The secluded San Luis Valley spot is the perfect setting for a relaxing extended-holiday break, where you can enjoy three days of indie and Americana music from 25 bands. Also on the resort property is a cave that houses a prehistoric footprint, about a size nine, which may or may not belong to an unknown bipedal primate species.
“It’s hard to say where it came from or how old it is, but that’s how we came up with the name for the fest, from that footprint embedded in that rock,” resort owner Brett McGraw says. The former University of Kansas football player is a size thirteen, so the track is “small to me, but big to other people,” he adds.
McGraw came up with the idea to host a fest there shortly after he purchased the 368-acre property in 2021 and booked Texas musicians Red Shahan and Parker Morrow to perform.
“Red and Parker had come out the first year I had the resort to play Labor Day weekend 2021,” he explains. “Red and I bumped into each other and created an instant friendship. Actually, that day we were like, ‘Man, we oughta do a festival out here.’
“Red was one of the very first Americana artists that I ever listened to,” he continues. “I loved his music and the sound. Once we connected — honestly, by accident — when he was at the resort, it was a true friendship.”
Nestled near the little town of Weston, Monument Lake Resort is the perfect place for this type of laidback festival.
Courtesy of Caveman Music Festival
“We all just got together and figured out who’s a good fit and used the connections that Red and Parker have in the industry to pull in the talent and make it happen,” he recalls. “It started out just being like, ‘Hey, let’s get a bunch of buddies together and play some music.’ But it’s turned into a pretty massive production. That’s how it all began. It’s pretty simple.”
Since then, Caveman Fest has carved out a unique niche for itself, steadily growing while attracting an impressive flow of world-class performers.
This year, the headliners are Kurt Vile and the Violators (Friday), Red Clay Strays (Saturday) and the Wallflowers (Sunday). The Friday bill also includes Toadies, Band of Heathens, Drayton Farley, Buffalo Hunt, Sun Jr. and Estin & the 86’D. Saturday features Uncle Lucius, Shahan, Emily Wolfe, the Droptines, Erick Willis, Kade Hoffman, Aaron Raitiere and Midnight River Choir. The weekend concludes on Sunday with Jamestown Revival, Stephen Wilson Jr., Sir Woman, Taddy Porter, Charlie Shafter, Tony Kamel, Riddy Arman and Pasadena.
Aside from the extensive musical offerings, there will be an array of vendors and several camping — and glamping — options available. Not to mention all the natural wonders sprinkled throughout the property, including the crown jewel: a mile-long lake stocked with rainbow and brown trout.
“We've got a lake full of fish. It’s a true outdoorsman-type environment,” McGraw says, adding that Colorado Parks and Wildlife stocks the lake with nearly 50,000 fish each summer.
“It’s in the middle of the mountains, and you can have ten people or you can have 5,000 people there, and you still feel like you have your own space. That’s really the coolest part of it,” he continues. “Not only [do we have] three awesome days of music and great performers, but that lake — people are out there all day long fishing, paddleboarding, canoeing, kayaking.”
Built in 1937, Monument Lake Resort is a piece of Colorado history that many people may not be aware of, and is home to original adobe buildings from that time. “A bunch of starving loggers and mountain men built that dam and went on to build the resort right after it,” McGraw shares. “The buildings are so unique. They’re true adobe, with 24-inch-thick adobe walls. The place is just immaculate.”
He likes to think of it as “a little piece of heaven all out there by itself” and wants to share it with more people. Music is proving to be one of the best ways to get the word out.
“That first year, I was like, ‘Golly, how do we promote this place? It’s been here since ’37, and nobody knows about it.’ I just started pulling artists out of Texas and that Americana scene,” McGraw explains, adding that he and the Caveman team are expecting around 4,000 people to come out this year. “I don’t see it getting much bigger than that — just by choice, not for any other reason."
“Most people have no idea what Monument Lake Resort is,” he goes on. “It’s a good way for people to understand and realize that there’s still some cool, untouched parts of the country, and there’s nothing, in my opinion, better than that spot right there.”
The people who have found it and the festival comprise a wide variety of cryptid admirers, music enthusiasts and outdoor lovers. “Caveman Music Festival is a place for dreamers, fun-havers, campers, fishermen, musicians, ’squatch lovers, alien abductees and music fans from all walks of life,” says Shahan. “It’s a festival that you can recommend to the entire family reunion.”
With two stages, the festival proper takes place in a small area of the overall property; the rest is open to exploring. In reality, Monument Lake Resort could host an event as big as Woodstock (pick a year), but bigger isn’t always better (just ask any of the Woodstock organizers).
“The property, golly, there could be thousands and thousands of people. The field where we have the main stage performances, it’s got a capacity of 24,000 people,” McGraw notes. “But we’re more into the feel that you get when you get there. You’re not on top of each other. You can still throw 5,000 people into that field and they can all bring lawn chairs and enjoy cool, laid-back shows.
“We’re probably going to keep it this boutique type of festival — 5,000- to 6,000-people capacity," he adds. "We’re just going to leave it right there. It’s a good feel.”
Originally from Garden City, Kansas, McGraw played defensive line for the Jayhawks from 1994 to 1998 before having a cup of tea with the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns in the NFL. After injuries forced him to retire from football, he got into the liquor and transportation business. While he lived in Kansas and Texas during his post-playing days, he kept a property in Colorado, and moved here with his family full-time in 2015.
He jokes that he bought the resort in 2021 so his four daughters won’t have to take over his transportation business.
“I love them too much. I wouldn’t do that to them,” he says. “I got to looking into the hospitality world. We enjoy putting smiles on people’s faces, so I was just blessed, or lucky enough, to bump into Monument.”
Now he, along with the Caveman crew, is sharing the solitude that the area affords them. Caveman Music Festival, as McGraw sees it, is about coming out to the mountains and connecting with the land while seeing some of the best bands around play in front of a truly one-of-a-kind backdrop. Don’t worry about checking your phone or posting a photo dump on social media...if you can even get reception out there. Who cares, anyway? Just chill. You never know who — or what — you might run into.
“Our vision now is the same as it was the first year. We want people to come out and experience, really, an untouched part of Colorado,” McGraw concludes. “I’m pretty partial to it, but it is truly one of the most beautiful areas in the state. It’s historic, the whole area. You've got a mile-long lake. It’s just a great, laid-back environment [where] people can come enjoy three full days of music. That’s really what we’re all about.”
Caveman Music Festival, Friday, August 30, to Sunday, September 1, Monument Lake Resort, 4789 CO-12, Weston. Tickets are $120-$550.
