Chaffee County’s annual favorite, FIBArk will be celebrating its 75th Diamond Anniversary this June 15-18, 2023 at Salida’s Riverside Park. Every year the whitewater festival, whose initials stand for First in Boating on the Arkansas, honors an individual called “The Commodore”, someone who has made remarkable contributions to the festival. this year FIBArk is honoring Carey Hallett.
2019 FIBArk Commodore Joel McBride greets attendees at the FIBArk Beer Garden at Riverside Park in Salida. Photo by Taylor Sumners.
According to the official FIBArk 2023 press release, Hallett started as a day laborer and performer at FIBArk and over the last 20+ years has become an invaluable part of the festival and its team.
Hallett eventually became a sitting member of the FIBArk Board of Directors and served as Entertainment Director for many years. For the last several decades, Hallett has been the official sound director for FIBArk and has supported over 300 bands on the festival stage.
“It is an honor to be Commodore’d in the Festival’s 75th year. This event is in my blood. I grew up splashing in the river and cheering on paddlers, working the music stage, and manning the sound panel. I am profoundly grateful to be joining a distinguished list of Commodores who have given so much to our town’s signature event,” effused Hallett in the official FIBArk press release.
Hallett has been integral to the FIBArk and Salida music scene for many years and also performs in his own band, The Instigatorz.
Living up to its name, FIBArk 2023 is packed with a fantastic lineup of music from Thursday, June 15 through Sunday, June 18.
Summertime concerts in Salida’s Riverside Park are a popular free entertainment. Photo courtesy of City of Salida by Catherine Eichel.
Live music starts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15 with five-piece, power blues band Blue Recluse. Influenced by the likes of Etta James, Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt, Blue Recluse presents a fiery combination of “new and used” blues, according to band’s official website.
At 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Chaffee County favorites Roundhouse Assembly will take to the stage to deliver a fantastic interpretation of the Grateful Dead’s live music experience.
Fronted by guitarist and singer Chris Nasca, Roundhouse Assembly has been bringing the Grateful Dead’s music to the Arkansas Valley for years and continues the beautiful tradition of the Dead.
Live music will start at 3:15 p.m. Friday June 16 with Denver-based country rock and honk-tonk band Extra Gold. Acclaimed within the Colorado country music scene, Extra Gold’s old-timey sound brings listeners back to Denver’s frontier glory days with toe-tapping, leg-slapping numbers guaranteed to get you out of your seat.
Music will continue in Riverside Park at 5:30 p.m. Friday with Pacific Northwest/Colorado jam powerhouse The Jauntee. Fusing Funkadelic with progressive rock jams, The Jauntee pushes the limits of improvised live music providing a completely unique and distinctive experience with every show.
The Jauntee will be releasing their newest album “Anything” on July 14 giving FIBArk listeners a great opportunity to potentially hear some new material. Recorded in Longmont and Boulder, Colorado, “Anything” will be The Jauntee’s first studio album in five years.
New Orleans’ funk maestros the Pimps of Joytime will take the stage at 8:15 p.m. Friday to kick the FIBArk weekend off properly. According to the band’s official website, the Pimps of Joytime are “an amalgamation of New Orleans and Bay Area funk elements juxtaposed with Brooklyn’s indie DIY ethos, Pimps of Joytime mirror the diversity of their communities and eclectic generational tastes.” A party like no other, the Pimps of Joytime will bring the bayou to the mountains for a raucous Friday evening at FIBArk.
Music will continue at 3:15 p.m. Saturday with psychedelic progressive rock band The Iceman Special. The Iceman Special is a unique blend of New Orleans swamp funk and hard-driving rock. They’ll be followed by Split Window, which will then take the stage at 5:30 p.m. Based out of South Park, Colorado Split Window fuses world music with easy-listening soul that combines beats from across the globe.
World-acclaimed, all-female AC/DC Tribute Band Hell’s Belle’s will take the stage at 8:15 p.m. Saturday evening. Their music is an all-out, AC/DC assault, Hell’s Belle’s delivers the best live AC/DC music experience currently touring. With the original AC/DC all but officially retired, Hell’s Belle’s is your ticket for the wayback machine to rock’s heyday. “Consistently sexy and sold out” according to their website, Hell’s Belle’s is here to rock your Chacos off.
Live music on Sunday will begin at 12:30 p.m. with The Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue. Based out of Vail, Colorado The Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue formed in 2005 and is a combination of members of Colorado Grateful Dead band Shakedown Street and Rob Eaton of the acclaimed Dark Star Orchestra.
According to Grateful Web, The Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue “weaves an intricate, improvisational aural tapestry that diehard Dead fans wholeheartedly wrap themselves in.”
Colorado rock favorites Tenth Mountain Division will take the stage at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, June 18, to wrap up FIBArks’ wild weekend. A blend of Southern Rock, progressive bluegrass, and psychedelic blues, Tenth Mountain Division channels authentic Colorado rock ‘n’ roll reminiscent of Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon, and The String Cheese Incident. A high-energy dance experience, Tenth Mountain Division will keep you dancing through the last day of FIBArk.
FIBArk-attendees can begin the celebration of the 75th anniversary at the FIBArk kickoff party at High Side Bar & Grill from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14. Meet Commodore Carey Hallett, bid on the original FIBArk poster artwork by Leslie Jorgensen and other auction items from local businesses.
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