Harmony in the Tetons

In 1989, Thomas Sneed attended the second-ever Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. As a college kid who had just started dabbling with the mandolin, he fell in love with the area, and continued to visit after he blossomed into a touring musician.

With his old-time stringband Reeltime Travelers, Thomas performed throughout the country, but his heart kept returning to the Tetons. After 10 years of being on the road, Thomas was ready to settle in for a winter to ski, and in 2004, his friend and fellow musician Ben Winship helped him find a place in Teton Valley. As typical in mountain towns, his “one season” turned into 20 years.

Coming full circle, Thomas eventually landed in the role of camp coordinator for Targhee Music Camp, a three-and-a-half day music education event held the week leading up to the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. The camp, now in its 17th year, will be held Aug. 4-7 at the Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Alta, Wyoming. 

“Once I realized I could still play music and live here, and have some musical identity, I realized, this is the place,” Thomas said. “It's been great ever since.”

Growing Targhee Music Camp

In 2005, Ben Winship and Tom Garnsey, musicians long associated with the Targhee Bluegrass Festival, decided a music camp would be the perfect complement to a festival that had grown into one of the pinnacles of bluegrass music in the Rocky Mountains.

Around 20 to 30 musicians attended the first Targhee Music Camp. Over the years, the camp started drawing musicians of varying skill levels from all over the country, with over 100 attendees in 2024.

“We see people that are just past novice, barely touched their instrument, all the way up to people that are really world class, who are as good as the touring musicians that teach for us,” Thomas said.

Thomas jumped into the mix in 2010, taking over for Ben as camp coordinator. His connections to musicians and his desire to share his love of music helped grow the camp into a vibrant hub of creativity and collaboration.

He underscored the fact that the camp is for anyone with a passion for music. The goal of the camp isn’t to become the next big stadium act, it’s to learn and have a great experience. 

“Folk music is the people's music,” he said. “We want to share music with as many people as we can.”

The camp draws big names on the music scene due to its reputation and scenic location within Grand Targhee Resort. Each year, Thomas curates a diverse lineup of musicians from different genres and backgrounds to lead the camp’s workshops. His careful mix of talent creates the perfect atmosphere for unforgettable nightly jam sessions.

This year’s camp is no different, with incredible talents such as Lindsay Lou, who sings with Billy Strings, the all-female band Big Richard, Joe Craven and many others. 

Supporting Music Education

To expand on his vision for music education, Thomas helped establish the Targhee Music Foundation in 2015, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring individuals of all ages to engage with music through camps, workshops and events.

The nonprofit finances some of Targhee Music Camp’s administrative costs, and provides scholarships so that budding musicians in need of assistance can attend the camp. It also works to provide music education to kids in the local community throughout the year.

“There's a real need for that in the world. There's very little of that in Teton Valley, so we just started doing more work with kids,” Thomas said.

Targhee Music Camp also recently implemented children’s programming, providing a specialized track for kids ages 8 to 14. Around 30 children attended the camp last year, and Thomas says they are on track to see that many or more this year.

While Thomas has witnessed the growth of Targhee Music Camp, it’s the sense of community the camp has fostered that he considers its greatest achievement. 

He feels it showcased in the camp’s annual tradition of putting five to 10 musicians together who have never met before, and giving them an afternoon to come up with a few songs to play for the rest of the attendees. He “cries like a baby” when the group of former strangers get together and create beautiful music.

“There's lifetime friendships that have grown out of it. There's bands that have grown out of it,” he said. “We're starting to see the power of that community, the power of the music itself and the Rocky Mountains … there's something about that area. It's beautiful, and when people get there, they feel something special.”

35th Annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival 2025

If you’re a lover of bluegrass and folk music, make sure you don’t miss the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. Over the past three decades, it’s grown into one of the West’s most iconic events and promises a fun-filled, toe-tapping time!

When: Aug. 8–10, 2025

Where: Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, Wyo.

Tickets and more information: grandtarghee.com/bluegrass

Lineup: Greensky Bluegrass with Holly Bowling, Lukas Nelson, Molly Tuttle, The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Kitchen Dwellers, Yonder Mountain String Band, Brothers Comatose, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Peter Rowan with Sam Grisman Project Does Old and In the Way, Mountain Grass Unit, Shadowgrass, Holly Bowling