Jackson Hole Underground

(Photos © Jim Stanford — click to enlarge)

It’s a good bet that at some point during Jazz Fest, you’ll find yourself listening to the most incredible music in the most unlikely of places. So it’s smart not to plan too much and instead go with the flow, freeing yourself up for moments of serendipity.

Last Friday, one of the biggest days of the festival, forced me to choose between Michael Franti and Stevie Wonder, who were playing simultaneously on different stages. Having seen Franti and promoted his movie in Jackson in March, I opted for Stevie, who I had never seen. (He busted out all his funk hits, but more on that later.)

During the afternoon, beneath the Wyoming flag, we got word that Franti and Spearhead were going to play a free concert that night in the Ninth Ward, the neighborhood most devastated by the flood. Rumors of guest jams and secret shows pop up all the time, but this one sounded like Franti’s style. He confirmed it during his performance at the Fairgrounds.

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It’s hard to believe the spree of great music headed to the Tetons this summer.

Grand Targhee has bolstered its Targhee Fest in July with the addition of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, who will play Saturday, July 19. The sensation from Vermont nearly shook the moose from the rafters in her Mangy Moose debut in February.

Here is how the three-day lineup is shaping up: Friday, July 18 — Martin Sexton, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi’s Soul Stew Revival; July 19 — Potter, Taj Mahal, and Emmylou Harris; and Sunday, July 20 — Josh Ritter and Lyle Lovett.

The full roster can be viewed here. Targhee still has five slots to fill.
(Jim Stanford photo; click to enlarge)

If I had to pick one moment as the pinnacle of the 2007-08 ski season, it was the Jackson Hole Mountain Festival on March 29.

The concert, featuring The Radiators and Michael Franti and Spearhead, captured the joy of an epic winter in Jackson Hole, coming on a string of powder days in a powder week in a powder season. The jubilation flowed right off the slopes to the stage to the frozen parking lot, where a crowd in hats, gloves and puffy down jackets shimmied like a sea of helium balloons.

With everyone bumping and grooving and attuned to the music, the vibe was as good as anything I’ve experienced outside New Orleans.

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Apologies for any confusion — the earlier post here was premature.

The Black Crowes are slated to perform this summer at the new Jackson Hole Music Festival. The two-day event will be held Aug. 16 and 17 at Teton Village.

Although promoters have had discussions with Wilco and Neil Young, no deals have been reached.

Still a work in progress, the concert is being produced by The Festival Network, which puts on the JVC Jazz Fests in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Newport, R.I. The company plans 17 events around the U.S. and internationally this year.

Festival Network executives visited Jackson Hole earlier this winter and met with local officials, according to a person who took part in the discussions.

The idea of a Jazz Fest-type event at Teton Village has been discussed for years, but this is the most serious planning effort yet, the person said.

Already a buzz has been building around the valley, as rumors of Young’s possible appearance spread like wildfire.

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“Wyoming, are you feeling the dance?” Michael Franti shouted near the end of his show Saturday at the Jackson Hole Mountain Festival.

Were we ever! Slipping and sliding in the Teton Village parking lot, a crowd of perhaps 3,000 or 4,000 grooved beneath the stars as Franti closed out a joyous evening with his dance anthem “Everybody Ona Move.”

“We don’t stop,” he sang. “And we don’t quit.”

No, Franti and Spearhead would not relent, much like a winter that has brought 550 inches of snow to the Tetons. Dreadlocks flying from beneath his cap, the towering singer and guitarist bounced across the stage as if flying down the Alta Chutes. His set spanned 20 songs and more than two hours.

The most indelible image I have from the night: wisps of steam rising from Franti’s head each time he stepped to the microphone.

We’ll have much more to report from Saturday’s Mountain Fest as well as a preview of Franti’s documentary, “I Know I’m Not Alone,” which is showing at 7 p.m. Monday at Center for the Arts.

Check back Monday for more photos and a cool video by Tony Birkholz.