The snow is great and the town's program is full of events for everybody this December. The famous Vail Snow Days winter festival returns to town on the 13th and is promising to be better than ever with new events and great live music. The kick off the holiday season is also starting this weekend so check out our list if early season events and make sure you don't miss on any of the fun.
Thursday Dec. 13
Family Fireside Holiday Party - Hosted by Vail Public Library this event is a great way to start the holiday season. Children of all ages who believe and wish to visit Santa Claus are welcome. Arts and crafts will be available to make the wait time a fun, hands-on experience. Mountain Harmony Acapella will join in, singing a variety of holiday songs.
Snow Days LIVE!
2 - 3:30pm Mid-Vail, top of Gondola One - Skin the Rabbit
4 - 6pm Vail Chophouse - Phil Long Apres Show (Call for reservations and qualify for special offer)
8-11pm Tavern on the Square - Live music
8-11pm King's Club at Sonnenalp - Live Music
Pray for Snow Winter Blessing
5 - 7pm Pray for Snow Bonfire and Kick-off - Golden Peak Local's favorite band REWIND Torchlight parade, Fire Dancers, Snowball Eating Contest, Drink and Food Specials Fireworks
Pray for Snow Pub Crawl, presented by Bud Light
7-10pm: Vendettas, Pazzos and the Bridge Street Bar
Friday, Dec. 14
Festival Village
9am-4pm Base of Gondola One and International Bridge in Vail Village
Demos, Expos, product sampling
Snow Days LIVE!
3 - 6pm Gessner Vail - Live music
4 - 6pm Vail Chophouse Phil Long Apres Show (Call for reservations and qualify for special offer)
5 - 7pm The Fitz Bar Live music by Nick Steingart
7 - 9pm 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Co. Live music by Austin's Rose
6pm - 10pm Bridge Street Bar Live music by Jonny Mogambo
8 - 11pm Gessner Vail Live music
8-11pm King's Club at Sonnenalp Live Music
10pm - 2am Bridge Street Bar - Live Music by Scott Munns, Live DJ starting at 10pm
FREE Headliner concert: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Opener: Wildermiss
6pm - Ford Park Concert Venue
Denver-based Wildermiss closed out 2017 as one of the most exciting acts to emerge from the Mile High City. The promising quartet built up a strong, impassioned grassroots following that helped propel it to a pair of back-to-back wins in KTCL’s benchmark promotions, the annual Big Gig this past summer and Hometown for the Holidays- not to mention multiple sold-out headlining shows of their own. The outfit quickly won fans over with a smart brand of guitar-driven pop, which has plenty in common with acts like Local Natives, Echosmith, and Florence and the Machine.
Growing up in Hermann, Missouri, Nathaniel Rateliff started his music career playing in his family’s band at church. In 1998 Night Sweat bassist, Joseph Pope III and Rateliff moved to Denver where they worked nightshifts at a bottle factory and a trucking company while testing out their songs at open-mic nights. The band’s 2015 self-titled debut became a massive hit and pushed them out on the road for two long years. In May 2017, they brought that same boundless energy to their follow-up, "Tearing at the Seams," a vivacious and inventive full-band record, with significant contributions from all eight members of The Night Sweats. These songs are grounded in old-school soul and R&B, but have elements of soul and garage rock, jazz, folk and country.
10pm: Vendettas, Pazzos, Bridge Street Bar
Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl, presented by Bud Light
Saturday, Dec. 14
Festival Village
9am - 4pm: Base of Gondola One and International Bridge in Vail Village
Demos, Expos, product sampling
Snow Days LIVE!
3 - 6pm Gessner Vail - Live music
4 - 6pm Vail Chophouse - Phil Long Apres Show (Call for reservations and qualify for special offer)
5 - 7pm The Fitz Bar - Live music by Nick Steingart
7 - 9pm 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Co. - Live music by BBQ Mike & Friends
6 - 10pm Bridge Street Bar -Live music by Jonny Mogambo
8 - 11pm Gessner Vail - Live music
8-11pm King's Club at Sonnenalp - Live music
10pm - 2am Bridge Street Bar - Live Music by Scott Munns, Live DJ starting at 10pm
2:30-5:30pm Express Lift Bar, Pazzo's, Los Amigos
Light Up the Night Pub Crawl, presented by Bud Light
FREE Headliner: Shakey Graves Opener: The Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts
6pm: Ford Park Concert Venue
The son of Gregg Allman's project band is a six piece upstart featuring two percussionists, John Lum & R. Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow), bassist Justin Corgan, guitarist Jackson Stokes and a Hammond B3 player, Nicholas David. Devon Allman is the former leader of Honeytribe and Royal Southern Brotherhood, and plays songs from that band, as well as originals from The Devon Allman Band and a few covers.
Alejandro Rose-Garcia is a native of Austin who’s been plying his trade as Shakey Graves since 2007. His latest album, "Can’t Wake Up," is an ambitious, audacious work that heralds an artistic metamorphosis for the 30-year-old veteran, whose risk-taking in painting outside the lines has been rewarded tenfold. “This record is the most I’ve ever intentionally worked on a project, musically speaking, in terms of the scope of it and how much thought went into it,” he says. “It’s a dense album; there’s a lot of information going on”.
Sunday, Dec. 16
Festival Village
9am - 4pm: Base of Gondola One and International Bridge in Vail Village
Demos, Expos, product sampling
Bluegrass & Bloodies
10am - 12pm: Tavern on the Square, Arrabelle
Live Bluegrass music by Run Away Grooms
Snow Days LIVE!
2 - 3:30pm Mid-Vail, top of Gondola One - Robby Wicks Duo
4 - 6pm - Vail Chophouse Phil Long Apres Show (Call for reservations and qualify for special offer)
8-11pm King's Club at Sonnenalp - Live music
6pm - 2am Bridge Street Bar - Live music by Jonny Mogambo, Live Music by Scott Munns, Live DJ starting at 10pm
