Hall of Honor Inductee

Fred Shellman 2025 cbms induction

Today, we are inducting a man who is truly a Colorado Bluegrass legend, Mr.Fred Shellman. You might be familiar with his name if you’ve been to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival - the Town Park main stage is named after him. Now known as “The Fred Shellman Memorial Stage,” it arguably has one of the best and most iconic views of any stage, anywhere in the world.  

In 1971, Fred and his wife MariKay moved to Ophir, CO and Fred began working as a ski instructor at Telluride ski area. As well as fronting a bluegrass ensemble, The Fall Creek Band.  Fred had recently attended the Walnut Valley Festival in Kansas and he had a vision: Bring top-tier bluegrass type bands to Colorado and start a yearly festival in beautiful Telluride.

In the early years, the festival was small with nothing but dirt ground and a small stage, but it had a mystique only the Colorado San Juan mountains could produce.

At first the festival was just local happenings, but Fred knew it’s potential and wanted to bring in larger and national acts. So, Fred reached out to Sam Bush’s booking agency and secured New Grass Revival for the festival in 1974.  This proved to be a particularly prescient move as Sam is now known as the “Father of Telluride Bluegrass” and has played every single festival since.

Sam started telling his musician friends what a fun festival this was and in the following years they had Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, John Hartford and Doc and Merle Watson among many others.  Not only did Sam spread the word amongst his musician friends, but attendees also spread the word through their friend networks. The path was set and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival firmly solidified itself as a mainstay in the festival world.  

In the early years, Marikay was instrumental in securing funding for the festival as well as feeding the musicians; at one point she told Fred: “If you don’t get some women up on this stage, you all aren’t getting fed next year.” They’ve had female performers ever since.  Marykay said: “It just wasn’t about money; it was about playing music.”  It was very much a partnership with Marikay providing food and funding and did it all while pregnant and nursing during those early years.

Today the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is known as one of the world’s prominent Bluegrass and Roots music festivals, with attendees and performers coming far and wide to bask in the San Juans and enjoy the crisp sounds in the magic that is the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Tellurides Town Park main stage is known as “The Fred Shellman Memorial Stage,” and it arguably has one of the best and most iconic views of any stage, anywhere in the world.  

Fred was a visionary and his humble creation over 50 years ago grew into one of the venerated traditions of not only Colorado and bluegrass, but music festivals worldwide.