This year at JAS Fest, the line up is an eye opener. To everyone’s disappointment, however, the hot Friday night band Fun. had a last minute cancellation. They cancelled three days before the actual concert on Friday due to family issues. Instead of Fun., Grace Potter & The Nocturnals will be performing. Accompanying Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on Friday night will be Ziggy Marley at 5:30 pm. On Saturday, Moon Taxi is performing at 3pm, Earth, Wind & Fire is at 5 pm, and then to finish up the night on a good note, OneRepublic plays at 7:30 pm. To wrap up Labor Day weekend, on Sunday, The Revivalists are playing at 3 pm, Nickel Creek at 5pm, and finally, the one and only Carrie Underwood at 7:30 pm.

Each year, the president of JAS Aspen, Jim Horowitz, is in charge of the initial selecting process. He goes through three different categories. The first category is trying to find an old time band, the next is to find a country rock artist, and the last is a hot pop artist at the current time.

“JAS Aspen partners with AEG which is an entertainment corporation in Denver to decide on someone who they think they will have the possibility of working with. After that, they send out an offer to the artist of choice, and it is either accepted, or goes into a negotiation phase,” JAS Aspen intern and AHS senior Piper Hamill said.

JAS Fest over Labor Day weekend is a way of bringing the community together, and it is a great way of bringing awareness to the Aspen community about music education, and the non-profit organization of JAS Aspen.

This summer, Hamill was an intern for JAS Aspen. She dealt with a lot of events for the Labor Day festival, and for the organization as a whole.

“I feel like this is a great opportunity for the community because it gives the community a wonderful festival with amazing artists at a very reasonable price. In addition, it gives the artists a unique place to perform,” Hamill said.

Overall, this year is expected to be a successful year, just judging by the performances. This year will be the 25^th anniversary of the JAS Fest, with many more years to come.

“Each year, JAS is learning and taking notes, so I can only imagine this year being better than the last. I personally think the lineups have gotten better and better each year,” Hamill said. “Carrie Underwood appeals to both young and old audience members, whereas Keith Urban really only appeals to the older generation.”