Summer music festivals in the Northern Rocky Mountain region are starting to gel, and one of this season’s finest offerings appears to be the 10th Annual Targhee Fest in Alta, Wyoming.

“I’m really pleased with the lineup [this year],” said Tom Garnsey, owner of Vootie Productions in Bozeman. Garnsey has produced Targhee Fest since its inception, and with musicians like Robert Earl Keen, Buddy Guy, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and the Hard Working Americans, this season’s lineup is indeed one to look forward to. Other acts include the Royal Southern Brotherhood, The Wood Brothers, Amy Helm and the Handsome Strangers, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Trigger Hippy, Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, and Bozeman’s own Hooligans band, featuring Garnsey on guitar and Bill Payne of Little Feat on keyboards.

“It’s kind of like making soup,” said Garnsey regarding putting a music festival together. “It’s one ingredient at a time. And when you’re done, you look at the result and say, ‘Oh, yeah.’ This year, getting Robert Earl Keen and Buddy Guy for Targhee Fest really put it over the top. Tedeschi Trucks is huge for me--we had the first version of this band at Targhee five or six years ago, really the two bands merging, but now they’ve got the band they want.”

Bozeman got a taste of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood in May at a Vootie Productions show at the Emerson Cultural Center. This band includes Robinson (vocals and guitar) and Adam Macdougall (keyboards, vocals) of Black Crowes fame, Neal Casal on guitar and vocals, Mark Dutton on bass, and drummer George Sluppick. Robinson describes the group as a “farm-to-table psychedelic band,” and their sound is sure to please jam band fans with their own Grateful Dead-inspired vibe. Attendees at last year’s Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulphur Springs were introduced to the lovely music of Amy Helm, daughter of Levon Helm, as well as the down-to-earth Americana sound of Todd Snider, one of the Hard Working Americans. This band, which also includes bass player Dave Schools from Widespread Panic, Chad Staehly of Great American Taxi on keyboards, Duane Trucks on drums, and Neal Casal of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, has been nominated as 2014‘s Group of the Year by the Americana Music Association.

“Targhee’s going to love the Hard Working Americans,” said Tom Cook, a Bozeman musician who has seen the band twice since their inception last year. “Their many years of combined experience really show...they feed off each other on stage for an awesome performance.”

More Black Crowes hit the stage with the band Trigger Hippy. Guitarist Jackie Greene and drummer Steve Gorman of the Black Crowes join with singer Joan Osborne, session guitarist Tom Bukovac, and bass player Nick Govrik in this band that’s sure to rock the Tetons. A little funk and soul will embrace the peaks when the eight-piece band Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, of Brooklyn, New York, takes the stage. A Neville (Cyril) and an Allman (Devon) will  entertain the Targhee crowd with their band the Royal Southern Brotherhood. The Blues Rock Review wrote that the Royal Southern Brotherhood “crowns a new age of southern rock...these guys know how to create inspirational music.”

Brothers Chris and Oliver Wood, along with Jano Rix, form the Wood Brothers Band, whose Americana music will fit in nicely with the mountain mood at Targhee Fest. The sound of Charlie Hunter’s seven-string custom-made guitar will blend beautifully with Scott Amendola’s jazzy drum sound. The San Francisco band Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers also feature Jackie Greene, and Nicki says “There’s four songwriters in this band: me, Tim (her husband), lead guitarist Deren Ney, and rhythm guitarist Dave Mulligan...so far it’s worked well for us.”
And with a decade of music in the Tetons nearly completed, Targhee Fest seems to be working out well for all involved.

“It’s not just the music,” said Garnsey. “There’s something magical about the place...so many choices of things to do. I’ve raised my kids at Targhee, having also done the Targhee Bluegrass Festival for 16 years as well.” Garnsey said that the musicians who come to play the festival seem to love the venue as well.

“Musicians come there and get reduced to being fans, and they like that...they sort of let their guard down,” he said. “This is a place we can relax.” And Targhee Fest 2014 features many musicians doing double duty with other bands on the lineup, so being able to relax will surely enhance this year’s performances.

Garnsey said that both Targhee Fest and the Red Ants Pants Music Festival are good draws in this region for music this summer.

“They’re different, kind of like apples and oranges, “he said, “but they’re both delicious.”

For more information on the 10th annual Targhee Fest, including ticket prices and availability, lodging and camping information, and more, go to grandtarghee.com or call 1-800-Targhee.