With bluegrass music as the common language, this camp focuses on individual instrumental skills, group playing, singing and jamming. Each day features morning and afternoon classes with your chosen instrument, elective workshops, jam sessions (both structured and unstructured) and evening performances – all adding up to a jam-packed and inspiring experience.

Classes are generally geared toward intermediate players, and some degree of proficiency is expected. (Please contact Thomas Sneed if you have questions about your ability level). Students of all ages are welcome, however, students 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

“It was wonderful to have
the personal experience with the instructors – through meals, jamming, off hours and workshops. They were all so personable.”

Bob Bolte, Salt Lake City

Brian Wicklund and Tony Trischka teaching a morning class

Grand Targhee Bluegrass Camp is four days of learning, jamming, and fun preceding the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. Located at the resort, the setting is ideal for getting away from the real world and spending time in the mountains picking and singing.

Students also have the opportunity to enjoy the wide range of outdoor activities that Grand Targhee Resort has to offer: hiking, biking, swimming, chair lift rides and more. The resort is situated at 8,000 feet in the heart of the Tetons - a truly inspiring setting with spectacular views.

Camp coordinator Ben Winship and festival coordinator Tom Garnsey

The Targhee Bluegrass Camp was the brainchild of Tom Garnsey and local mandolin player, Ben Winship. Winship has been actively involved with the festival from its humble beginnings (in an un-mowed field with a small audience in the rain) to its current status as one of the select western festivals which has hosted some of the finest acts in bluegrass – Alison Krauss, Del McCoury, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien and many others. Garnsey (coordinator of the Targhee Fest and Targhee Bluegrass Festival), has run the festival for the past 15 years and wanted to up the ante for the 20th annual Festival in 2005. Together, they decided that a three or four day camp would be a great way to augment the Bluegrass Festival.

While there are successful camps associated with other festivals (notably RockyGrass, Grey Fox and Grass Valley), Winship and Garnsey felt that the remote mountain setting and the fact that the resort was available prior to the festival weekend provided a golden opportunity and a chance to create something unique. Furthermore, the idea of a a camp meshed well with the resort’s mission of education.

“The mountain top jam was awesome! You can’t do that anywhere else but Targhee. High on a Mountain Top never sounded so good.”

Brian Wicklund, Fiddle Instructor

“One of the things we have going for us is that the musicians who play at the festival really enjoy coming here.” Says Garnsey, “the performers enjoy the low key atmosphere and beauty of Targhee. So when we can offer an opportunity for them to arrive a few days early and teach, they often jump at the chance.”

“It’s a phenomenal opportunity to study with some of the best,” continues Garnsey. “Over the years we’ve been lucky enough to have instructors like Darrell Scott, Mike Marshall, Danny Barnes, and Tony Trischka – to name a few.”

Scott Nygaard, Mike Marshall and Tony Trischka teaching an improvisation class

Drawing on his own experience as an instructor at camps from England to Canada, West Virginia to Alaska, Winship has evolved a curriculum which strives to balance high level instruction with ample fun. One of the main goals is to try to make this camp as hands on as possible – both inside and outside of the classes in the form of structured and unstructured jams.

“Often times the most memorable experiences aren’t the new licks, or banjo tuning the students have just learned in class. It's the song they learned in a jam at 1:30 in the morning, or the new friends they’ve made,” says Winship. “So we’ve tried to design the program to maximize those opportunites and take advantage of where we are. This is not just any bluegrass camp, this is Targhee."

To that end, classes are often held outside and there’s built in time for hikes and bike rides. Now a camp tradition, the entire camp holds a jam session at the summit of Targhee – the now reknown "High on a Mountain Jam".

2012 marks the 7th annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Camp. For Winship and Garnsey, they feel like they’ve gotten a lot of things right, but they also view it as a work in progress and are always looking for new ideas. This summer, Thomas Sneed will continue in his role as Camp Coordinator. Sneed toured the country for several years with the Reeltime Travelers. He brings both enthusiasm and a wealth of musical knowledge to the camp. Assisting Thomas again this year will be mandolin player Tom Murphy (Hooligans, Two Bit Franks). Please visit the instructor profiles for a complete list of instructors for the 2012 Targhee Bluegrass Camp.

"High on a Mountain Jam" on Fred's Mountain