Blues icons to soar at Telluride in new kite exhibit

We’re thrilled to announce a new blues-themed art exhibition in collaboration with kitemaker Terry Zee Lee! Titled Music Maker’s BluesKites, the exhibit will premiere this September at Telluride Blues & Brews Festival in Telluride, CO.

BluesKites features 10 newly-commissioned art kites designed by some of the nation’s leading kitemakers. Each kite highlights an iconic blues musician from Music Maker’s roster of partner artists, including Winston-Salem bluesman Guitar Gabriel and eastern North Carolina luthier Freeman Vines (Hanging Tree Guitars). The selected artists also appear in Music Maker’s 30th anniversary anthology, Song Keepers.

“Our job at Music Maker Foundation is to ensure that folks look up to the true pioneers of American roots music,” says Music Maker co-founder Denise Duffy. “What better way to accomplish that goal than to have these musicians soar the skies commemorated by our country’s finest kite artists?”

The large 6-sided kites will measure approximately 6 feet by 4 feet and will be modeled after traditional Japanese rokkaku kites. While they will be displayed indoors at Telluride Blues & Brews, each will be fully functional and able to be flown. 10 kites have been commissioned so far, with plans to add another 10 in 2026.

BluesKites is curated by Terry Zee Lee, an artist based in Billings, MT who specializes in designing kite exhibits. Zee Lee’s previous exhibitions include the “Flying Buffalo” kites, which have flown at U.S. national and state parks, and “Sacred Springs of Texas,” created in 2021 to raise awareness of aquifer water shortages in Texas. Her business, ZeeLee Kites, also offers kite-based STEM lessons for K-12 students and team-building workshops.

“Someone once said that music is what comes out of people when emotion builds up and has to go somewhere,” says Zee Lee. “And blues music yanks at our insides, making us move and sing and dance to be one with what we hear. When I heard about work that Music Maker does to keep the music flowing from their artists, I thought ‘That is a group that I would like to help all America know about.’ My art kites are my way of spreading the word about this marvelous organization.”

Music Maker’s BluesKites will be on display September 12-14, 2025 at the 31st Annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. Recognized as one of the nation’s most scenic music festivals, this multi-stage celebration of music and craft beer offers an eclectic mix of live blues, funk, indie, rock, jam-band, gospel, and soul performances accompanied by some of the best craft breweries in the country. Music Maker Foundation has been a charity partner at Telluride for 11 years and regularly brings their partner artists to perform. This year’s lineup includes Music Maker artists Michael Boone, Earl “Guitar” Williams, Leonard “Lowdown” Brown, and Trenton Ayers.

Funding for the creation of this exhibit has been provided by a private donor.