LYONS, Colo. — Even on a rainy day in the small community of Lyons, it didn’t take long to find locals willing to share what makes the town worth protecting. In Denver7’s Your Voice series, residents and business owners spoke with pride about a town defined by arts, music and an unyielding spirit — forged through disaster, recovery and change. But like many Colorado communities, it faces real challenges: affordability, limited lodging and the long shadow of a devastating 2013 flood.
Nestled along the North St. Vrain Creek at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Lyons is known nationwide for its live music scene, especially at Craig Ferguson’s Planet Bluegrass, home of the RockyGrass bluegrass festival in July and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in August. Each summer, thousands visit for music, camping and community — a tradition Ferguson says has become “a homecoming” for artists and fans alike.
“If you’re a bluegrass player, you’ve played here,” Ferguson said. “Billy Strings has played here on his way up, right?”
That identity was tested when the historic 2013 Colorado floods carved this town into six isolated “islands,” washing away roads and bridges, collapsing infrastructure and destroying between 80 and 90 homes. The September 2013 storm dropped more than 17 inches of rain in two days, forcing evacuations and killing nine people statewide. Planet Bluegrass endured four feet of water and $1.7 million in damage to utilities and grounds. “Damage on what you can’t insure,” Ferguson recalled…