The Heartbeat of MeadowGrass

Unveiling the Power of Volunteerism

The annual MeadowGrass Music Festival is more than just a Memorial weekend tradition, it is testament to the power of volunteerism. Read how one Colorado music festival is not only fostering community but also leaving a legacy through the power of volunteers. 

As the afternoon sun pierces through a dense canopy of ponderosa pines, the tranquil sounds of live music begin to drift across the picturesque meadows of Black Forest, Colorado. The MeadowGrass Music Festival, a beloved annual event, is underway and transforms this serene landscape into a vibrant hub of music, community and celebration. Festival-goers of all ages, scattered across the meadow on colorful blankets and folding chairs, are bathed in a warm, golden glow. Beams of sunlight create a mesmerizing display, filtering through the trees and illuminating the outer edges of the La Foret event venue space.

The stage, set against the backdrop of the forest, is alive with the sounds of Americana and folk music. Children dance and play in the patches of light and shadow, their laughter mingling with the music. Nearby, a group of friends in Beer Garden clink their beverages together in a toast of celebration, smiling as they socialize with a setting of live music. A couple of food trucks line the entrance to the festival, with the savory aroma of ginger and soy dumplings drifting through the air. 

Every summer, for the last 15 years, amidst the swaying trees and temperamental skies, MeadowGrass comes to life in a vibrant symphony of music, culture, and community spirit. It is for many a right-of-passage over the Memorial Day weekend to usher in the summer festival season. However, what makes this festival so incredibly special is not just the national, regional or local lineup of talented musicians or the scenic venue, but the extraordinary force driving it; a dedicated army of volunteers. 

“From start to finish, the festival is almost entirely run by volunteers,” reveals Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Highway Music Collaborative (RMHMC) & Festival Director, Jessica Barney who also is the only paid employee by the non-profit.  “As the only paid employee of this nonprofit, I get to be the Jes of all trades!  From an organizational perspective I conduct the grant writing, marketing, advertising and sustain current partnerships with our sponsors. I also conduct monthly Board meetings, coordinate lead volunteer meetings and do all the other normal Executive Director responsibilities.  In this role with RMHMC I also “direct” the planning and execution of all of our events including MeadowGrass, Flower Fest and Mountain of the Sun Fest.”

Running a festival of this scale with a volunteer force is not without challenges. Coordinating more than a hundred volunteers, ensuring adequate resources and managing logistics require meticulous planning and dedication. However, under Jessica Barney’s guidance and careful leadership, the 100+ volunteers are part of a sophisticated management structure.  At the top sits Barney, who as a “Jes of all trades” manages 25 lead volunteers who donate their time throughout the year to make sure things are coming together before, during and after the event. In turn, the lead volunteers manage a team of folks who work multiple 4-hour shifts during the week of MeadowGrass in exchange for a free weekend festival ticket.  For 6 months, these 25 lead volunteers can be seen behind the scenes orchestrating every detail that is involved in executing a music festival that is attended by nearly 1,500 people. Their roles are diverse, ranging from booking artists to setting up stages, coordinating food and beverage vendors, sanitation services, ticketing sales and festival merchandise. Each volunteer lead brings their unique skills and unbridled enthusiasm, weaving together the fabric of an event that resonates far beyond the melodies played.

“The heart of the festival is volunteers,” explains Steve Harris, co-founder of MeadowGrass and RMHMC. “Festivals take a lot of work from set-up to tear down. None of this would be possible without our volunteers and that is what it has been since the beginning and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.” Harris, whose ideas and connections helped create this event 15 years ago, never intended for MeadowGrass to become the community event that it is today. “My goal was to always grow it like a Planet Bluegrass but then I realized we’re never going to sell as many tickets or be as big. This is a very tough town for music. Venues come and go in this town, it’s really hard to get people to go to venues. But MeadowGrass is 15 years old and is one of the oldest musical traditions in town. The volunteers are a huge reason why MeadowGrass is successful. It’s about the community who support it and are ambassadors for the festival.”

“Simply put, the festival wouldn’t exist without our volunteers,” shares Jenny Koch, the lead MeadowGrass Volunteer Coordinator, as she manages a volunteer-check in the station underneath a large EZ-up on the outer fringes of the festival. “I go to a lot of festivals but I don’t volunteer at those. This festival, however, gives me a sense of giving back and I’m really proud that we can do this for our community. I think a lot of people who come to this festival really look forward to it and it’s pretty awesome we have something like this in our backyard.”

“They do a great job organizing the volunteers. It’s very systematized,” explains longtime festival goer and volunteer, Cory Sutela. “When you sign up for a shift you check-in with Jenny. You can grab your volunteer shirt; this year’s volunteer shirts are really sweet! Jenny does a great job of messaging everyone when there’s food and drinks leftover in the green room for the volunteers to have. They do a great job of providing for volunteers and making sure everyone is comfortable. It really makes the experience!”

