I’ve packed the night before, and I know as long as I get in line by 5:30 for the 10:00 a.m. opening of the 36th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, I’ll be able to set my tarp up exactly where I have every Bluegrass I have attended since 1999.

4:30 a.m. I wake, shower, dress, brew coffee, grab my bluegrass pack and drive into town pre-dawn. It is still cold this early in the morning in June in Telluride and I am wearing jeans, wool socks, sneakers, a couple layers beneath my down jacket and a wool hat. Everything I have learned about the tarp run I learned from my old friend Bobby Silverman who taught me the ropes about the running of the tarp back in 1999. (Bobby also taught me how to navigate New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival around 1996). He used to get in line between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. and always went for back stage right where you can set up a tarp, have a great view of the stage, great sound, and lots of room to invite your friends to join you later.

5:30 a.m. Car parked, I take my place amongst those also sent out by their families and friends to lay tarp. I’m not sure where I am in line yet, I’ll find out around 6:00 when they pass out the cue numbers. I lay out my chair, pour some coffee from my thermos and settle into the four hour wait until the gates open.

6:15 a.m. A Bluegrass volunteer hands out the cues. I am number 109. There is a second cue line in the town park campground, so I’m really the 218th person in line to run tarps into the Bluegrass festival. I am already thinking about tonight’s headliner David Byrne who won’t hit the stage until 9:00 p.m. But that is how it works, if you want a good space in Town Park, that is your home base, you got to get up early.

8:00 a.m. I head over to Baked in Telluride to get a bagel. On the way back I work through the line to see when and where my fellow festivarians got in line. #79, Will Blount, got here at 4:30 a.m. He likes to be in the last row of the front section, stage right. He also sets up a tent for his wife and kids stage right along the fence. #52, Steven Steinberg, got here at 10:00 p.m. last night and camped out. He likes front row of the family section where you can set up canopies. JJ Osolla and his crew are #32. They also spent the night. They like to get as close to stage as possible. It’s good to have friends up front to visit. #1 in line is Dave Wolfe. He’s an old pro at this. He set up his chairs yesterday around 2:30 p.m. He sets up a tarp front row center and another front row of the family section. He’s a good person to know if you come into the festival late and need some friends to meet up with. Bringing a cooler with food and drink never hurts if you’re poaching someone else’s tarp space.