Alpenglow Celebrates its 30th Year

[  by Melissa Fenlon  ]

Thirty years ago, then director of the Center for the Arts Pat Crow knew it was time to create a new program that needed to cost next to nothing and would help locals start the week off on a high note – Alpenglow was born. In the summer of ‘93, the Center began the Alpenglow tradition – free concerts on Monday nights throughout the summer months. 

Crow remembers the first Alpenglow concert only had about 20 people there. It wasn’t too many years later that people were complaining about dancing children running across their blankets on The Depot lawn. “I knew then that we had outgrown our space,” Crow explains. 

The Center staff had grown by then too. Diana Ralston was now overseeing Alpenglow. “It just kept growing and growing,” she says of the free Monday concerts. “But it still felt like a little family reunion every Monday night.”

She was the programming director at the Center for seven years and looks back at that time fondly. One of her favorite Alpenglow memories was when a Beatles tribute band from Chicago bussed to Crested Butte to play the Monday night show. “There were 30 or 40 people on stage playing Beatles songs and the crowd was singing along. It was memorable.”

Musical acts became bigger names as the years rolled on. The early days of Alpenglow brought locals on stage to perform, then Crow said they would hire musicians from the Aspen Music Festival. “We’d rent a car each week, drive over and pick the artist up. We just barely paid them to perform, then drive them home,” she laughs. 

The artists who grace the Alpenglow stage may be bigger and more well known these days, but the vibe of the community concerts is the same. 

“I’m quite proud that I started a community institution that is so loved,” says Crow. 

Each Monday night, Crow would stand on the stage to welcome the crowd. “Looking out at this mass of humanity with big smiles on their faces is what I remember,” she says. “Alpenglow brought people together and it still does.”

Today’s programming director at the Center, Carrie Wallace agrees. On average, attendance hits 1,500, but can swell to 3,000 on certain Monday nights. 

“Alpenglow is a uniting force for our community. It’s just as fun for parents as it is for the kids,” Wallace explains. 

“Locals, second homeowners, and tourists alike all come together to enjoy the music, sunshine, and good times. Alpenglow is something everyone can agree on.”