On Feb. 15, Mark Johnson, a local music educator and beloved community figure, tragically died in a car accident on Highway 82. In response to this, Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS), in collaboration with the Aspen Music Festival and School, created the Mark Johnson Memorial Fund, a “community fundraising campaign in support of the Carbondale music […]
Gus Richardson
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Defiance Community Players unveil new plans while sticking to old values
A couple of months ago, the Defiance Community Players, a local nonprofit theater group based in Glenwood Springs, teased a few new upcoming projects, with a radio play being the main yet-to-be-unveiled attraction. “We’re working on one right now and we want it to be a surprise,” Travis Dean Wilson, president of the Defiance Community […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Unique exhibitions take the spotlight at the Carbondale Arts Gallery
Until Aug. 14, the Carbondale Arts Gallery is featuring two local, eclectic artists, each with a unique method to finding inspiration and creating their art. “People say people are artistic or not. I think it’s most everybody’s artistic, and then somebody tells them that they’re not, and then they think they’re not,” said Vallee Noone, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
In SoL’s ‘Cabaret,’ ‘life is beautiful, the girls are beautiful’ and ‘even the orchestra is beautiful!’
This weekend, Stage of Life Theatre Company (SoL) continues its run of the 1966 black comedy “Cabaret.” This very well may be the only musical that has ever made this reporter shed a tear. It is a vision into a fantastical yet genuine world, about real people dealing with real problems at the end of […]
Posted inBusiness
Aspen Journalism hosted ProPublica on ‘The State of Independent Journalism’
“I love America more than any other country in the world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” This is the James Baldwin quote that Mark Harvey, board president of Aspen Journalism, feels best wraps up the mission of his news agency. As part of this mission, Aspen […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘There’s so much that I can still learn’: Thomas Barlow continues carving more than 30 years later
“If this is too noisy, we can move.” This is the first thing that Thomas Barlow, a local sculptor, said in his interview with The Sopris Sun. Cars whipped by on Grand Avenue in Glenwood Springs and an entire dance team sat and talked outside Jimmy John’s, where Barlow had just completed his most recent […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mount Sopris Music Festival boogies down to 25th anniversary lineup
This coming First Friday, Steve’s Guitars will host its 25th annual Mount Sopris Music Festival. This event has continually highlighted local artists with a mix of styles and beats, while also engaging the community and fostering connection. “I had the idea to have a music festival in downtown Carbondale that highlighted only local musicians,” explained […]
Posted inOpinion
Theater Review: SoL’s ‘Assassins’ takes community theater to a deadly new level
This week, Stage of Life Theatre Company continues its run of the 1990 dramatic-comedy “Assassins,” and it very well may be one of the best shows I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. It is witty, irreverent and hauntingly relevant, especially in our modern political climate. The musical follows a cast of (you guessed […]
Posted inEducation
Maddie Lucks first to represent Roaring Fork High School Speech and Debate Team at Nationals
Editor’s note: Gus Richardson was a member of the speech team for three years, including as the captain of interpretation events for one year. Roaring Fork High School’s (RFHS) Speech and Debate Team has had a storied past. Pre-pandemic, the team was doing just swell — attending local conferences and meets, but not going too […]
Posted inYouth News
Aquatics Center needs community support to close funding gap
The Carbondale pool, formerly known as the John M. Fleet Pool, named after a Carbondale mayor, was originally built in 1978. Since its creation, the pool has served the community as a hub for connection, recreation and education. Despite its importance, and likely due in part to its popularity, the pool had endured some wear […]