| The MUSIC Scene |
|---|
| By Mike Calabrese |
Bob Dylan and his rippin’ sidemen bowled over an audience last summer at the foot of Snow King Mountain here in Jackson Hole. Some visitors and even some locals figured it was the beginning of something good. They were wrong—and they were right! It wasn’t really the beginning of killer concerts in Jackson Hole, but it sure upped the chances that the valley will enhance it’s reputation as the epicenter of a growing summer music scene, one with a rich music history and an even richer future.
From classical to country, from rock to Celtic, from blues to bluegrass, this part of the Greater Yellowstone region lays claim to a yearly playbill second to none. And summer in mountain country has more star-studded offerings than a clear Wyoming night-sky.
The longest running act in the region, though, is right in Teton Village, home to the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF). An icon of the summer season since its inception in 1962, the festival began humbly but is now indisputably grand. Full orchestra concerts on the weekend and chamber music and unique “spotlight” concerts during the week create a playbill with something for every visitor—and that includes children! From the spectacular outdoor July 4 concert to compositions by the classical giants of the ages, and right on down to the memorable music of Broadway and the swing era, listeners young and old can find something to lend an ear to.
Walk Festival Hall, perfectly placed in the heart of Teton Village, plays host to a season that always includes some of the world’s finest music, always performed by the country’s finest musicians. The conductors, often guests from many of the international community’s most renowned orchestras and festivals, bring fresh enthusiasm to every Friday and Saturday night full-orchestra concert during the eight-week schedule.
All concerts begin at 8 p.m. and tickets may be purchased online at www.gtmf.org or at the hall an hour before performances. Prices range from $5 for listeners 6-18, and from about $17 to $40 for adults, depending on the type of concert. Call 307-733-1128 for more ticket information or check the local and daily papers for details of every upcoming performance.
Now, if the outdoor arena and classic rock and roll music are more to your liking, then pack up the family and take in a concert at the base of Snow King Mountain, right in the town of Jackson. Home to Wyoming’s first ski area, Snow King hosts fetes that capitalize on unparalleled scenery, big-venue sound, and stars from the pop/rock/bluegrass music world of today and yesterday. Besides Dylan and his band, Tom Petty, B.B. King, Alison Kraus and others have all graced the stage recently, and the lineup for this summer holds no less promise.
Blues virtuoso Johnny Lang and the Young Dubliners share the bill on July 1, and The Allman Brothers Band, Journey (yes, that Journey), and George Thorogood are slated for later in the summer. For more information call Snow King Resort at 1-800-522-KING. Again, watch the local papers for these and other acts.
The jazz devotee can also count on plenty of swinging fare. The Yellowstone Jazz Festival, held annually in historic Cody, Wyoming, has in the past displayed the prodigal talents of Bill Mays, Bill Charlap, Marvin Stamm, and Tommy Newsom, to name just few. And the Yellowstone Big Band, which features some of the jazz world’s top hands, kicks the living daylights out of awed audiences every year. Heading into its 17th summer, the outdoor festival this year runs July 16, 17 and will showcase vocalist Eden Atwood
Bluegrass pickers, grinners, and listeners can get an eyeful of alpine scenery and an earful of some of the hottest music in the country at Grand Targhee’s 17th Annual Bluegrass Festival. Another outdoor event capitalizing on mountain country’s unequaled scenic venues, the festival this year has already snagged bluegrass notables The Tim O’Brien Band, Open Road, Kane’s River, Jim Lauderdale, and The Darrol Anger Fiddle Ensemble.
Just over the hill from Jackson Hole, in Alta, Wyoming,Targhee’s festival grounds lie at 8,000 feet, so concertgoers can kiss the clear blue sky. But they can also get burned by a blistering sun. So bring the sunscreen! And kids are more than welcome at this three-day celebration. Dogs, though, will be run out of town quicker than a skunk at church. Leave ‘em home or at a local kennel.
This year’s high-altitude gathering includes arts and crafts and, naturally, jam sessions. The entire festival will run August 13-15. For more information, go online at grandtarghee.com or call 1-800-TARGHEE.
And just in case visitors from warmer, southern climes feel neglected or a bit out of place in mountain country, Lander, Wyoming, has cooked up a slice of New Orleans to serve as the last course in a summer music meal: Dixieland jazz. The Annual Lander Jazz Festival runs August 29-31 and fills the town with infectious feel-good performance by such groups as Your Father’s Mustache, Queen City Jazz Band, Beale Street Jazz Band, and The Platte River Dixieland Band.
Quintessentially American, this historic music is plunked down squarely in the heart of Wyoming’s famed Wind River country and within an easy drive to equally historic destinations, like South Pass, Atlantic City, The Oregon Trail, Yellowstone National Park, and of course the Wind River Mountains. For more information go online at info@landerjazz.com or call 1-800-433-0662.
Copyright 2004 by FPI (Focus Productions, Inc)., P.O. Box 1930, Jackson, Wyoming 83001. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publishers.
Mountain Country is a free visitors’ guide published annually in May and distributed at hundreds of locations throughout Jackson Hole, Cody, and other regional communities. To receive a copy in the mail, send $5 to Mountain Country, P.O. Box 1930, Jackson, Wyoming 83001.
Publishers: Bob Woodall & Wade McKoy, dba Focus Productions, Inc. (FPI)
Editors: Mike Calabrese, Wade McKoy, Bob Woodall
Art Direction & Ad Design: Janet Melvin
Advertising Sales:
JACKSON: Ike Faust, 307-690-5908, 307-733-6995 email: mail.focus@wyom.net
DUBOIS & PINEDALE: Janet Melvin 307-733-6995
CODY: Guy & Barb Hull 307-527-7808