River Wonder Grass 2020

River Wonder Grass, a trip like no other, bringing together bluegrass artists and fans to create a 5 day excursion fit for royalty. Hosted by the outfitter Adrift Dinosaur, the accommodations and experience are unparalleled as the river winds you through one of the most scenic and vast canyons of the west. Nic Tapia (IG @reversecurvemedia) and I (IG @newtonaerials) were lucky enough to be hired by Winter Wonder Grass to create a recap video and a collection of multi-cam performances along the float. The artists played together every evening, filling our adventure with a soundtrack of rippling banjo melodies and a splash of the dobro. They also were able to pick as we floated along the Tiger Wall, the largest and most dramatic rock feature diving deep into the river, also highlighted in the video below.

A trip like River Wonder Grass opens the door to endless creative opportunity, and along with gracious, articulate artists, the task of capturing inspiring imagery and a colorful narrative unfolded before us. Not for a lack of planning, our story meandered like the Yampa and showed us the potential of musical and emotional collaboration among strangers. Every night was a unique tune, accompanied by a piece each artist was attempting to perfect with the group throughout the trip. They would take turns choosing which tunes to pick, and requests were accepted. Food was of utmost importance, as sitting on a raft, while seemingly relaxing, takes a toll on everyone, but the towering canyon walls lifted any soggy spirit and reinvigorated a sense of adventure and freedom in each of us. Most of us couldn’t effectively communicate the enormity of this opportunity, floating with friends and family down the western edge of CO; but each artist was capable of digesting the experience and morphing their message through plucking and picking to engulf the campsites in a melodic whirlwind.