Staging chamber concerts in nature to celebrate outdoor acoustics is just one element of the celebrated Moab Music Festival. Of course, the main event is the composition itself and the skill and dexterity of the musicians. But the fantastical settings are close rivals.
Take, for instance, a red rock grotto on the banks of the Colorado River accessible only by jet boat, where a Steinway grand piano sits in stark contrast to its desert stage. Or a secluded canyon, scored at the top of a bright morning hike where a couple dozen audience members take in a string arrangement of Bach’s Partita No. 3. Picture red mesas towering over a riverboat, fitted with a woodwind ensemble on the foredeck in a floating Mozart serenade. Or foamy whitewater crests, snaking along crimson towers, where adventurous music-lovers battle waves with raft-mates (a handful of whom might feel more at home in Carnegie Hall than in this heart-pumping Cataract Canyon). Later at camp, a cello will wail in concert with distant coyotes.
Festival-goers, tucked into a red rock grotto, are treated to a violin concerto. Photo Courtesy of Moab Music Festival
Photo Courtesy of Moab Music Festival
“The Moab Music Festival brings world-class musicians into pristine, intimate settings where they perform in concert with the landscape,” says Festival organizer Tara Baker, who describes it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience for audiences, but also for performers. “It’s often a favorite stage for them—playing in these natural amphitheaters and red rock concert halls. So we draw some of the most recognized musicians in the world.”
In a town known for fueling adrenaline junkies on Slickrock Trail and Hell’s Revenge, the classical music palette might seem like a mismatch. Instead, consider the Moab Music Festival a soft landing place for those who don’t regularly patronize the Royal Albert Hall. A writer from the Wall Street Journal once admitted she didn’t know Tchaikovsky from Brahms, but the beauty of the festival was, she didn’t have to.
“The music seems to articulate something in our souls when we’re in nature,” describes Elizabeth Dworkin, a representative for the event, adding that there is no need to be well-versed in the classical genre in order to enjoy. “People come to this festival to feel something. And then they keep coming back because of what they feel, not what they know.”
Audience members also love the intimacy with the musicians. Sitting in the grotto, one can nearly reach out and touch cellist Jay Campbell’s nimble fingers dancing the length of his fingerboard from neck to bass bar. Or, after a day battling whitewater, one could easily strike up a conversation with Grammy-nominated violinist Tessa Lark, who also happens to be the festival’s new Artistic Director.
During a float tour down the Colorado, audiences pause for a musician playing riverside. Photo Courtesy of Moab Music Festival
“I take genuine pleasure in personally connecting with folks from all backgrounds,” Lark says of the intimate vibe. “What makes the Festival extraordinary is relishing nature and music all at once, and being able to share that heaven-on-earth with others.”
As you can imagine, the more intimate and remote the setting, the higher the price tag. The 4-day, 3-night Cataract Canyon Musical Raft experience, complete with victuals by celebrated chef Kenji Lopez-Alt, who will “explore the parallels between food and music through curated meals and demonstrations,” comes in at over $5K a pop.
But not all of the performances over the two-week festival (20 concerts in total) is aimed at the deep-pocketed. Many of the acoustically perfect “stages,” surrounded by buttes, mesas and endless sky, happen at other locales in Moab.
“Making the music festival accessible to the community is extremely important to us,” says Baker. More modestly-priced offerings take place at a historic hall, a local resort, a café—even a working farm. There’s also a free community Labor Day concert in the park.
Like the venues, programming is decisively varied, a reflection of Lark’s forward-thinking vision, with new faces like Latin-fusion band People of Earth, bluegrass mandolinist Sierra Hull and singer-guitarist Lau Noah.
Call it a bucket list item or a religious experience, just make the Moab Music Festival part of your Labor Day plans.
Photo Courtesy of Moab Music Festival
The 33rd Moab Music Festival: From low $ to high $$$
Dipping a Toe $35-90
- Opening Night
Program: At historic Star Hall, the program features a night of duos and Schubert’s Trout Quintet. (Wednesday, Aug. 27)
- Music Hikes
Program: A chamber orchestra awaits trekkers in a secluded canyon. (Saturday, Aug. 30; Sunday, Aug. 31; Saturday, Sept. 6)
- Sorrel River Ranch
Program: Grammy-nominated mandolinist Sierra Hull graces audiences with her 5-piece band. (Saturday, Sept. 6)
Diving In $100-250
- Floating Concerts
Program: Explore the Colorado River by morning on a riverboat while taking in an ensemble of woodwinds or strings. (Friday, Aug. 29 or Sunday, Sept. 7)
- Kin
Program: Collaborators Andy Akiho (steel pan) and Ian Rosenbaum (marimba) perform in a glass-walled, open-air venue. (Wednesday, Sept. 3)
- Ranch Benefit Concert: Edgar Meyer—Then & Now
Program: Set at a private ranch, famed double bassist Edgar Meyer dazzles guests with a Bach Sonata and hand-picked trios. (Friday, Sept. 5)
Cannon-balling $500 +
- Grotto Concerts
Program: Delight in the rhythm of a guitar or the tremor of a Steinway grand piano with cozy ensembles in a secret grotto. (Thursday, Aug. 28, Thursday, Sept. 4, Tuesday, Sept. 9)
- Cataract Canyon Musical Raft Trip with Chef Kenji López-Alt
Program: Float with artists and an an award-winning chef for a 3-day, 4-night star-studded musical and culinary experience in Cataract Canyon. (Tuesday – Friday, Sept. 9-12)
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