High Points: Lenny and the Dragons in Snowmass

And just like that … it’s over.

It seems that the calendar has been playing tricks on us all year, and this is just another one. Labor Day arrives on Monday, coming on the earliest possible day it can be, as the holiday is designated to fall on the first Monday of the month of September. That just feels a little early to me. Of course, the foliage is already looking like mid-September, so what do I know? Maybe Mother Nature has been confused by the calendar, as well.

Of course, summer in Aspen is all about the sounds of music, and this summer is bookended by the annual Jazz Aspen Snowmass events: the walk-around-downtown JAS June Experience (If you saw Christone “Kingfish” Ingram at the Wheeler you’ll never forget him) and the JAS Labor Day Experience in Snowmass Village, which takes place at Snowmass Town Park beginning this afternoon. Texans Andy and Kyle, who play under the moniker Penny Sparrow, kick things off at 4:15 p.m. with the first set of the three-day holiday festival.

Local music empresario and jazz pianist Jim Horowitz has choreographed another solid bill of headliners, including Imagine Dragons tonight at 8 p.m. and Lenny Kravitz, who is returning on Saturday to the Snowmass stage that saw him play a jazzy show a decade ago in 2015.

On Sunday night, Luke Combs, the country icon who covered Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and performed it at last year’s Grammy Awards with Chapman in a duet for the ages, takes a break from his massive stadium shows and plays in Town Park. The North Carolina born-and-raised musician has committed to spend more time with his family and play limited dates. This is one he wanted to play.

As always, it’s an eclectic line-up with a little something for every taste that also introduces attendees to up-and-coming acts that may well headline at future events. This year, those acts include the LA-based trio Cannons, who bring a modern alternative/electro-pop element to the mountain air, as well as a sister and brother pop duo called Lawrence.

The New York City siblings have been a hit wherever they performed, and after their Coachella debut, Variety raved: “This brother-sister duo and their band delivered a jolt of high-energy, high-musicianship, blue-eyed soul, and funk … That level of joy, especially these days, is infectious: Their small-stage tent revival is ready for a midday mainstage blowout already.” They’ll take the big stage as the sun lingers over Mount Daly on Saturday at 5 p.m.

While the line-up of artists is the attraction for many who come from around the country each year to the JAS Labor Day Experience in Snowmass Village, the high point is that it is really a local event. JAS has been a part of the community since Horowitz — inspired by a visit to the Marciac Jazz in Marciac Festival in the rolling hills of Gascony, France, near the Basque region — endeavored to create a similar vibe here in Aspen. In June 1991, the first festival debuted in the former Benedict Music Tent, renamed the Michael Klein Music Tent, with a performance by the Ramsey Louis Trio and the great tap dancer Savion Glover. Jim and JAS have never looked back.

Over the years, they have founded the JAS Academy, which works in conjunction with the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music to educate future musicians, and donated over to music education since 1996. They have curated the Jazz Café concept, which integrates venues around town with JAS and live performances, and this December, they plan to open the doors of the Paul JAS Center above the newly reborn Historic Red Onion. This multipurpose facility will debut with 10 nights of live music ringing in the New Year. Trombone Shorty, who has been coming to Aspen for performances since he was 15 years old, will team with his Orleans Avenue Band for a donor concert on Dec. 19 and perform a public show on Dec. 20. The opening will usher in a new era for JAS and Aspen’s musical heritage.

It has been a great summer for live music, and the weekend line-up promises to serve up a can’t miss encore.

And just like that, it will be over.