Every September, the award-winning Moab Music Festival brings world-class musicians to stunning red rock venues around Moab, Utah for a feast of chamber music, jazz, and traditional music concerts. We call it "music in concert with the landscape," celebrating old and new chamber music, jazz with a Latin flavor, and traditional music from around the globe.

For the Festival’s unique grotto concerts, audience members travel down the Colorado River in jet boats to an acoustically perfect red rock concert site. After the performance, the audience has a chance to share food and drink with the musicians before boating back to Moab.  Other Festival concerts take place at venues along the Colorado River, on Music Walks and in Moab's beautifully restored Star Hall. 

During the 2011 Festival, concertgoers enjoyed innovative programs performed by Maria Bachmann, Michael Boriskin, Nicholas Canellakis, Edmar Castaneda, Adam Cruz, John Ellis, Marco & Leo Granados, LP How, Roberto Koch, Christopher Layer, James Martin, David McCarroll, Matt Munisteri, Pedja Muzijevic, Ayano Ninomiya, Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton, Edward Simon, Ian Swensen, Arnaud Sussmann, Leslie Tomkins, Tanya Tomkins, Paul Woodiel and Eric Zivian while reveling in southeast Utah’s world-renowned red rock landscape. The Festival also featured a special appearance by the Punch Brothers at Red Cliffs Adventure Lodge in a concert supported in part by a National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America grant and a generous sponsorship from Zions Bank. 

After the Festival patrons will joined Music Director Michael Barrett, Nicholas Canellakis, Christopher Layer, Arnaud Sussmann and Paul Woodiel on a Musical Raft Trip from Moab through Cataract Canyon. 

To celebrate 2011 Composer-in-Residence, David Amram, the Festival screened the three Hollywood films for which he composed the scores: The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Splendor in the Grass (1961) and The Young Savages (1961).  In addition to appearing at Festival concerts and at school assemblies, Amram participated in a pre-Festival, Meet The Artist event, during which the Alfred Leslie/ Robert Frank, Beat Generation film Pull My Daisy was shown, and filmmaker Lawrence Kraman presented a sneak preview of his documentary, David Amram: The First 80 Years.    

Specific details about the 2012, 20th Anniversary Festival, which will take place August 30 - September 10, 2012, will be available after March 15, 2012.  The 2012 Musical Raft Trip will take place between September 10 and 13, 2012. 

Click here to join our email list to get the latest updates about 2012 concert dates, artists and programs.

If you come to Moab next September, you'll find plenty of comfortable lodging, fine dining, wineries and breweries and diverse shopping in and around Moab. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are minutes away by car. You can hike through wilderness areas or explore the stunning landscape on mountain bikes, in cars or jeeps, floating on a Colorado River raft, or on horseback. Or just sitting on your balcony in town and taking in the views.