Alpenglow: JD Clayton

Free Concert Series | Outdoors | Rain or Shine

The Center for the Arts presents Alpenglow, a tradition for over 30 years. This free outdoor concert series takes place Monday evenings at 5:30pm from mid-June through mid-August in the Crested Butte Town Park next door to the Center for the Arts.

With Crested Butte Mountain and Paradise Divide as the backdrop, it’s the perfect respite to enjoy the sounds of a variety of music, surrounded by family and friends. Guests are welcome to bring along low-profile lawn chairs, snacks (or a complete picnic) and non-alcoholic beverages. Join friends and family as we enjoy the best that summer in Crested Butte has to offer.

JD Clayton

The Fort Smith Arkansas native, JD Clayton, released his debut album Long Way From Home, early last year which has received overwhelming critical acclaim. There’s no artifice surrounding the Arkansas-born singer and songwriter. No glitz. No pretension or mythology. JD Clayton’s sound, and where he chooses to make it—Arkansas, the most western of the southern states— is a bridge between the southern rock on which he was raised, and the truth telling tradition from the 70s era of country music that he most favors.

As a result, the songs on his thrilling new album Blue Sky Sundays, feel both lived in and completely free. Like any great songwriter, Clayton is both leader and follower, telling his own story but reveling in how it unfolds in live time and relates to listeners individually. “The album is about clarity. It’s about leaving the things that let us down behind,” Clayton says. “It’s about love and family and joy. It took me about four months of being sober to have a clear enough head to process this. I think I finally understand that piece of the puzzle at least.”