre to it,” he said. “And not just bluegrass, but folk and roots music in general, where we know that it resonates with the community.”
The bluegrass train won’t replace the beloved blues one, he said, rather, the two will bookend the summer season – bluegrass at the end of May and the blues train Aug. 20 to 22.
The new train will feature six live performances happening simultaneously throughout the three and a half hour round-trip ride, according to a news release. The train leaves Durango at 7 p.m. and stops for a 15- to 20-minute break at Rockwood before making its way back to the D&NGR depot. Passengers are encouraged to explore the whole of the train for different acts – each performing in their own coach. There are also bar cars, merch, open dance floors and even two quiet cars, where patrons can chat and take a break from the music.
“The idea is you can go up and down the train all night long, and just take in the scenery, have a cold beverage,” Bomersback said. “It’s like a music festival experience, but unique because it’s on board a historic train.”
As for the selection of performers, he said signing acts wasn’t hard at all.
“We’ve cast a wide net. We’re leaning into Colorado artists, and then also national touring acts as well. So we’ve got a little bit of both,” he said. “We’re hoping to tap into the community that already exists in the fanbase from Colorado and Durango, but also attract folks from the Four Corners that would drive to see an artist that they like.”
And for music lovers, Bomersback said, the combination of great live music and a train ride is an experience worth having – especially one that happens in our neck of the woods.
“You’ve got the scenery, passing through such beautiful and rugged terrain. You get to that iconic viewpoint called the high line, which, in May ... we get there right around the time the sunset is peaking, and the bands are playing, people are just having the best time. It’s hard to put it in words,” he said. “A lot of people really haven’t experienced a train from the 1920s, a historic narrow gauge railroad. Being on a train is really cool, the music adds to it.”
katie@durangoherald.com
