As the winner of the 2025 Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest, Rachel Sumner returns to Telluride in 2026 for her first performance on the festival's legendary Main Stage. In this conversation, she shares the remarkable journey from volunteering at the festival years ago to becoming one of the most talked-about emerging artists in contemporary bluegrass and Americana.
We also dive into her new EP, Yodelay, recorded at Colorado's renowned eTown Studios as part of her Telluride prize package. Rachel discusses the stories behind the songs, her fascination with forgotten history, and how traditional cowboy music, labor movements, and thoughtful songwriting all come together in one of the year's most compelling new acoustic releases.
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This Music Festivals Podcast Episode is Presented By:
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👧🏻 About the Guest: Rachel Sumner
https://rachelsumnermusic.com
🎧 About the Festival
Telluride Bluegrass Festival is one of the world's premier bluegrass, Americana, folk, and roots music festivals. https://bluegrass.com/telluride
🏕️ About the VenueTelluride Town Park is an iconic mountain festival venue nestled in the heart of historic Telluride, Colorado. https://www.telluride-co.gov/193/Town-Park🔔 Make sure to SUBSCRIBE @musicfestivalspodcast Music Festivals Podcast is touring the country in 2026, bringing you festival previews, recaps, documentaries, interviews, and live streams from music communities across America. Book us to visit your festival for a recap episode, festival documentary or Festival Live Streams 👉 https://musicfestivalspodcast.com🙏 Support more Seasons of MFP with Your Donationshttps://buymeacoffee.com/musicfestivalspodcast🤝 Music Festivals Podcast is supported by AMAZING partners. If you're a fan of the show, please support them! 🙏
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