Alpenglow: Local Music featuring Floyd Bauler and Big Love Car Wash

Floyd Bauler, The True-Blue Troubadour

Living life on the road out of a worn down guitar case, Floyd Bauler’s songs tell true and tall tales of his friends, his old dog Penny, and all of his wild adventures. His stories come alive in his music and his shows are places of connection, where everyone can feel at home and sing along.

Ever since first leaving his home in Texas to create his own Traveling Circus, the Piano Van and Company have been snowbirding between Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, California, and Nashville. Along the way, he found a special community in Crested Butte, where he formed his Riverland Band comprised of local legends Nicky Fulweiler, Bud Brinson, and other local musicians. His beautiful girlfriend Jenny  Rodriguez also joins him with her sweet, strong voice and some soulful harmonica. Together they return to Crested Butte every summer to make a home in the mountains and share real songs for Real, Good People. 

Safe Travels, My Friends!

** YouTube link from Alpenglow 2021:

Windows In The Sky – Floyd Bauler and Friends – Alpenglow 2021 – Crested Butte Center for the Arts

Big Love Car Wash

Like the music they play, Big Love Car Wash is full of dichotomies: whimsical yet serious, fanciful yet pragmatic, filled with lofty dreams yet grounded in reality.

Sol Chase, Everett Wren, David Rabinowicz and Taylor Turner discovered that magic the first time they shared a stage together, when Chase hired them all by chance for a bluegrass gig in Austin in 2022. From the first couple songs, they had what musicians sometimes call “stage telepathy.”

Leaning into their love of bluegrass, folk, jazz, Celtic and rock idioms, they honed an Americana-oriented, bluegrass-steeped sound that’s built on rich traditions, yet boldly exploratory. That sound takes flight on their self-produced debut album, Daydream, recorded at Austin’s fabled Arlyn Studios — where Willie Nelson’s influence fills every nook and cranny, inspiring four virtuosos to go where the music took them. The 16-track album will be available in June 2025, with a release show at Austin’s 04 Center and a tour of the us to follow.

Their playful yet sophisticated sound is also evident in the first of three sets of double-sided singles, “Dream Journal” and “Janna (She’s Still at Sea),” grouped under the title “Vignettes I: Quiet Reverie.” With soothing notes of gentle bluegrass-folk and themes of self reflection, mourning, and moving on, each song offers a dynamic and unique take on familiar stories and sounds. 

Both songs reflect the band’s emphasis on connection: with one another, fans and their own thoughts and emotions. They’re empaths in tune with the world around them and each other’s physical and mental health, and they refer to themselves as a “found family.”

Even the band’s name is a verbal reference to something like a group hug. The phrase came from the late Yonder Mountain String Band frontman and jamgrass luminary Jeff Austin. Austin once proclaimed that the vibe he received from a connected audience felt like moving through “a big love car wash.”

Although the four members play in lots of bands, Big Love Car Wash is no side project for any of them. Chase, Rabinowicz, Wren and Turner intend to share the joy, energy and “bubbly camaraderie” of their live performances with as many listeners as they can. Yes, they really do want to wash the world with love. And that’s a dream worth pursuing.

View the full lineup here!

Alpenglow Details:

Rain or shine, music starts at 5:30. Bring a chair, a blanket, and your dancing shoes! Local food vendors and a bar will be available at every concert to create the perfect picnic.

Please no dogs, no outside alcohol, and no glass. Please do not dump ice onto Town Park! Take the bus or ride your bike – it’s good for the planet!