TBF Best of Fest Poll Results

The TBF All-Star Band (including Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien, Bryan Sutton, and Edgar Meyer) nosed out Barenaked Ladies in Festival Preview's Strictly Unofficial Best of the Fest Poll for the best performance of the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Sixty two festival attendees submitted ballots. The full results in 30 categories are listed below.


Best Performance
------------------------
1. TBF All-Stars
2. Barenaked Ladies
3. Sam Bush Band
4. John Prine
5. Bonnie Raitt


Breakthrough Performance
-------------------------------------
1. Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband
2. Drew Emmitt Band
3. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings


Best Performance for a Band Led By a TBF All-Star
----------------------------------------------------------
Sam Bush Band


Best Performance By a Colorado-Based Act
----------------------------------------------------------
Yonder Mountain String Band
(Write-in votes for Boulder Acoustic Society and Shanti Groove)


Best Bluegrass
---------------------
Del McCoury Band


Best Jam Band
---------------------
Yonder Mountain String Band


Best Singer-Songwriter
-------------------------------
John Prine


Best Rock
--------------
Barenaked Ladies


Best Male Vocals
------------------------
1. John Prine
2. John Cowan
3. Tim O'Brien


Best Female Vocals
-------------------------
1. Bonnie Raitt
2. Mollie O'Brien
3. Neko Case (tie)
Sharon Jones


Best Group Vocals
-------------------------
1. Barenaked Ladies
2. Del McCoury Band
3. Yonder Mountain String Band


Best Group Instrumentals
----------------------------------
1. TBF All-Stars
2. Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
3. Sam Bush Band


Best Mandolin
-------------------
1. Sam Bush
2. Chris Thile
3. Mike Marshall


Best Guitar
---------------
1. Bryan Sutton
2. Tony Rice
3. Bonnie Raitt


Best Banjo
--------------
1. Bela Fleck
2. Noam Pikelny


Best Fiddle
---------------
1. Casey Driessen
2. Sam Bush (tie)
Tim O'Brien


Best Bass
--------------
1. Edgar Meyer
2. Victor Wooten


Best Other Instrument
-----------------------------
1. Jerry Douglas (dobro)
2. Jeff Coffin (woodwinds)


Best Closing Act
----------------------
Barenaked Ladies


Best Duet
-------------
Tim & Mollie O'Brien


Best Group Workshop
------------------------------
Mandolinians


Best Workshop Performance
---------------------------------------
Hit & Run Bluegrass


Best Guest Performance
---------------------------------
Peter Rowan, Yonder Mountain & Drew Emmitt with Sam Bush Band
(Write-in votes for Sean & Sara Watkins with Barenaked Ladies)


Best Tweener Performance
-------------------------------------
Casey Driessen


Best Entertainer
----------------------
1. Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies)
2. Sam Bush
3. Sharon Jones


Bluegrass Babe
----------------------
Bryn Davies
(One person objected to the category on the grounds it was sexist.)


Telluride Dude
--------------------
Chris Thile
(One person objected to the category on the grounds it was sexist.
Write-in votes for John Cowan.)


Festival Rating
--------------------
The Best Ever 12%
Among the Best 58%
About Average 22%
Disappointing 2%
Other 6%


How Many TBFs Have You Attended?
----------------------------------------------------
1 13.4%
2-4 15.4%
5-9 25.0%
10-15 30.8%
16-25 11.5%
25+ 3.8%


Memorable Moments (includes entries from test ballot and final ballot)
-----------------------------
* Bonnie Rait sings "Angel from Montgomery"
* Sam Bush explains his abscence Friday.
* barenaked ladies making fun of everyone wearing cowboy hats, dirty
dancers, and famous shit.
* Sam Bush asking if anyone has heard any good gosip latley?
* The Allstars entire performance!!
* Bare Naked Ladies song about TBF
* Sharon & Dap Kings - how did she do it?
* All performances on small stage in Elk Park. Loved the small venue
* SIxers: stopping song to orate a movie quote. "...2, 3, 4!"
* Anahuwack in town park w/Vince Herman & Bryn Davie
* Colin of The Decemberists sitting in the poser pit while some
random guy played his guitar
* [Sixer's bassist] gets stopped by an uninformed security backstage.
"Whoa drunk naked guy, STOP!"
* Neko Case and her first Telluride raianbow.
* John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" moved me and several of my
tarp friends to tears. Steven Kellog's song, "Such a Way" is
beautiful... that was the first time I heard it. All of the Godesses
on my tarp were swaying and smiling during that one.
* Peter Rowan and the BLUEGRASS BABES! So hot!
* Linda Tillery's encore, "What's Goin' On"
* Yonder bring EVERYONE on stage at the Sheridan. Sharon Jones
getting the booties shaking.
* On Father's Day Jerry Novonty danced to John Prine's "Angel from
Montgomery" with his daughter Rachel. One of the most memorable and
beautiful moments that I have seen at a festival.
* Barenaked ladies comments to musicians supposedly watching from the
wings.
* You got it , Sixer's bass player [runs through crowd in underwear]
* Someone in Ryan Shupe's band plays the banjo fretboard with his
foot. And really, who hasn't wanted to streak the Telluride Bluegrass
Festival? Too bad he didn't start a conga line.
* My name was called for the Martin guitar raffle.
* TBF Allstars, when Sam and Tim Played a Duet on Fiddle
* Baremaked Ladies having us sing w/"if I had a million dollars:
* Sam Bush talking about his hospital visit
* Entire barenaked ladies - whole show rocked!
* Jerry D and Bela F not accepting the "pick off" challenge from the
Decemberists.
* Every closing set was absolutely ridiculous (in a very good way)
* Sam Bush explaining to the fans what happened to him on Thursday night (collapsing after the All Stars set, rushed to the Montrose Hospital, then learning the chest pains were due to a virus and that Sam was ok). It was an essential reminder to all of us about our own mortality.
* person from the audience dancing with Sharon Jones
* bummer that my most memorable moment is a bad memory, ryan shupe was so loud it hurt my ears. a maximum db level should be determined and enforced by tom or mark.