Grand Junction nailed the hat-trick: a gold-hour rainbow arching across the western sky, temps hovering around 70°, and three acts that treated a Thursday like a festival finale.
Arrive way before the bell
Las Colonias listed gates at 6 PM—and 49 Winchester started right on the dot. If you were still walking to the gate, their first song became your soundtrack. Lesson learned: make sure to check to see if the gates open early so you can find a spot before they’re three songs in. I’ve wondered why I’ve missed openers in the past and this is probably a big part of it.
49 Winchester: Appalachian ignition
The Virginia six-piece tore straight into a high-octane opener, rolling through a tight forty-minute set of honky-tonk grit. Midway through, “Russell County Line” had phones in the air and couples slow-spinning on the grass—proof they’re writing the future standards.
The Mavericks: Tejano heat, accordion heroics
Raúl Malo’s velvet baritone met its match in a series of stellar accordion solos that stretched songs into joyous, horn-laced salsas. By the time they closed with “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” the aisles were a two-step carnival.
Dwight Yoakam: Bakersfield blitz
Hat tilted, Telecaster ringing, Dwight barreled through a 90-minute sprint that felt like half that. “Guitars, Cadillacs” landed early, “Turn it On, Turn it Up” rattled every beer can, and the crowd roar peaked somewhere around “Fast as You”—at least from our patch of lawn. He capped it with a hip-shaking “Suspicious Minds” that left everyone grinning.