Three caravans of traveling musicians will trundle through the Four Corners next week to herald the 39th annual Music in the Mountains summer festival.
The Road Show, as it has come to be known, functions like a fanfare. Nine mini concerts – July 10, 11 and 12 foreshadow the big three-week festival of classical, pops and world music that concludes Aug. 3.
Mounted on a truck bed, the mobile stage is an old-fashioned fairy tale caravan. The small, green-and-white wooden house has little windows and a peaked roof. One side opens up to reveal a box-like stage – just big enough to accommodate a brass, woodwind or string quartet. Children seem to love its old-fashioned appearance, and it triggers fond memories for adults and grandparents.
If you go
WHAT: The Road Show, nine free 45-minute concerts in the Four Corners
WHEN: July 10, 11 and July 12.
WHERE: Nine locations in Four Corners
ADMISSION: Free.
MORE INFORMATION: For times and locations, visit www.musicinthemountains.com or call 385-6820.
Every July, since 2022, MitM’s mobile stage travels around the Four Corners to entertain and promote one of the most celebrated summer music festivals in the Southwest. In 2025, The Road Show will offer nine free concerts in Durango, Mancos, Pagosa, Bayfield and Ignacio the week before the festival’s official opening concert July 16 in the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
In each park, stage hands set up speakers and a host will greet the audience and introduce the players. The 45-minute program is just right for all lawn-chaired lovers of good music. The atmosphere is informal and festive and informal. No reservations are necessary. Bring a folding chair or find a seat on the grass. But be aware there aren’t any restrooms or concessions. Water bottles are a good idea. In case of bad weather, the concert will simply be canceled, so check the festival website if uncertain.
July 10 features The Zelter String Quartet starting at 11 a.m. in Durango’s Cottonwood Park. The group will travel to Three Springs for the 2 p.m. performance, and in the evening, Zelter will perform at 7 p.m. in Pagosa’s Vista Lake Park. Los Angeles based, the quartet formed in 2018 and has won many prizes and performed in Europe and the United States.
July 11 features Kodachrome, an energetic, award-winning saxophone quartet out of Arizona State University. Founded in 2022, Kodachrome has performed all over the U.S., and in 2023, in Chengdu, China, as part of an International Sister-City Music Festival. The group begins its local summer schedule at 11 a.m. in the Mancos Boyle Park. At 2 p.m., the quartet will arrive at Claire Viles Park, near St. Columba Church. And at 6:30 p.m., the evening performance will be in Durango’s Buckley Park.
July 12, the Seraph Brass Quintet will perform at 11 a.m. in Bayfield’s Eagle Park. At 2 p.m., the group will be in Shoshone Park in Ignacio, and for the evening concert at 6:30 p.m., the Seraph Brass will perform at Buckley Park in Durango. Founded in 2014, the all-female quintet has performed throughout the U.S. as well as Europe and regularly schedules up to 70 concerts a year. Their programs mix classical favorites with new works.
“Thanks to First Southwest Bank for writing the big check that allowed us to build our mobile stage and continues to bring music in these free outdoor mini concerts,” MitM Executive Director Angie Beach said.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
