Arts & Entertainment
2024 Music in the Mountains lineup announced
By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The Arts Council of Big Sky announced its lineup Thursday evening for this summer’s Music in the Mountains, Big Sky’s beloved series of free concerts.
The series will run every Thursday from June 20 to Sept. 12, with 13 free concerts showcasing genres from blues to bluegrass, Americana to funk and soul.
This will be the 15th year of the summer concert series. Music in the Mountains and the Spanish Peaks Community Foundation will continue the Emerging Artist Series, which features local and regional artists as openers for every concert.
Len Hill Park will open at 6 p.m. for every family-friendly concert, with opening acts beginning around 6:30 and the headliner following at 8. The venue features ample food trucks and beverage vendors. Dogs and glass containers are not allowed, but attendees can bring food and alcohol, if consumed responsibly, according to an Arts Council press release.
Arts Council Executive Director Brian Hurlbut presented the lineup at an event in Big Sky on Thursday night. He spoke about each artist and showed a concert video to give music fans a taste.
June 20: the Jeff Crosby Band
The series will open with the Jeff Crosby Band. As the emerging artist, Mike Murray of Kalispell will perform in the opening slot.
Jeff Crosby was born in Idaho, Hurlbut told the audience, “and if you’re a fan of the red dirt country scene, you’re going to really like this artist.” Two of his songs were featured in the FX series “Sons of Anarchy,” Hurlbut noted. Leather jackets encouraged.
June 27: Cool Cool Cool
Cool Cool Cool will follow on June 27, with opener Gilda House of Billings.
“Really excited about this band,” Hurlbut said of Cool Cool Cool. “This band blends the best of funk and house R&B to create a truly unique sound… Amazing band, we’re going to be really excited to have them on June 27.”
July 4: The Tiny Band
On July 4, The Tiny Band, from Bozeman, will continue its tradition of Fourth of July shows in Big Sky. Bozeman’s DJ Chedda will get the people going with the opening act.
“They put on such a good show. This is the ninth year that we’ve have The Tiny Band here for July 4,” Hurlbut said.
July 11: El Laberinto del Coco
El Laberinto del Coco will perform on July 11, with opener Cruz Contreras of Knoxville, Tennessee. Although Contreras is not an “emerging” Montana artist, he’s a returning performer and his tour schedule lined up for another stop in Big Sky—the Arts Council deemed him worthy of an exception.
Hurlbut said El Laberinto del Coco is going to be a special show. The Puerto Rican group is known for bamba-style fusion music, and the Arts Council highlighted their NPR Tiny Desk concert.
“It’s going to be the largest band we’ve ever had on the Music in the Mountains stage—14 musicians,” Hurlbut said.
July 18: The Wood Brothers
On July 18, The Wood Brothers will play as Big Sky bustles with cowboy spirit for the opening night of the 13th annual Big Sky PBR, co-produced by EBS’ publisher, Outlaw Partners. Big Sky artist Buffalo Burrows will open, plus an additional opener selected by the Wood Brothers, yet to be announced.
Hurlbut said he expects this to be one of the biggest shows of the summer.
“Really excited about this one. This one took a lot of effort by a lot of people,” Hurlbut said. The Wood Brothers have performed in Big Sky twice before at the Moonlight Music Festival, but this will be their first Music in the Mountains experience.
“Amazing show. Can’t go wrong with those guys,” Hurlbut said. “Three bands on July 18… It’s going to be a great night of music.”
July 25: Mikaela Davis
Mikaela Davis will play July 25, with opener Jacob Rountree and the Somethings of Bozeman.
Davis’s most recent album was highly regarded among 2023 indie records. She has performed with Phil Lesh and Friends, Circles around The Sun, Bob Weir, Bon Iver and Lake Street Dive, Hurlbut said.
Davis has a degree in harp performance from the Crane School of Music—her harp will be the first ever on the Music in the Mountains stage.
“This is not a symphony,” Hurlbut added, and the video of her song “Pure Divine Love” confirmed. “… That’s going to be an amazing show. Really looking forward to hearing the harp out there in the park.”
Aug. 1: Carolyn Wonderland
Carolyn Wonderland will play on Aug. 1, with Emma and the Ledge, two sisters from Belgrade, in the opening slot.
A Texas native, Carolyn Wonderland is “a fixture in the Austin blues scene,” Hurlbut said. “…If you guys like the blues, this is gonna be the show for you.”
Aug. 8: Doom Flamingo
The Aug. 8 show will feature Doom Flamingo, with Bozeman-based opener Moth.
“A lot of times, people ask me what show I’m looking forward to the most,” Hurlbut said, and he often won’t pick. “But this one, for me, is gonna be pretty special… One day in the office we put ‘em on, and [I] haven’t really stopped listening to them since.”
Aug. 15: Erica Falls and Vintage Soul
Erica Falls and Vintage Soul will play on Aug. 15, with opener Jazz Cabbage of Bozeman.
A New Orleans native, Erica Falls has performed with “just about every musician in New Orleans,” Hurlbut said. She’s one of a few artists returning to Music in the Mountains for 2024.
“A lot of people still talk about this show as being one of the better shows we’ve had in Len Hill Park,” Hurlbut said.
Aug. 22: Fruition
Fruition will play Aug. 22, after familiar faces take the stage in Tuesday Night Rodeo Club, based in Big Sky.
Fruition is another returning artist. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, they played Music in the Mountains in 2016.
“They’re just a great band. I still remember that show. [The Arts Council of Big Sky] actually put a picture of the lead guitarist on our annual report that year, because he’s such a great—you’ll see what I mean,” Hurlbut said. “We really love this band.”
Aug. 29: The Lil Smokies
As August comes to a close, The Lil Smokies will play on Aug. 29, after another opening Bozeman artist, North Fork Crossing.
The Lil Smokies opened Music in the Mountains series in 2017. Based in Missoula, they won the 2015 Telluride Bluegrass Festival and continue to appear at big festivals including Under the Big Sky.
“They’re no stranger to Montana, although they don’t play here as much as they used to, ‘cause they have gotten a lot bigger since they were here last time, in 2017,” Hurlbut said.
Sept. 5: Pinky and the Floyd
Pinky and the Floyd will take the Music in the Mountains stage for the sixth time, on Sept. 5. There won’t be any opener—the audience will be treated to two full sets of Pink Floyd tribute.
“Another band that has played here for a long time,” Hurlbut said. “First performed at Music in the Mountains in 2012… This is going to be the sixth year that this band is going to be closing the series.”
Sept. 12: Metal in the Mountains—Blistered Earth, Scavenger
To finish the summer series on Sept. 12, the Arts Council will bring back last year’s bonus show for the Second Annual “Metal in the Mountains” concert.
“Yeah, that was pretty fun,” Hurlbut said. “So we’re going to do it again, on Sept. 12.”
Metallica tribute band, Blistered Earth, will headline with Big Sky’s Scavenger, will open the show.
“Sept. 12, we’re gonna turn it up to 11 at Len Hill Park. And hopefully we don’t break anything,” Hurlbut said.
Hurlbut said the Arts Council has been booking bands since November and finished up about a week ago. He thanked the community for its support over many years, helping the Arts Council grow the summer music tradition.
“We will see everybody in Len Hill Park at 6 p.m. on June 20,” he said.
The 2024 series is backed by weekly sponsors, respectively: Lone Mountain Land Company, Montage Big Sky, HCI Builders, Big Sky Sotheby’s, Outlaw Partners, 3 Rivers Communications, Christie’s PureWest Realty, First Security Bank, American Bank, Hungry Moose Market and Deli, Yellowstone Club, and Risk Strategies.
