Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  According to Nedfest Artists Relations Danielle Laramie, featured musicians Taj Mahal and Melvin Seals both said that last weekend’s event was “One of the coolest festivals with the kindest people in a beautiful town.”

After 50 years of performing, Taj Mahal knows a good venue when he sits on the stage and sees the audience react to the music, watches the crowd dancing with their children rather than dancing with the devil. The festival used to be about people coming to Ned and getting high and drunk for three days. Nedfest has evolved into a family friendly weekend, culminating in world class music at night.

Nedfest vending coordinator Deb D’Andrea says, “Hands down one of the smoothest run, rain free, music filled, fun festival weekends, where many shared that they had a fabulous time.”

On Friday night, the 18th Annual Nederland Music and Arts Festival began with the Kyle Hollingsworth band who revved up the crowd and got them in the mood for good times, sharing their energy and promising much more to come. When the bands shut down at the ball field, the crowd migrated to the Caribou Room, the new state of the art concert venue, where Smooth Money Gesture opened the weekend’s late night show.

The Chipeta Park special event campground was filled with RV’s, tents and vans for people who didn’t want to drive down the hill after the sound systems were unplugged. Park security, Rob Savoye, said that except for some loud boom boxes late at night, all was calm. Rob is the president of the Peak to Peak Music Education Association and is in charge of permitting and security, as well as the medical coordinator.

Saturday was filled with sunshine and people chowing down on vendor food, high quality vendor food, including Kathmandu’s Indian cuisine, barbecue, and a newcomer to the event, the Bayou, who featured shrimp and oyster Po’Boys and crab cakes. The owner said this was his first time at NedFest and he plans to be back. “We ran out of food at 7:30 Saturday night and had to get more. This is one of the best events we have been to all summer.”

Craft beer vendors, including Nederland’s Very Nice, provided the bubbly, thirst-quenching, cold, freshly brewed beers and ales that were enjoyed by the adult crowd.

In the early evening the crowd began to swell, hundreds of people streamed onto the ball field, finding their place to stand or throw a blanket on the ground. NedFest, however, has remained small enough that everyone can get close to the stage, can see the sweat running down the performer’s faces, the callouses on their strumming fingers.

When Taj Mahal was helped up the steps to the stage, the cheering and whistling from a thousand people accompanied his appearance. Most people have heard of the Taj Mahal Trio but not many have seen them in person. He has been nominated nine times for a Grammy Award and is a two-time winner of the award. In 2014, he was given the Lifetime Achievement for Performance Award at the 13th Annual Americana Honors and Awards.

The great musician proved to also be a great entertainer. With a wise, kindly smile, he made the audience feel connected with him and his music as he told jokes and laughed with the crowd. Fans pressed up to the fence, looks of sheer happy appreciation lighting up their faces. It was not a raucous, slam jamming crowd, drunk on beer, mob frenzy. It was an audience high on the feeling of oneness with the music, the band and each other as they swayed and smiled and held each other.

It was hard to let the trio go, knowing it could be quite a while before seeing them in person again.

Little Foot, the announcer for the weekend, in his cowboy hat and spouting tidbits of information about the performers, was in heaven as he introduced the stars. He started announcing the Fourth of July Parade a couple of years ago and announcing the NedFest performers has been a goal of his since then.

After Taj Mahal played their last set, the crowd headed to the Caribou Room, the official Nedfest After Party, to join Bill Nershi with Coral Creek. People with a NedFest wristband got in free.

At noon on Sunday, Annie Savage introduced the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society’s Young Pickers, a group of stringed instrument players who get together in the summer and perfect their playing together skills. From pre-adolescent to adult, the program has introduced beginning to accomplished players to the art of performing in front of an audience and of blending their individual sounds with each other.

The Young Pickers have filled the Sunday noon slot for the past few years and have become more polished with each performance. The Pickers were followed by the Brightwood Music Student Showcase and the crowd was blown away by the style and enthusiasm of the group. Hallie Bakke and Hayley Turner have added depth to their performance with a trumpet and a trombone and the group, mostly high school students who have been performing together since middle school and already have a professional quality.

The art wall was one of the more popular activities, allowing wannabe taggers a chance to paint walls just like graffiti artists. The theme, however, turned out to be rainbows, mountains, and streams and love and peace and flowers.

Throughout the festival the kids’ activity area vibrated with toddlers to fifth graders, creating crafts, being henna-ed, playing in sand, teeter-tottering and making cardboard fire engines and signs, preparing for the “Thank you, firefighters” parade. At least 30 children were ready to prance past the stage, around the ball field and around again.

At the last minute, the parade was joined by a group of conga dancers, pounding on their drums, shaking their tambourines and inspiring everyone in the audience. At that time, Taarka was performing and when they saw what was spontaneously happening, they played, “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

At every event, there is usually a defining moment, the single memory, that when one looks back, will be the image or sound they remember most. This NedFest had two: Taj Mahal blessing the audience with his talent and grace; and the children enticing everyone to join them in acknowledging the work that our fire departments and law enforcement departments did during the Cold Springs Fire in July.

The Box Office Manager, Nicole Elmore, figures that they had approximately 1390 paying folks in on Saturday, about 1200 or so on Friday, and about 185 paying campers. “These numbers are still a little bit of a moving target, and I haven’t cracked the will call yet...We did have people coming from other states, even as far Vermont, for NedFest...We also comped local firefighters, and at least one police officer’s family... I think about dozen firefighters took advantage of our offer.”

Over 50 volunteers made sure the festival ran smoothly and everyone was safe. It was an event with fun things to do for young and old, and Nedfesters went home tired and happy, but proud of their success.