JACKSON, Wyo. — A foretelling of good fortune to come, horseshoes are known to be a lucky find. Those aiming to take a load off on Labor Day Weekend can be transported into labor-less bliss, with all-star jam collaborations on stage, a daily fashion-forward artisan market, free yoga, after-parties, a chance to support three local nonprofits, and much more at the inaugural Horseshoe Music Festival at The Virginian Lodge, Sept. 1-3.
A new music festival in a new venue is exciting for the local music scene, and long-time local designer Lisa Hadley Betts and her husband, musician Duane Betts, have gone to great lengths to curate an eclectic offering of world-class musicians, fashion and artesian vendors, culinary farm-to-table offerings, wellness perks, and a “give back” mentality. The festival will be open to the public each day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the White Sage Market, with a suggested $5 donation benefitting The Community Housing Trust, The Snake River Fund & Slow Food in the Tetons. Ticketed evening festivities begin at 5 p.m. each night.
Duane Betts will host, and along with longtime friend and Musical Director Jimmy Vivino (Late Night with Conan O’Brien), will orchestrate three nights of ‘super group’ music.
“Jimmy’s a great wrangler,” Duane said of his friend, “he knows everybody, has the respect of everyone, and people know that if he’s kind of commanding, kind of leading the charge in that respect that they’re in good hands. And it takes a lot of stress off of me (laughs).”
“I’ve lived here for 25 years. I love this community; it’s my home; my chosen family is here,” Lisa said, who is producing the festival. “I wanted to do something unique and to bring in the elements of the things that we care about in our life, which is health and being able to live a life of balance. But also do something that’s a little bit more intimate and not trying to make something that’s so enormous that it creates a huge stress on the community. Over time, my mindset with building my brand, but also to help build (Duane’s) brand has been this quality over quantity aspect. Duane and I actually met in the Aspens Market, so it’s kind of a cool way of how he got brought into this community.”
Fans of jamband, funk, blues-rock, groove, Americana, and New Orleans rhythms will especially be served a portion of first-rate, improvisational music that will shift in theme each night. Friday’s theme is ‘Americana’ inspired by traditional American and country music; Saturday’s theme is ‘Skulls & Peaches’ with music inspired by Grateful Dead & Allman Brothers Band, and Sunday is ‘Blue Orleans’ offering a night of blues and New Orleans heat.
“Really happy with the list of friends and artists that we’ve come up with,” said Duane, who recently released his debut LP, Wild & Precious Life. “I can’t think of a more inspirational place to hold an event like this and invite friends to come and enjoy the surrounding nature. The idea with this is to keep it fun and loose, and easy as possible for the [musical guests]. With great musicians, it makes it more within reach to accomplish something like this.”
Outside in the Virginian Lodge’s Courtyard stage, revelers can expect an opening set each night from a local songwriter—Isaac Hayden on Friday, Aaron Davis on Saturday, Musser & Young on Sunday—followed by a set from Betts and his band Palmetto Motel, and then capped-off nightly with a 7 to 10 p.m. set featuring a mix of super group special guests from various corners of the jam world and beyond…
- All 3 nights: Jerry Garcia’s “favorite unknown guitar player” Steve Kimock (Zero, Ratdog, Bruce Hornsby, Oteil & Friends)
- Sunday: Legendary New Orleans bassist George Porter Jr. (The Meters, David Byrne, Tori Amos)
- Friday & Saturday: Solo artist-vocalist-guitarist-keyboardist Jackie Greene (The Black Crowes, Phil & Friends)
- Friday & Saturday: young guitar phenom Daniel Donato (Cosmic Country, Trouble No More)
- Friday & Saturday: Grand Ole Opry regular and country-soul singer Maggie Rose
- All 3 nights: Solo artist and vocalist Nicki Bluhm (Bob Weir, Phil Lesh & Friend, Little Feat)
- All 3 nights: Gov’t Mule bassist Jorgen Carlsson
- Sunday: Elvis movie guitarist JD Simo (Jack White, Tommy Emmanuel)
The nightly house band will also include keyboardist John Ginty (Citizen Cope, Santana, The Chicks, Robert Randolph), slide guitarist Jonny Stachela, bassist/vocalist Pedro Arevalo, (Dickey Betts’ Great Southern), Jeffery Arevalo on drums/percussion, vocalist Lamar Williams Jr. (The New Mastersounds), and Orbi Orbison on drums/percussion.
If that didn’t satisfy your groove palate, take part in the three after-parties, 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the Virginian Saloon ($35/night). On Friday and Saturday, get down with the return of Brooklyn’s DJ Logic (Project Logic, The John Popper Project, Steve Molitz, Freekbass, O.A.R.), and on Sunday join the Farewell Party with JD Simo & Friends.
“Festivals around the country are feeling the pressure of people not buying their tickets in advance, and many national festivals have even had to cancel weeks before,” Lisa explained. “The word on the street is everyone does things last minute around here, but it’s very hard to plan something of this nature when that is the case. If you want to support us, please purchase your tickets as soon as you can.”
The White Sage Market will feature artisan vendors offering handmade and vintage fashion featuring HADLEY, Coconut House, Esteemable Objects (vintage gold & gems), WomenFolk Vintage, plus decor from Lyndsay Rowan’s Animystical, among others.
Start your day with a free yoga class at 10 a.m. each day on the main stage, and get inspired with talks from wellness speakers and vendors helping to balance lives, including massage, acupuncture, and IV therapy curated by Medicine Wheel Wellness founder Francine Bartlett.
According to a press release, “kicking-off the event the right way, we have invited native Lynette Grey Bull and her family from the Wind River Reservation to do the opening ceremony on Friday, Sept 1 at 5:30 p.m.) with land acknowledgment and a powwow performance. ‘We can have fun and still make small steps to making our world & community a better place. We will we be doing our best to eliminate as much plastic & waste from the event as possible.’”
The Betts Present Horseshoe Music Festival. Tickets: $99/daily or $267-$369/weekend passes; free for kids under 10, $50/night for ages 10-17. VIP packages start at $1,920 for table of six, including farm-to-table food sourced by Slow Food in the Tetons, curated craft cocktails & wine, and more. Visit HorseshoeMusicFestival.com for more information.
