STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Dust off your cowboy hats and muster your best southern drawl, the 33^rd annual MusicFest kicks off this Friday.

For six days, the annual festival descends upon Steamboat Springs bringing a robust roster of up to 80 musicians, from legends to rising stars, over 120 live performances and about 14,300 extra visitors.

But, the festival offers more than just country music.

"People tend to think all the music from the fest is just country," said Brian Smith, a booking agent with B. Smith Presents. "But it's really not. It might have twang to it, but there are more bands that rock and jam out and a lot of the music is more listenable than you would think."

Aside from the festival, Smith said a variety of late night shows will amp up the festivities throughout the week at smaller venues.

"The goal was to make these shows feature a few of the official MusicFest artists but offer late night shows that were free so locals could go and so there was late night music after the Fest was over," said Smith, who books the musicians at Slopeside Grill.

The bands at Slopeside he said were handpicked and might surprise those in the audience.

"Everything from Americana to rock n' roll, to Cajun or jazz-infused sounds and exceptional instrumentation, the festival really represents a lot of different styles of music," said John Dickson, founder and creator of the MusicFest and Dickson Productions Inc. "But each year there's a common bond that's present with the musicians and the fans, because they want to produce music that's genuine, that means something to them and speaks real life stuff."

Bands to look out, according to Smith, include the Chubby Knuckle Choir and Midnight River Choir, with unforgettable live shows, and Zac Wilkerson and Austin Mead, stars within the singer-songwriter realm.

A few of the MusicFest's official headlining acts include Lee Ann Womack, Reckless Kelly, Micky & the Motorcars, Turnpike Troubadours, Randy Rogers Band, Paul Thorn, Eleven Hundred Springs, The Mastersons, The Trishas, Shawn Sahm All-Star Jam, Stoney LaRue and dozens upon dozens more.

The festival will be playing at 11 official stages throughout the week, the largest of those being the official MusicFest venue — a 100-foot by 180-foot tent providing more than 18,000 square feet of concert space for up to 3,000 people – located in the Knoll Lot parking area across from the Gondola Square Transportation Center.

The festival tent will remain in the Knoll Lot through Saturday, Jan. 13. In addition, the lower Knoll triangle lot will also be closed for event purposes.

The resort will continue to offer free parking in the south half of the Knoll Lot and the Meadows Lot as well as paid parting in the Gondola Square parking structure. In addition, Steamboat Springs Transit offers free bus transportation between the Steamboat Ski Area transportation center, downtown and most condominium locations.

MusicFest will also feature four free concerts at the Steamboat Stage in Gondola Square, including: Jack Ingram & The Beat up Ford Band and Read Southall on Friday; the Cody Johnson Band and Kody West on Saturday; Mike & The Moonpies and the Dirty River Boys on Sunday; and the Casey Donahew Band and Koe Wetzel on Monday. All concerts start at 1 p.m.

"I think people will like the music more than they think," Smith said. "But if they don't go out and see it they won't really know."

Free concert schedule

Thursday, Jan. 4

Midnight River Choir

10 p.m. | Slopeside Grill, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Austin Meade

10 p.m. | Colorado High 5, 635 Lincoln Ave.

Friday, Jan 5

Junior Gordon

Noon | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Bryce Dicus

1 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Jack Ingram, The Beat up Ford Band and Read Southall

1 p.m. | Gondola Square, Steamboat Ski Area, 2305 Mount Werner Circle

Chuch Briseno and T.J. Broscoe

2 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Jade Patek and Brian Milson

3 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Trevor G. Potter with Walt and The Ol’ 37

3 to 5 p.m. | Slopeside Grill, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Cody Sparks

4 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Shawn David Allen

3 to 6 p.m. | Bear River Bar and Grill, 2305 Mount Werner Circle

Zac Wilkerson

10 p.m. | Slopeside Grill, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Saturday, Jan. 6

Bonnie Lang

Noon | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Myles Smith and Robynn Shayne

1 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Cody Johnson Band and Kody West

1 p.m. | Gondola Square, Steamboat Ski Area, 2305 Mount Werner Circle

Brent Michael Wood and Isaac Jacob

2 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Chuck Brisen

2 p.m. | Slopeside Grill, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Austin Gilliam and Debbie Glenn

3 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Chuck Briseno with Josh Patton

9:30 p.m. | Moose Knuckles, 1009 Lincoln Ave.

Chubby Knuckle Choir

10 p.m. | Slopeside Grill, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Euforquestra

10 p.m. | Schmiggity's, 821 Lincoln Ave.

Sunday, Jan. 7

Denny Herrin

Noon | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Francie Hrienitz

Noon | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Mike & The Moonpies and the Dirty River Boys

1 p.m. | Gondola Square, Steamboat Ski Area, 2305 Mount Werner Circle

Matt Castillo and Chris Manning

2 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Zack Nytomt and Jack Nelson

3 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Mario Flores, Clay Hollis and Junior Gordon

4 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

The Buffalo Ruckus

9 p.m. | Schmiggity's, 821 Lincoln Ave.

Austin Meade

10 p.m. | Slopeside Grill, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

Monday, Jan. 8

Dave Thomas

Noon | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Jack Nelson

1 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Casey Donahew Band and Koe Wetzel

1 p.m. | Gondola Square, Steamboat Ski Area, 2305 Mount Werner Circle

Drew Fish

2 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Melissa Brooke

3 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Sarah Hobbs and David Grace

4 p.m. | Double Diamonds Bar, 2300 Mount Werner Circle, Unit C5

Austin Meade & Friends

8:30 p.m. | Slopeside Grill, 1855 Ski Time Square Drive

To reach Audrey Dwyer, call 970-871-4229, email adwyer@steamboattoday.com or follow her on Twitter @Audrey_Dwyer1.