Wyoming Arts Council

Six bands perform Jan. 31 in Medicine Bow for Midwinter Meltdown

Featured News | January 30, 2015

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From a story on the Wyoming Public Media web site:

This week’s mild temperatures will set the stage for a night of music called the Midwinter Meltdown. Six bands (including an unannounced surprise act) will play Saturday night in the tiny town of Medicine Bow, between Laramie and Rawlins.

The event is the brainchild of Laramie musician Jeff Duloz. Last fall, he poured his energy into a day-long event with ten bands. Afterward, someone asked the exhausted Duloz, ‘When’s the next concert?’

“Immediately, my answer was never. Like, never. I’m never doing this again,” he says with a laugh.

But a desire to keep building the local music scene pushed Duloz to create the Midwinter Meltdown. “The very simple idea that we’re looking at is music as a catalyst for community and community as a necessity for music,” says Duloz.

He’s staging the concert at The Historic Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow so the crowd can gather in a historic place. And because it’s a hotel, no one has to drive home after a night of revelry. Duloz says the bands are all danceable, from the rootsy Libby Creek Original to the electronic beats of the Ninjahs.

The very simple idea that we’re looking at is music as a catalyst for community and community as a necessity for music.

The Virginian Hotel owner Vernon Scott says he hopes it recalls the days when communities were drawn together around a public event. “I think this is important because people can get out an enjoy themselves,” he says. “That’s what it’s all about.”

That’s from an interview with Scott for a documentary being made about the Midwinter Meltdown. Organizer Jeff Duloz considers the documentary the first step toward the idea of creating a TV series featuring live performances in historic places.

The Midwinter Meltdown will take place Saturday, January 31.

Tickets are available through The Historic Virginian Hotel.

Here’s the lineup:
6pm – Angel Adams and the Suits
7pm – The Jeff Duloz Band
8pm – Special Guest Artist
9pm – Harriman Exit
10:30pm – The Libby Creek Original
Midnight – The Ninjahs

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