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It’s après season in Snowmass

Jill Beathard | Snowmass Sun

This week in Après in Snowmass

Wednesday

3-7 p.m.: Intrepid Travelers, Turks

3:30-5:30 p.m.: Kids Apres Party at the Treehouse

3:30-4:30 p.m.: Storytelling, Ice Age Discovery Center

6 p.m.: Rich Ganson, Snowmass Club

Thursday

3-7 p.m.: Celia Gray, Turks

Friday

3-7 p.m.: John Carlin & Rob Desaro at Turks

3 p.m.: Larry and Patty Herd, The Nest

4-6 p.m.: Damian Smith and Terry Bannon, New Belgium Ranger Station

6 p.m.: Chris Phillips, Eight K

Saturday

2-5 p.m.: Apres on the Bricks (kids’ activitiies, apres specials and live DJ) in Base Village

3 p.m.: Damian Smith and Terry Bannon, Venga Venga

3 p.m.: Joe Kelly and Zoe, The Nest

3-7 p.m.: Live music with Hacksaw, Turks

6 p.m.: Chris Phillips, Eight K

Sunday

3 p.m.: Mark Johnson and Chris Bank, The Nest

3:30-4:30 p.m.: Juggling and magic show in Base Village

6 p.m.: Chris Phillips, Eight K

Monday

3:30-4:30 p.m.: Sing-a-long & S’mores at Westin fire pit

4:30 p.m.: Wildside with ACES in Base Village

Tuesday

All day: Art Apres, Anderson Ranch Arts Center

Après ski can mean different things to different people, but in a nutshell, it’s whatever form of entertainment you choose to pursue after the lifts close.

In Snowmass Village, the live music, kids activities and food-and-drink specials that define the après lifestyle are up and running. As the days get longer, so will the parties — so we’d like to say that it is now officially that time of year.

Live music has long been an integral part of the après-ski entertainment in Snowmass Village. Venues like the Timbermill and the Leather Jug, where performers had patrons dancing in their ski boots well into the evening, live on in the memory of many longtime locals.



Everyone remembers the Timbermill,” said musician Tom Hills. “I think people kind of miss that.”

Hills is now booking music for the Viceroy, where he’s curated a lineup of duos for the après-ski hours at the slopeside Nest restaurant.




“They’re all very good at reading the crowd,” Hills said. “When we can go outside (at The Nest), when the weather is appropriate, is when they’re dancing in their ski boots. It really just takes one or two people to get that started.”

For the Viceroy’s Eight K, Hills is going for something a little different with classical and flamenco music provided by guitarist Chris Phillips, whose world-class talent offers a unique experience for Eight K’s diners, Hills said.

“The music just complements the fine dining like a fine wine would,” Hills said. “It’s so unique to the valley. There are no other restaurants doing this.”

Hills praised the efforts of the Viceroy to provide a unique live music offering, but he added that there can’t be too much music in Snowmass. The 30-year veteran of the local music scene is hoping that Turks, the live-music joint that just opened in the former Mountain Dragon space, will have success in the same vein as the funkier venues of the past.

So far Turks has been packing its schedule with local and Colorado bands. Owner Tim Lucca hopes to start booking bigger acts in February and March, but so far he’s living up to his promise to provide live music every day, with après gigs daily and late-night entertainment almost that often. That includes more traditional gigs but also karaoke and jam sessions with budding artists, and Turks has once again become the watering hole for many of the longtime locals known to post up at the Mountain Dragon.

“We’ve become a full-on community music place,” Lucca said.

While live music is a staple, for some people après-ski is as simple as wings and football at Zane’s Tavern. For others, a simple drink or snack will do, and thankfully most local restaurants, especially the slopeside establishments, offer some specials, like Venga Venga’s taco special and The Edge’s half-off cocktails.

Of course, not everyone can participate in drinking and dancing after a day on the slopes. For the younger set, the Very Important Kid Snowmass program now has activities scheduled every day starting at 3:30 p.m., or 2 p.m. on Saturdays. That includes free activities like Sing-a-long and S’mores at the Westin fire pit and paid events like the Kids’ Après Party on Wednesdays (babysitting included).

jill@snowmasssun.com