[Original Acoustic Fingerstyle] "On Firecracker Hill" - The Story Behind the Song

Last summer I packed up my tent and guitar, and drove 13 hours

to the beautiful mountains of Colorado for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. I was blown away by the community, the music, and the scenery there. After taking some shrooms and wandering up the mountain with a friend one day, I was inspired to write this song. Press play and scroll down for the whole story :)

Telluride, CO, is a former silver mining town tucked away in the Rocky Mountains. Every summer, bluegrass musicians and fans make a pilgrimage there to celebrate a raucous weekend full of music, dancing, and good times.

One morning in the campground, a kindly fellow wandered by my tent selling psychedelic mushroom chocolates. I'm not one to shy away from such opportunities, especially in such beautiful, music-filled environments. Little did I know what would transpire in the hours to follow . . .

My friend and I had noticed people watching the festival stage from higher up the mountain throughout the weekend, so we decided to explore for ourselves. We brought a hammock and a few beers with us and began a hike through the campground and up the mountain. Some time later, we discovered the clearing that overlooked the festival, and decided to set up the hammock and eat our chocolates.

Thirty minutes later, a rag-tag group of guys wandered up from the other direction. We greeted them and offered to share our beers. Turns out they had all hitch-hiked or caught trains to the area, as they did every year, to sneak up the mountain and hear the music for free. They offered us some LSD, but we declined - explaining we were already on our own "adventure."

We spent the next few hours on Firecracker Hill, trading jokes and stories, enjoying music, and enjoying life. It was an experience that I'll never forget - especially the part when one of their buddies straggled in later, high on LSD carrying a katana . . . you never know what you'll run across in the mountains.

The next morning I brought my guitar over to the waterfall near our campsite and started to play, as was my Telluride morning tradition. I thought about how my experience on Firecracker Hill was special. I made a connection with a group of guys I might have otherwise been hesitant to interact with. "On Firecracker Hill" is a song about hope, about sharing our lives with others, and opening our eyes to the beauty in every moment, person, and mountain on this Earth.

I hope you enjoyed listening and reading the story behind "On Firecracker Hill." Please upvote and reSteem this post if you appreciate my content, and be sure to follow me for more music and stories :)

You can download this song for free on my SoundCloud

Tips and donations are appreciated - @Californicajun

For more good vibes, check out my reggae track, "McCarren Sunshine" https://steemit.com/music/@californicajun/mccarren-sunshine-an-original-reggae-instrumental