This is such a sweet little music festival. In addition to being affordable ticket-wise, everything else here just seems to go smoothly. Quick moving lines, fast bag checkers, short portapotty waits, multiple free water stands (you can bring in empty bottles to fill up) and separate wristbands for the bars that prevent you from having to dig out your ID each time. Hotels and transportation are very cheap in Aspen during the off season, even on this holiday weekend. I can't wait to go back! The lineup is quite varied, though there are some snoozers. Last year's old fogies like Lynyrd Skynyrd kept me away, and Steely Dan this year was no better, but every other band made up for it. There is something for everyone (for example this year Thievery Corp, Girl Talk, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Michael Franti, Fitz and the Tantrums, Ryan Bingham, Porter Robinson and the Zac Brown Band), being three stages and all - one of which was electronic music and strangely always surrounded by children breakdancing and tossing beach balls. You can bring low chairs (under 6") like Crazy Creeks and in our experience, plenty of booze if you're smart about it but don't quote me on that. The long food lines were the only annoyance but there was a wide variety including plenty of veg/vegan options. We got free crappy Bud Light coozies here a few years ago, but this year Skinceuticals was handing out sunscreen each day from two tents, skincare samples AND fancy schmancy neoprene stitched coozies that actually listed the year's lineup and playtimes. Freaking genius and a lovely souvenir to take home (all 10 of them we ended up with over 3 days). And FREE. There was a free photobooth that uploaded pics right to Facebook with a pretty backdrop of the stage, very cool. I love that the late headliners aren't that late (9pm Friday and 7pm Sat/Sun) because there is so much else to see and do in Aspen/Snowmass that I like to tuck in early. Okay I always like to tuck in early. Free shuttles cart you to the stages from pretty much anywhere in Aspen or Snowmass and you can even bring food and open containers (like keg cups) on board. Did I mention free? It's super relaxed and super fun. If only they could fix the traffic jam coming home on Monday... read more