The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music Festivals

Mountains and music simply go together.

I mean, is there a better way to end a day on the hill than to kick back with a cold one and groove to some live tunes?

But we’re not talking ‘bout some local guitarist banging out a set on the sun deck on a Saturday afternoon. We’re looking at big-name, big-production fests that will really get the joint  jumping.

With that in mind, here are a handful of mountain resort festivals that are guaranteed to put you into a toe-tappin’, head-noddin’, fist-pumpin’ mood:

Bud Light Reggaefest

A little piece of Jamaica will plop down in central Vermont when Mt. Snow hosts its annual Bud Light Reggaefest March 20-22.

Tropidelic and Roots of Creation will take center stage inside the Snow Barn on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively, for the 21 and older crowd, while such bands as Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Stars, Easy Star All-Stars and the Alchemystics will perform free shows for reggae fans of all ages on Saturday and Sunday afternoon on the Cuzzins Deck outside Mt. Snow’s main lodge.

Reggaefest details can be found here.

WinterWonderGrass

Fans of bluegrass and string music can get their fill at WinterWonderGrass, a traveling festival that will make two stops this spring, at Squaw Valley on March 27-29 and at Stratton Mountain on April 10-11.

The Devil Makes Tree, The Infamous Stringdusters and Billy Strings headline the proceedings at Squaw, while Cabinet, Molly Tuttle, Della Mae and the aforementioned Stringdusters are the main attractions at Stratton.

Details on both WinterWonderGrass shows can be found here.

Jackson Hole Rendezvous

If you are a Grateful Dead fan, you sure won’t want to miss the annual Rendezvous spring festival that takes place in and around Jackson Hole on Mach 26-28.

The event kicks off with GD tribute band the Deadlocks playing on the Tram Stage in Teton Village, continues with The Record Company playing a set in the town of Jackson on Friday night, continues with a show by Bob Weir and the Wolf Brothers on Saturday night at the Resort Stage in Teton Village.

Rendezvous details can be found here.

Snowbombing

The idea of apres-ski was concocted and nurtured in the Alps, so expect quite a party when the 22nd iteration of Snowbombing unfolds at Mayrhofen resort in Austria from April 13-18.

The weeklong festival is a lot of things — skiing, snowboarding, igloo raves and partying in the woods — but it’s mainly about the music, which features the likes of Liam Gallagher, The Streets, Kurupt FM, Foals, Rudimental..

Details on Snowbombing can be found here.