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Grace Potter performs at the Welcome Reception at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail during Elevation Beaver Creek. The three-time Grammy-nominated artist is known for her powerful vocals, songwriting and instrumental skills.
Live In The Vineyard/JETBLACK/Ryan Waneka/Courtesy photo
Elevation Beaver Creek brings in huge names in the music industry each year, but it’s the concert event you never hear about. Venues like the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vilar Performing Arts Center, Performance Pavilion at Nottingham Park and 4 Eagle Ranch are used but a ticket is hard to come by. That’s because Elevation Beaver Creek is an industry event and isn’t open to the general public. Think of it as a trade show or business convention, but with a really, really good entertainment lineup.
Music is a big business and Elevation Beaver Creek brings in music professionals and musicians in the Triple AAA (Adult Album Alternative), Americana and country genres. This year’s long list of artists included Grace Potter, Maggie Rose, Matt Stell, George Birge, Riley Green, Tayler Holder, Caroline Jones and others.
Elevation Beaver Creek has been hosted in Eagle County for three years and is the brainchild of Bobbii Jacobs. Jacobs is the founder of another music industry event held in Napa Valley, California called Live in the Vineyard Goes Country and is president of FF Entertainment.
“When you bring artists, industry professionals, great food and wine and some adventures together, it’s a better combination than being stuck in a board room trying to make decisions. And we’ve loved the relationships we’ve been making in the Vail Valley every year to put on this event. The creativity starts to flow and you’re able to connect artists and industry members in a different way,” Jacobs said.
JoJo Turnbeaugh is the region senior vice president of programming for iHeart Media for the Colorado Rockies region and for Las Vegas, Nevada. Turnbeaugh and Jacobs live on the front range, with Turnbeaugh in Castle Rock and Jacobs in Parker. They have both been involved in music industry events for years and are pleased with how Elevation Beaver Creek has come together since it debuted in 2022.
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“The music programmers are at the top of the level, and the genres are all very Colorado. We have folks that are here from the film industry looking to put songs in movies, we have people here from the touring industry that are looking for artists to put on tours, state fairs, county fairs, etc., and then you bring everyone together here, it’s quite the formula,” Turnbeaugh said.
“There’s a lot of music out there, and there’s an art and science behind how you choose what’s going to work. How do you use the analytics that are presented to you and how do you listen and think, ‘that sounds like a hit song. That sounds like it should be on the radio,’ but this event provides the opportunity to put a face with the songs. Otherwise, we get an email with a song attached. We listen to it, but when we’re here, at Vail, Beaver Creek, 4 Eagle Ranch, we have the ability to actually see them sing it, and when you sing acoustic, you can’t hide. You hear them sing in pure form,” Turnbeaugh said.
Riley Green brings Morgan Myles on stage to perform the duet ‘You Look Like You Love Me’ with him at the Sunset Cookout at 4 Eagle Ranch during Elevation Beaver Creek. Live In The Vineyard/JETBLACK/Ryan Waneka
The artists got those opportunities to get up on stage and share their stories. Three-time Grammy-nominated artist Grace Potter rocked the crowd with her high energy performance at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater and told stories of how her latest album, “Mother Road” came about after a road trip she took across the country during COVID-19.
“I think a lot of people have connected with it because I wasn’t the only one headed out on the road when people didn’t know what to do next,” Potter said. “When you don’t know what to do, there’s a certain type of person who just drives until you find that place you want to land. There’s something about the open road, and it’s freedom.”
There were so many unique stories shared from the artists during Elevation Beaver Creek, which came out a week earlier this year, Sept. 23-25, in hopes of having better weather for all the outdoor activities. Some of these artists have been aspiring to make it for years, like Randall Fowler, who, at a very young age, was brought up on stage at a Ricky Skaggs concert after the country star saw Fowler up on his dad’s shoulder’s singing every word to his hit song, “Honey.” That music bug stuck and now Fowler has opened for Darius Rucker, Tracy Lawrence and Walker Hayes.
Harper Grace has been performing since she was a young kid and at age 11 she performed the National Anthem at a major league soccer game in 2011 and it went viral, but for the wrong reasons. The public was very harsh on her, but, Grace powered through, got on “American Idol” a few years later and is now signed to Curb Records and managed by the Jonas Brothers’ Jonas Entertainment Group. She actually references the debacle by naming her current tour the Redemption Tour.
“Going from being the worst national anthem singer to where I am today, it’s inspiring to me as well as others. People have come up to me and said I’ve encouraged them and helped them with their dreams and passions,” Grace said. “It’s cool to be able have the last word.”
Harper Grace performs at the Scenic Peak Lunch at the Performance Pavilion at Nottingham Park in Avon during Elevation Beaver Creek. She has 7 million career streams and is releasing multiple new songs in 2024 including her current single, ‘Freedom.’ Live In The Vineyard/JETBLACK/Alec Savig/Courtesy photo
Some of the other singers learned of their talents later in life. Tayler Holder moved from a small town in Texas to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment and gained popularity through viral content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
“When I turned 18 I told my mom I wanted to go be famous on the internet. I had no idea what that looked like, but I kicked down every door that was in front of me and just figured it out. I did everything all the popular kids were doing on TikTok and it started working, but it was so cringy, doing the dance videos and trendy things. I played instruments as a kid, but didn’t want to show that side because that wasn’t what the algorithms wanted,” Holder said.
But after getting caught up in the materialistic stuff, Holder knew he needed a change and moved to Nashville where he pursued his musical interests.
“Now I’m writing songs that are authentic, and when you’re going through stuff, other people resonate with that, and that’s where you really win because you connect with real music for real people,” Holder said.
Kashus Culpepper performs at the Vilar Performing Arts Center during Elevation Beaver Creek. Culpepper just learned how to play guitar during COVID-19 but is already signed to Big Loud Records. Live In The Vineyard/JETBLACK/Ryan Waneka/Courtesy photo
Kashus Culpepper used to sing for his fellow service members when he was in the U.S. Navy and only started playing guitar during COVID-19. “My sister told me I needed to start doing social media, but I was never a big social media person because I was kind of shy,” Culpepper said. He played in cover bands for a few years and almost went on “American Idol” until a family friend introduced him to his now-manager.
“My manager just told me instead of going on ‘American Idol’ that I should write songs and shop around and I moved to Nashville,” Culpepper said. Now the Alabama native is already touring on his Howlin’ Under the Harvest Moon Tour and recently wrapped up the Need to Breath Tour nationwide and Charley Crockett’s $10 Cowboy Tour. Being so new on the scene, was Culpepper nervous to be in front of so many music industry experts?
“It’s cool. I just try to treat everybody just the same as I treat anybody else. That’s how my mom raised me. I don’t really get nervous around people. I know job titles and stuff like that, but everybody’s just human beings,” Culpepper said.
“It’s been fun to see what happened to Lainey Wilson after she performed here in 2022, and Tigirlily Gold last year and other artists that have really gone big,” Jacobs said. “Here you can schmooze and get to know each other and if you’re an aspiring artist just getting started and aren’t ready for a radio campaign, you might lean into Spotify or Amazon, or you might get your music placements in television or films. We’re so happy we can bring these groups together at Elevation Beaver Creek each fall.”
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