Mountain West

For two big city rock festivals entering their third year in business and still seeking a sustainable business model, 2010 was a time to tinker with the formula. Outside Lands in San Francisco cut back from three days to two. Mile High outside Denver programmed for a slightly older audience.

And they both moved their dates, Mile High pushing back by a month and Outside Lands moving ahead by two weeks —and both landing on the same weekend of August 14-15.

The festivals also share a fairly similar musical formula, mixing jam and alternative rock with a sprinkling of folk, blues, and world genres. Six acts—Amos Lee, Bassnectar, Damian Marley & Nas, Mayer Hawthorne & The Country, My Morning Jacket, and Phoenix— are booked at both festivals, playing Saturday in one city and Sunday in the other.

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Telluride Blues & Brews added George Thorogood & The Destroyers with guests Elvin Bishop and Eddie Shaw to replace the cancelled ZZ Top, nearly finishing the lineup for the Sept. 17-19 festival. Thorogood and friends will close the festival's first night on Friday with what will surely be a raucous blues-rock jam.

Saturday's headliner has been booked but will not be named until August 16. For clues, you might scan the roster of notable acts at Mile High Music Festival, which runs August 14-15 near Denver, considered in the same local market. I see at least three likely prospects on that list.

The great B.B. King closes out the festival on Sunday. Other notables are Alberta Cross, Allen Toussaint, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm, Galactic with Cyril Neville, JJ Grey & Mofro, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, and The Otis Taylor Band.

Another late add was Delta bluesman T-Model Ford.

Photo: Wade McKoy

By Pia Valeriana and Lorraine Arone

Nestled high in the Grand Teton Mountains, in a natural grassy amphitheater surrounded by fields of wildflowers and towering Douglas fir and aspen trees, the Targhee Music Festival, running July 16-18 in Alta WY, certainly boasts one of the most spectacular settings for a summer music festival.  

The festival also offers a sensational lineup—including moe., Los Lobos, Grace Potter, and Michael Franti this year—but because of its isolated location, 15 very mountainous miles from Jackson Hole, there are smaller crowds and an informal, friendly vibe.

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moe.

5/28/10: Rebubula, She Sends Me, All Roads Lead to Home, Day Dreaming*, Zed Nought Z, Rise> Happy Hour Hero**, Mexico
* New song, first time played (Rob)
** w/ Ivan Neville on keys

5/28/10 (Late Night-Separate Admission Required): George, Cissy Strut, Big World > Ricky Marten > Recreational Chemistry, Brent Black > Interstellar Overdrive > Brent Black
Encore: Johnny Lineup