In September of 2013, a flood wiped out homes in Lyons, Colorado. The town of 2,000 people just outside of Boulder considers itself an artist community, home to musicians, sculptors and other performers. Lyons is also home to RockyGrass, a nationally renowned bluegrass festival. The festival grounds were completely underwater. After nine months of clean-up, the RockyGrass stages were rebuilt and the grounds restored. The RockyGrass Music Festival went on as scheduled this July.
To those who traveled to attend the festival, it appeared that everything was back to normal. While musical guests spoke of the town’s resilience, a few reminded the audience that not everyone has been able to come back home. The trailer park where many musicians and their families lived, as well as more affordable homes and rental properties in Lyons, have not been rebuilt. Jeffrey Brown has the full story on tonight’s PBS NewsHour.
On Sunday, this group of Lyons still-homeless musicians and their children performed for the crowd — a bittersweet reminder that while they are still struggling, the show must go on.
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