Jackson Hole Underground

The New Mastersounds continued their conquest of America with two gigs in the Tetons, kicking off a spree of music that arrives at just the right time.

On Thursday night the booty-shaking Brits rocked the free Music on Main concert in Driggs, an event that quickly has mushroomed into a pillar of community. (Jackson Town Council, are you listening?)

Last night the lads from Leeds conducted an exercise in “tension and release” at the Mangy Moose. Borrowing from The Meters, Sly and the Family Stone and, if I’m not mistaken, even Lionel Richie, the group let loose and turned what could have been a slow night before a small crowd into an outrageous funk party. The release was akin to the Snake River pouring through Jackson Lake Dam.

With a full moon shining over the mountains, and shooting stars streaking across the sky, it was a perfect summer night (even if some yahoo dancing with a beautiful girl got a little too carried away with the tambourine at the end).

Today the festivities hit full swing at Targhee Fest, with Grace Potter, Taj Mahal and Emmylou Harris on the bill, and Tony Furtado hosting a late-night jam in the Trap. For those with the stamina of a bull elk, moe. caps off the weekend of music Sunday night at the Moose.

Earlier this week, I listened on Jackson Hole Community Radio as “The Nick” played a Taj Mahal song about wanting to know that “joy can still be found.” (Pardon my ignorance on not knowing the title, but I’ve been mining his catalog, and it’s rich; a Web search proved surprisingly fruitless.)

Just about anytime Taj takes the stage, there is joy to be found. But with so much great music at the height of summer in the Tetons, opportunities abound.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 11:28 am and is filed under music, funk, targhee, rock, festivals. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.