Bluebird Music Festival brings a symphony of sounds to Boulder’s largest “living room” – Boulder Daily Camera

One of the lessons the pandemic has instilled in many of us is the appreciation of a good night's sleep at home.

Even today, several years after shelter-in-place restrictions were lifted, many agree there's nothing like cuddling up, grabbing your favorite snack, and enjoying some fun top-notch from the comfort of your own sofa.

Although the Bluebird Music Festival doesn't technically take place in your living room, it's as close as you can get: you can sit the whole time; the seats are soft and plush; entertainment is just around the corner; and the acoustics are so fantastic that it feels like the performance is enveloping you in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

This is exactly how Travis Albright envisioned the festival when he decided to create the event in 2018. Albright, organizer and founder of Bluebird, envisioned a weekend of music bringing together top-tier talent in an intimate setting and personal.

The term “festival” usually implies dozens of bands playing outdoors in a cramped, sweaty field. There are many that I have loved throughout my life. However, we want our version of the festival to feel like spending time in the world's greatest living room, listening to live music with your friends. That's the goal, Albright said.

So, if you haven't already, grab your tickets, grab a comfy seat, and get comfy this weekend, the Bluebird Music Festival returns, bringing two days of musical magnificence to Macky Auditorium.

Since its inception 6 years ago, Bluebird has managed to attract some of the world's best musicians to Boulder, welcoming everyone from Grammy Award-winning singer Ben Harper to Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy. As in previous years, the programming for the 2024 weekend promises to be just as exceptional.

The festival kicks off with a free concert at Rosetta Hall on Friday at 6 p.m., featuring The Cody Sisters, a Colorado-based trio specializing in heartwarming traditional American acoustic tunes.

Headliner Gregory Alan Isakov, the Boulder-based singer-songwriter, is an honored addition to this year's program. Isakov is half poet, half troubadour, whose music can best be described as the audible light of the stars.

When Isakov isn't collecting Grammy nominations from the Recording Academy, he can be found sharing the stage with artists like Fiona Apple and recording albums with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. His latest album, Appaloosa Bones, a sweeping, panoramic collection of delicate folk songs infused with Isakov's signature gently earnest lyricism, has dazzled fans and critics alike.

These days, it would be difficult to see Isakov perform in a venue of fewer than 5,000 people, and Albright says the Bluebird Music Festival is lucky to have him as a headliner.

It's so rare that he plays a show in his hometown, especially now that he's sold out two nights at Red Rocks in less than a week, Albright said of Isakov.

Although the artists who have played the Bluebird Music Festival over the years have varied genres, from folk to blues, one thing that remains a constant is the palpable soul found in the lineups.

Music lover Albright, who launched the Bluebird Music Festival in 2018, makes sure to offer a selection that never fails to move the audience.

In past years, the festival has featured musicians of varying genres, from American western and rock to bubblegum bluegrass and folk. Some artists played stripped-down acoustic sets, while others brought their full bands and amplifiers. This year the festival will be rounded out by performances from Wilcos Jeff Tweedy, soul warbler Joy Oladokun, raw roots singer Langhorne Slim, Canadian multi-instrumentalist Andy Shauf, indie band Bendigo Fletcher, sweet songbird Sunny War and the Texan rock duo Briscoe.

For Albright, the festival's talent selection comes down to careful curatorial science.

When selecting the lineup, I always look at two things…not only which artists would fit together musically, but also make it feel like a family reunion backstage and on stage. This lineup fits together so well, he said.

Tickets for the Sunday performances only, as well as the festival's acclaimed Strings and Stories event, are sold out. However, full weekend tickets are still available, as well as Saturday only tickets. Proceeds from Bluebird Music Fest benefit the Future Arts Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fosters arts and music among area youth.

For more information about the festival or to purchase tickets, visit bluebirdmusicfestival.org.