The snow hasn’t yet melted completely for spring, but annual Fourth of July concerts are already taking shape at Sun Valley Resort.
RJK Entertainment and Sun Valley Resort have announced the lineup for the Baldy Bluebird Music Festival, a two-day concert series on July 4-5 at the River Run Lodge in Ketchum, featuring Midland and Grace Potter.
The Fourth of July concert will include performances from Wood River Valley musician Axel Diehl and rising country artist Charlie Worsham. The country trio Midland will headline.
Worsham is a member of Dierks Bentley’s tour band and a former member of the band Old Crow Medicine Show.
Midland is from Dripping Springs, Texas. Its album “On The Rocks” was declared country’s best album by the Washington Post in 2017. Midland’s hit single “Drinkin’ Problem” earned two Platinum certifications, and the group won the 2018 ACM award for best New Vocal Group of the year.
Ryan Kolquist, promoter for RJK Entertainment, said guests who purchase tickets to the Fourth of July show should stick around afterward for a special surprise.
The July 5 show will open with local favorites The Pisten Bullys and JD Clayton. Clayton is from Arkansas and rose through the music industry ranks while working at mixing studios. He held landscaping and coffee shop side jobs to support himself.
The headliner for the July 5 event is singer-songwriter Grace Potter. She named her latest album “Mother Road,” inspired by a line about Route 66 in John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath.” Potter traveled the famous road by herself, writing song lyrics on the backs of motel notepads and postcards. It was a cathartic process for Potter, who had suffered a miscarriage.
“At first, I thought of what I was doing as escapism, and I felt ashamed of that,” Potter wrote in a biography on her website. “But eventually I realized I was giving myself permission to do what needed to be done for me to get better.”
Proceeds from the events will benefit the Wood River Baseball Association and Blaine County Charitable Fund.
Tickets went on sale Monday, March 25, ranging from $50 to $275. They can be purchased at sunvalley.com/events/baldy-bluebird-festival. The festival will run rain or shine, and there are no refunds. Kids under 2 years old can attend for free. Call 208-622-2135 to ask questions.
