One day, quite suddenly, the clouds recede and the sun pops back into the sky. The days warm, snow turns to slush, raccoon tans deepen, and suddenly you can count the days of lift-serviced skiing remaining on both hands.

And here we find ourselves, with one final week of the winter season before us. The last burst of late-season spring breakers and vacationers are in town to ski. Lift ops and waitresses and cooks are antsy. And businesses brace for the great shoulder season slow down.

Soon, off-season will hit, and the exodus to tropical lands and desert rivers will begin. When the sun shines and the dust flies and the hours crawl by, when the mud is everywhere and main street is silent and the days are is prime for bench-sitting.

But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. There’s still 10 more days of madness. And that includes music madness. So here goes.

It begins Friday afternoon at Tommy’s, with and après ski performance by Part Time Bad Habit from 5-8 p.m. Ski some corn, hit the half-pipe (I like it best when it’s slushy) and then roll right into town for some great music and quality deck time.

But don’t get too much sun and beer. Because later on, after the sun slides behind the hulking mountains and the temperature drops, you’ll need your energy for a list of music that is a mile long. 

For those of you with Tapatia coursing through your veins, Las Montañas is the place to be on Friday. Tradiciones, featuring bandleader Cesar Bauvallet, will be filling the bar with a storm of traditional Cuban music. This six-piece band, based out of Albuquerque, is devoted to getting back to the roots of Cuban music, the stuff that predated salsa. Beauvallet tells me that it’s beautiful stuff, it’s music about love and magic and life, and that the crowds can never resist dancing to it. And you know what, I believe him. Think Buena Vista Social Club. Tradiciones will also play Saturday night, same time, same place.

But for reggae fans, Friday is a big night. Sister Carol, aka Mother Culture, aka Black Cinderella, will be at the Opera House with the Yellow Wall Dub Squad and special guest Ms. Banks, for a good old fashioned reggae show. Sister Carol, who grew up in Kingston before migrating with her family to Brooklyn, is a Grammy-nominated artist known as one of the most prominent females in the largely male-dominated world of reggae world. Expect roots and culture style reggae and one powerful woman.

Mike Pale and the BluOrbit Funky Soul Jazz Band will meanwhile be making intricate jazz music at Tommy’s on Friday Night. These local boys, who have been gigging like madmen this winter, will also be spooning out the soul on Saturday night at the Bubble Lounge and Sunday night at the Last Dollar Saloon. So support your local scene and check it out.

So. The Jakes are playing Friday night at the Bubble Lounge. The Jakes are a Southern and classic rock outfit from the Santa Fe area with, incidentally, the same name as a fresh-faced emo-punk-pop band from Orange County that probably aspires to get one of their tracks on the show of the same name.  I’m assuming that this is a case of two minds, independent of one another, coming up with the same freakin’ idea. Oh well.

Swing Camp’s in town this weekend, which means you’ll be out, and suddenly some girl and guy in the crowd will bust out impressive aerial dance moves. Once in high school, me and my friend, Aaron, entered a dance competition, and we thought we really killed it with our bastardized rendition of the jump move from “Dirty Dancing.” But then Tracy Whatshername and Jesse LaRose came out with some swing dance moves. Unfair! The judge totally awarded them the winners.  I’m really getting astray here. The point is, Swing Camp Telluride is hosting a party on Friday night from 8-11 p.m. at the Elks Lodge with DJ Slam and lots of dancing. DJ Slam, a Purdue computer-engineer major, traded in the technology trade for the music, and is now a jazz/player/composer who also spins jazz tunes.

OK, we’re still, believe it or not, on Friday night here. Over at the Moon, that form of music so rare to Telluride will be going down. I mean hip-hop. It’s Radio Active, emcee, beatboxer, writer, painter, b-boy and hip-hop artist from Michael Franti’s Spearhead. This is soulful and fresh hip-hop, an innovate and fused sound with the mix of social consciousness and optimism that is Spearhead’s hallmark. 

DJ Harry will wrap up Friday night with a ribbon a beat, and a ribbon of beats, at the Noir Bar, starting at 10ish. For those of you late-nighters who just want to find a dim, pulsing place and lose yourself on the dance floor until the wee hours, Harry will take good care of you, spinning his very special brew of house music for the body and soul. Because sometimes, a beer and conversation is just not what you want.

Saturday’s music scene will begin at the Sheridan Opera House, with another Swing Camp event. The venue will offer ample dance space, and the band, jazz quartet Actual Proof, will provide plenty of musical inspiration. These guys play everything from soft brush-on-drums ballads to sa-winging swing tunes. So double-knot the laces on those dancing shoes. It’s time to get down.

Over at Tommy’s, meanwhile, local heathens The Turkey Creek Ramblers will be pickin’ the foot-stomping mountain boogie-grass, the chicken-yard rowdiness. So go on down and give these local boys some love. Music starts at 10 p.m.

Denver band Limited Press big on horns, big on beats, big on funk. And on Saturday night, they will bring their big gritty brass sound the Moon. Get down, get funky. Get tickets. They are $7. Cheaper than dinner at most Telluride restaurants!

Phew. The weariness is starting to set in. Keep. On. Writing. On Saturday night, there will be a hip hop party at the Noir Bar with the scratching, beat-juggling DJ Essential, with some special guests. No cover — no way! Bring friends and fresh legs, because you’ll be dancing.

And finally, don’t forget that on Monday, New Orleans band The Radiators are playing a show at the Opera House. These powerhouses of the Big Easy are celebrating their 30th anniversary. They’ve been playing music more than many of us have even inhabited this earth, more than many couples stay married. Wow. And for their never-the-same-show-twice performances, great music and relentless touring, they have gathered a family of cult fans. On Monday, they’ll be keeping the tradition alive with their blend of rollicking swamp rock and r&b.

That’s it for me. Eyelids are. Falling. Shut. Brain. Powering. Down.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.