“We use a system called festiVol,” shares Jenny Koch beneath her 10×10 EZ up.  “It’s the same system many other festivals use such as Planet Bluegrass. People are able to sign-up for their own shift times, they check-in with me and in turn I make sure they are headed in the right direction. We always try to schedule a floater shift for most of the timeframes, so that way if something comes up we can backfill it with a floater.”

While there’s a lot to manage during the festival, many of the lead volunteers have their “busy time” leading up to the event. RMHMC Executive Director Barney elaborates, “We begin planning MeadowGrass in October. Around then we begin to hold monthly lead volunteer meetings until our site visit in May. During these meetings we discuss everything from vendors to sanitation to ice! This year’s hot topic was ice – how to get it to and from the event. Sometimes small things can be big things so we always try to prepare and plan a head.”

One of those “small things” is the art which will be featured at the festival’s merch tent. The trend of selling merchandise at music festivals has been growing steadily, driven by the increasing importance of brand identity and fan engagement. Creating something that is iconic, consumable and profitable is becoming a vital part of festival revenues. In 2023, merchandise sales alone was responsible for 10- 25% of total revenue at medium to large music festivals according to TSE Entertainment, an entertainment agency and think tank out of Austin, Texas.  There is something to be said about the importance of good merch and festival success.

“I always wanted to go to MeadowGrass so a year ago I bought a 3-day camping package and had so much fun. It really recharged my batteries and was eye-opening,. “Later on that weekend, I was hanging out with RMHMC President Jen Bernard who said she needed some help and I countered with ‘I can design a T-shirt for you’….I’ve designed shirts before, but I never designed a shirt for a festival. I really wanted to create a design that conveyed how great, fun live music is,” reflects Alvarez. “I love the hand drawn look rather than something that was computer generated. I wanted something whimsical.”

For this year’s MeadowGrass festival T-shirt, artist Chris Alvarez partnered with Jamie Harper at Groovy Printshop to help produce the festival merch. They decided to use traditional silk screening techniques rather than digital printing which uses a computerized machine to print shirts.  In silk screening, the ink for the festival shirts is transferred across a mesh stencil onto the textile surface using a rubber blade which force was being applied to. This process, which dates back over a thousand years to the Song Dynasty of China, is time consuming compared to digital screen printing. However, the results one gets from silk screen printing is aesthetically different, soliciting a more retro textured look compared to digital printing which tends to be blurred and artificial. Jamie and Chris printed over 700 festival shirts, by hand, including the volunteer shirts. Each color featured on the shirt required an additional “screen” to be created in order to layer the ink. Hours were spent on this process and all of the shirts either disappeared or were sold within 3 days. This year’s festival merch was a booming success, thanks to some industrious craftsmen and volunteers

Another aspect of MeadowGrass that is particularly unique is the number of leadership roles occupied by women, including that of volunteers. According to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, only 13% of all music-related organizations are run by women. In addition to Jessica Barney serving as Executive Director for RMHMC, the RMHMC Board President is also a woman. Jen Bernard who became president in 2022 might not admit to being a volunteer, but all of her time and energy that goes into the festival is donated. 

“I got invited to be on the board, by the previous president …However, once I began serving in this capacity I realized how much I loved being part of something bigger than myself. One of my traditions each year is when everyone leaves, I go to the meadow and pick up any small pieces of trash left behind. It’s really special to have that moment of solitude in this magical place,” explains Bernard. “We see that many of our volunteers are also connected to our community, whether it be musicians, event planners, vendors, etc. MeadowGrass is a stepping stone for people. To find people who are like-minded, music-loving, earth-worshiping, it creates something in people to want to do more. People want to be there and they care about the festival.”

As the last notes of the MeadowGrass Music Festival fade into the cool Colorado night, the true harmony of the event becomes evident; it is the collective effort and dedication of the community that make it possible. This festival, run almost entirely by volunteers, is a shining example of what a community can achieve when it comes together with a shared passion and purpose. “It is a community festival. They are all strangers in Telluride but here everyone knows each other,” shares Grass it Up musician and longtime festival-goer Shannon Tyler Carr. “I think the community spirit is really what sets it apart from other places and what makes this place so special.” The smiles on the faces of the audience and the joy expressed of those involved all underscore the profound impact of volunteerism.

MeadowGrass is more than an event; it is a symbol of unity, resilience, and the unbreakable bond of community spirit. The volunteers’ tireless work not only brings music to life but also weaves the community closer together, creating lasting memories and inspiring others to give back. Regardless of the role, from volunteer floater to board member to merch artist, the 100+ volunteers that contribute their time and energy are the foundation of this festival. “More than anything else, it’s about the community who support it and are ambassadors for the festival,” concludes Steve Harris. “People know each other, they see each other, they are part of the legacy that the festival is leaving in the Pikes Peak region….and that is pretty darn special.”

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Additional Resources

Chris Alvarez Official Website

festiVol

Flower Fest

Groovy Print Shop

La Foret Conference and Retreat Center

MeadowGrass Music Festival

Mountain of the Sun Fest

Rocky Mountain Highway Music Collaborative 

Sources