Bluegrass in Grand Targhee - Day 2

Saturday morning - crisp, cool, clear blue sky.  Headed up to Targhee for day 2.  This could have been called "The Day of the Mandolin".

First on the schedule this morning was Mike Marshall and anybody and everybody else who played the mandolin.  Mike Marshall must have every type of mandolin ever played.  He started off the morning playing duet with Caterina Lichtenberg.  He was playing the mando-cello and Caterina a 16th century lute-type mandolin.  These two mandolin masters were a delightful treat to start the morning.  Marshall has mastered classical, jazz, bluegrass and Latin genres.  Caterina, who teaches at Cologne University of Music, currently holds the sole Professorship of Mandolin in the whole of Europe.  Not bad - classical mandolin for brunch at Targhee!!

There's always a new discovery at Targhee each year.  This year it was Sarah Jarosz.  This 19-year-old has a clear, pitch-perfect voice and was complimented by fiddler Alex Hargreaves and bass player Paul Kowert, 18 and 22 years old, respectively.  These three are ridiculously talented!!  Mike Marshall has recognized their talent and cut a CD with Hargreaves and Kowert - called the Mike Marshall Big Trio.  Kowert studied under Edgar Myer at the Curtis Institute, Jarosz is currently a student at the New England Conservatory and Hargreaves was admitted to the prestigious Berklee Global Jazz Institute.  Bluegrass is definitely in good hands, and Mike Marshall seemed to enjoy playing with them all.  Oh... Sarah plays the mandolin as well as guitar and banjo!

The girls from Alaska and East Tennessee, Bearfoot, were there again this year.  Always a crowd favorite, we feel like we know them now.   They recently set up permanent residence in Nashville, rapidly becoming a hotbed of talent for this year's Targhee festival.

And.... FINALLY.... the main attraction for which we had all been waiting the entire weekend - Sam Bush!!  The "Father of Newgrass" took the stage at 8 pm and played without a break until well after midnight.  Good Lord - what a show!!  You can count on him to deliver every time and give the audience all he's got.  His stellar band, particularly banjo player Scott Vestal, are up to Sam's pace and talent.  They absolutely rocked the house.


I've heard it said that Targhee is what Telluride used to be before it became the crowded venue it is now, more to see and be seen than it is about the music.  

At Targhee, it's about the music, and this year, more than ever, the stars of bluegrass and the up and coming inheritors of these stars shine brightly.  No one could be more proud of them than Sam Bush, who invited them all on stage for a final mandolin and fiddle love fest.  Great end to a great weekend of bluegrass!