JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

“Is the air getting thinner?” Chris Robinson warbled into the microphone. “Are we getting high?”

The shaggy singer was correct on both fronts, with a wink and a smile, during the eighth annual Targhee Fest. As always, the festival held at 8,000 feet lived up to its billing as one of the highest times of the summer.

His new band, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, was one of many pleasant surprises on the ski slope above Alta, Wyo. Joan Osborne and Jackie Greene’s collaboration, Trigger Hippy, was another, as was a sparkling set by reggae icon Toots and the Maytals.

But the most outrageous performance of the weekend came late night in the Trap Bar, by Andy Frasco and the UN.

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Posted under Music, Ski Resorts, Sports

Tags: festivals, mountain biking, reggae, rock, targhee

Jackson is getting its own version of Music on Main this summer.

After years of talk by various promoters, the new operators of the Snow King Center rink have organized a free concert series similar to the outdoor shows that have been a hit in Teton Valley, Idaho.

Here’s the schedule, with a sixth event yet to come:

Saturday, June 23 — The Dunwells
Saturday, July 7 — Boom Chick
Wednesday, July 25 — Justin Townes Earle
Wednesday, Aug. 5 — The Features
Sunday, Aug. 26 — Robert Randolph and the Family Band

Local bands will open. Beer and food concessions and sponsorships will pay for the music, and any remaining proceeds will go to youth hockey and skating programs at the rink. The shows are open to all ages.

The biggest name on the slate is Randolph, who first played the Teton area at the Knotty Pine in 2002. Since then the pedal steel player has returned to open for the Black Crowes in 2006 and play the Jackson Hole Music Festival in 2008.

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Posted under Economy, Music, Ski Resorts, Sports

Tags: festivals, music on main, pink garter, snow king, teton valley

The 2012 Targhee Fest will have a decidedly Southern rock flavor.

Drive-By Truckers, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Lucinda Williams and Trigger Hippy are among the artists added in recent weeks. In addition, reggae icon Toots and the Maytals will perform.

The eighth annual festival will be July 13-15 at the base of the Alta, Wyo., ski resort. Already announced performers include Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, J.J. Grey and Mofro, and Paul Thorn.

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Posted under Music, Ski Resorts

Tags: festivals, jazz fest, rock, targhee

The Jackson Hole Mountain Festival has got Sauce.

Blues, rock and hip-hop artists G. Love and Special Sauce will headline the free concert, the centerpiece of the festival, on March 31. The 37th annual Pole Pedal Paddle race will be run earlier in the day. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is offering package deals on lodging and lift tickets starting at $119 per person.

G. Love, aka Garrett Dutton, is a guitarist, harmonica player and singer who was born in Philadelphia but put his band together in Boston. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s, scoring a modest pop hit with the song “Baby’s Got Sauce” and touring with the H.O.R.D.E. and Widespread Panic.

In recent years G. Love has collaborated with longtime friend Jack Johnson and The Avett Brothers, who are featured on his latest album, Fixin’ to Die. The video above is a song from the album, “Just Fine.”

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Posted under Music

Tags: bluegrass, festivals, jhmr, music on main, pink garter

By popular demand, Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears are coming to the Tetons this summer.

The soul-rock band from Austin, Texas, will perform at the eighth annual Targhee Fest, which will be July 13-15. Also booked are Florida swamp rockers J.J. Grey and Mofro and Mississippi blues crooner Paul Thorn.

Targhee also has set a preliminary lineup for its 25th annual Bluegrass Festival on Aug. 10-12, featuring Steep Canyon Rangers, The Infamous Stringdusters, Donna the Buffalo, Kane’s River, Hot Rize and Darrell Scott.

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Posted under Music, Ski Resorts

Tags: bluegrass, blues, festivals, funk, rock, targhee