The Phillips family, who manages the Medano-Zapata Ranch adjacent to the Sand Dunes National Park, is hosting an outdoor concert at the ranch, Sun., July 10, 2pm, featuring James McMurtry, a celebrated singer-songwriter who practices a blend of Americana, folk, rock and country.
“A poet of the people,” is what the Village Voice called James McMurtry and “the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation” is how famed author Stephen King described McMurtry in Entertainment Weekly. Son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry, who wrote Lonesome Dove and Terms of Endearment, James McMurtry also has a way with words. His 2005 CD Childish Things spent six weeks at #1 on R&R’s Americana Music Radio Chart and captured nods for Best Song and Best Album from the 5th Annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards.
This concert is a fundraiser for a memorial project to honor community members Doug Shriver and Ray Wright who passed away tragically last winter. Shriver and Wright were visionaries who passionately gave years of leadership to the San Luis Valley’s water resources work, agricultural foundation, and efforts to maintain the health of the Rio Grande River. Local nonprofit, Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust, is working with the families of the men to develop an appropriate memorial site in conjunction with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Phillips family, and other local and statewide partners.
The memorial aims to give people in Shriver’s and Wright’s home community of Monte Vista a lovely setting to enjoy, appreciate and learn about the Rio Grande that sustains us all. While the project is in the early design stages, it will likely include a picnic site and access point to the river that will not only honor our friends, but highlight the importance of the Rio Grande and our ongoing responsibility to care for it.
This concert is a product of Ranchlands Concerts, a non-profit established by the Phillips Family with the goal of raising money for ranch education programs and special projects such as the Shriver/Wright Memorial Project.
Tickets are available through the Zapata ranch’s website: www.zranch.org, prices increase at the gate. All seating is general admission, gates open at 11am, concert begins at 2pm. People are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on. Alcohol is not served, people are welcome to bring their own.
What: James McMurtry concert benefiting the Shriver/Wright Memorial in Monte Vista
Location: Zapata Ranch – Mosca, Colorado (3 Miles south of Sand Dunes National Park on Hwy-150)
Date: Sunday, July 10 at 2pm
Website: www.zranch.org/concert
Contact: 719-378-2356 | cowboy@zranch.org
Ticket Purchasing Available through the website, or at the door.
The Zapata Ranch is a 103,000-acre ranch owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by Zapata Partners, a third-generation ranching family.
Concert will be held outside on the extensive grounds surrounding the lodge, rain or shine.
Doug Shriver and Ray Wright were two pivotal community members– especially active in the SLV’s water resources and agricultural arenas– who passed away in the winter of 2010.
All proceeds from concert go towards the Shriver/Wright Memorial fund, which will honor these 2 men in recognition of their vision and years of leadership in the SLV.
Silent auction will be on site, proceeds of which will be contributed towards the Wright/Shriver memorial fund.
Bison burger lunch will be available for purchase from 12:00-1:30 prior to the concert for $11.
Event Info
Sunday, July 10, 2pm
Gates will open at 11:00 and bison burger lunch will be available beginning at 12:00. All seating is General Admission, so people are encouraged to arrive early to stake out their spot, and bring blankets and chairs. We will not be serving alcohol, people are welcome to bring their own. McMurtry will go on at 2pm, rain or shine. A small number of overnight accommodations are available on the ranch, they will be sold on a first come first serve basis.
Concert Tickets: $21 | Ranch-Raised Bison Burger Lunch: $11
For questions, call 719-378-2356 or email cowboy@zranch.org.
This concert is a fundraiser for a memorial project to honor community members Doug Shriver and Ray Wright who passed away tragically last winter. Shriver and Wright were visionaries who passionately gave years of leadership to the San Luis Valley’s water resources work, agricultural foundation, and efforts to maintain the health of the Rio Grande River. Local nonprofit, Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust, is working with the men’s families to develop an appropriate memorial site in conjunction with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Phillips family, and other local and statewide partners.
The memorial aims to give people in Shriver’s and Wright’s home community of Monte Vista a lovely setting to enjoy, appreciate and learn about the Rio Grande that sustains us all. While the project is in the early design stages, it will likely include a picnic site and access point to the river that will not only honor our friends, but highlight the importance of the Rio Grande and our ongoing responsibility to care for it.
This concert is a product of Ranchlands Concerts, a non-profit established by the Phillips Family with the goal of raising money for ranch education programs and special projects such as the Shriver/Wright Memorial Project.
Tickets are available through the Zapata ranch’s website: www.zranch.org, prices increase at the gate. All seating is general admission, gates open at 11am, concert begins at 2pm. People are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on. Alcohol is not served, people are welcome to bring their own.
Concert Tickets: $21 | Ranch-Raised Bison Burger Lunch: $11
For questions, call 719-378-2356 or email cowboy@zranch.org.
