By Mira Brody VP MEDIA
Photos by Fischer Genau
This event was produced by Outlaw Partners, publisher of Explore Big Sky.
After exiting stage left, Ocie and Wes Crowe, who make up the brother-comprised folk band, Crowe Boys, could be found working their own merchandise tent at the Big Sky Events Arena on July 9. They offered two shirt styles: a white and blue, and a green and yellow, and fans quickly lined up, some to make purchases, others to compliment the artists’ set or grab a photo with the duo. Neither hesitated to take the time to greet each person until the line was spent.
“Surreal,” Ocie said to sum up the evening. The brothers had just opened for Shane Smith and the Saints, the dirt country band from Austin, Texas, and Trampled by Turtles, the folk-bluegrass group hailing from Duluth, Minnesota.
“It’s very much an honor to just be able to play with a band that’s just stood the test of time,” Ocie said of Trampled. “A lot of bands like that kind of get big and then die off, but bands like Trampled by Turtles, they’re just kind of an undeniable force at this point. So it really means a lot that they would ask us to come and play with them.”
After formally touring for three months, Crowe Boys were asked to “go play a couple of shows back in the mountains” before taking a bit of time off, explained Ocie. They jumped at the offer. Next, they head to Telluride, Colorado before returning home to work on writing more music.
Ocie, who has played music with his bandmate and brother Wes, as well as their entire family, for most of his life, believes it’s a good time to be in the music industry. With such an occupied market, he’s found that fans are attracted to authenticity, which the brothers hope shines through in their musical work. From the energetic crowd on Tuesday night, and the reception each band received, you’d be hard pressed to disagree. Shane Smith and the Saints brought fans to their feet, and Trampled by Turtles played a long set well past a dramatic Lone Mountain sunset. The Big Sky crowd was not shy about their love for live music.
Near the end of their set, Crowe Boys were adamant about discussing an important topic—mental health. Both were open with the crowd about losing their mother at a young age and the isolation of being on the road, and have ushered those feelings into their writing in case their listeners were feeling the same. It’s their way of reaching out to their fans and checking in.
“As we started pursuing a career on the road, we started to see just how much a lot of people struggle with that,” Ocie said. “And it stayed so hidden because it was something you wanted to keep yourself. You didn’t want people to see you as broken. And I think with our music, we really just want to push it. It’s okay, you’re not alone. At least when you come to our show, it’s a safe place to navigate, and feel, and learn yourself.”
During Shane Smith & the Saints’ final song of the set, “All I See Is You,” cheers went up in the crowd near the stage. Matt Knight had proposed to his longtime partner, Amanda Cox. While they both live in Billings now, they had met in Big Sky, and both the location and the song were a special backdrop to their relationship.
“Matt was able to coordinate with all of our friends and my parents on the plan and I had no idea, I just thought I was getting to hang out with all of my favorite people listening to my favorite band,” Cox told EBS after the event. “Next thing I know Matt was on a knee during my favorite song and all of our friends were cheering for us.”
“Big Sky is where we met, and couldn’t think of a better place to propose than under the shadow of Lone Peak while listening to our favorite band with friends and family,” Knight added.
The night, presented by Lone Mountain Land Company and produced by Outlaw Partners, publisher of Explore Big Sky, kicks off a lineup of summer events in Big Sky Town Center at the Big Sky Events Arena.
On Friday, July 12, the Big Sky Community Rodeo, presented by Yellowstone Club, takes the arena for the fourth year, followed closely by a followed closely by a street dance at Len Hill Park with the Tony Marques Band, to celebrate the Big Sky PBR’s 10th time being recognized as the PBR Event of the Year.
Next week, Big Sky’s Biggest Week will include a family-friendly community day, then BINGO night on July 16, a charity golf tournament on July 17, then three nights of Big Sky PBR, all punctuated by a live music afterparty.
Wildlands Festival, featuring Dierks Bentley, Marren Morris, Wyatt Flores and Lukas Nelson, will take the stage on Aug. 2 and 3.
Back onstage, amid a warm July evening and to a rapt and swaying audience, Crowe Boys sang the lyrics: “‘Cause these are the good days.” Looking around at the arena, full of smiling faces simply happy to be here, now, it’s hard to argue.
