Simply the Fest

"This festival is a gift to Swallow Hill,” says veteran musician and eminence grise Harry Tuft about the three-day Swallow Hill Folk Festival, which concludes today. “The services of the local performers are donated, and that allows money that’s raised to go directly to Swallow Hill.” This annual act of...

By Michael Roberts

August 24, 2006

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"This festival is a gift to Swallow Hill,” says veteran musician and eminence grise Harry Tuft about the three-day Swallow Hill Folk Festival, which concludes today. “The services of the local performers are donated, and that allows money that’s raised to go directly to Swallow Hill.”

This annual act of munificence has been going on since the late ’80s, when the event was known as the Folkathon, and Tuft has been a regular presence. It’s appropriate, then, that he’ll cap the festivities at his namesake stage, Tuft Theatre, alongside Jack Stanesco, his longtime partner in Grubstake. Two other Swallow Hill stages will be busy throughout the day, too. The Cafe Day Concerts headliner is Hudson Street Salvage, a combo that came together out of a monthly hootenanny Tuft oversees, while the last act at Daniels Hall will be Sons & Brothers, which Tuft describes as “a great bluegrass group.” Many other ensembles will participate as well, and that’s as it should be, Tuft believes. “This is a chance for musicians to repay Swallow Hill for all it does for the community,” he says.

The Folk Festival opens at 11 a.m. at Swallow Hill, 71 East Yale Avenue; passes for today only are $12. To learn more, call 303-777-1003 or go to www.swallowhill.com
Sun., Sept. 7, 6-10 p.m.; Mon., Sept. 8, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Tue., Sept. 9, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., 2008

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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