Music lovers can enjoy the first weekend of fall with the kickoff of Meltdown on the Mesa.

La Plata County planners have cleared local businessman and musician Marc Katz to hold the festival on 5 of the 1,850 acres on Ewing Mesa that he purchased this spring with recreation in mind.

When Katz announced in April that he had closed on the mesa property, he indicated a possibility of donating some land to the county for a fairgrounds, outdoor concerts and other recreational events.

Meltdown on the Mesa, a bluegrass festival and fundraiser for the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown held in April, will start at noon Saturday and end at noon Sunday.

“Join the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown crew for a day of incredible bluegrass, camping and fundraising as well as a first look at the wide open spaces of Ewing Mesa, Meltdown style,” the website says.

Music is slated to run from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday and includes a lineup of Six Dollar String Band, Lost Souls, Mountain Top Pocket Pickers, La La Bones, The Badly Bent and Running Out of Road.

Katz is known as the co-founder of Mercury Payment Systems in the business community. In the music crowd, he’s known to pick guitar and other instruments with Lost Souls. He could not be reached Friday for comment.

Tickets are limited to 300 and can be purchased in advance at Animas Trading Co., 1015 Main Ave. Admission is $20 for adults but free for kids 12 and younger.

Parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tent and car camping are encouraged, but trailers and campers are not permitted. The cost of admission covers camping.

The festival site can be accessed from Colorado Highway 3. Rick’s Chix International will sell food on site, but attendees are asked to bring their own water.

For more information or to make a donation toward programs such as Bluegrass in the Schools and songwriting workshops, visit www.durangomeltdown.com/meltdown-on-the-mesa.

jpace@durangoherald.com