Every year the brief heat of summer in Montana sparks a frenzy of activity among residents and visitors attempting to enjoy the state’s many charms before the chilly weather again descends on the mountains. Summer outdoor music festivals are one way Montanans celebrate the spirit and sunshine of the short season, and Livingston will joining a host of festivals across the region starting this weekend with the annual Livingston Summerfest along the Yellowstone River.
Summerfest will be underway July 18, 19, and 20 in Livingston, where headliner The Kingston Trio will be joined by local favorites such as the Fossils, Ringling Five, Montana Rose, and Savage Creek, along with Missoula-based Montana Tunesmith and the Bop-a-Dips.
George Grove, banjo player for the Kingston Trio, says he expects people to walk away from Sunday’s performance saying, “Wow! That was more than I had hoped for, better than I expected.” Grove says the band will perform many of the hit songs which brought the Trio fame, including “Tom Dooley,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “The Tijuana Jail,” and others. The Kingston Trio is often credited with sparking the folk revival of the early 1960s by giving pop and comic feels to dormant traditional tunes. According to the Trio’s official website, the revival led to the rise of folk musicians such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter Paul & Mary, and the Byrds (www.kingstontrio.com). Grove attributes the early success of the trio to the enduring quality of folk music coupled with the presentation and personality of the band. He says the band filled a void, not just with their music, but with insouciant attitudes and clever discussion of the political system. The group rarely plays in Montana, but Grove says they are “delighted to come see the beauty of Montana and to play there again.” He says the band will arrive on Saturday and take some time to explore the region before their performance. The Kingston Trio will perform Sunday, July 20, from 2:30 until 4:30 p.m. at Sacajawea Park.
The Fossils will close the show Saturday night, July 19, with a danceable set of “hippie rock” from 8:30 to 10:00 p.m. The Fossils were voted Livingston’s best live music group in 2005, 2006, and 2007 in the Best of Livingston Reader Poll in the *Livingston Weekly. Sunday’s Summerfest lineup will include performances by Glass Lane, Montana Tunesmith, and The Kingston Trio. For more information about Summerfest visit www.livingstonsummerfest.com or call (406) 222-8155.
Blues at the Depot
Livingston’s next big summer festival is the return of a familiar local event. Boss Blues Promotions organized “Blues at the Depot” at the Livingston Depot Center annually from 1999 to 2003, and will bring the blues back to Livingston on July 26 with a “Big Railroad Blues Festival.” Promoter John Taillie refers to the event as an alternative blues festival, and says the lineup will feature four acts that promise to bring youthful enthusiasm and talent with an alternative flavor. “It’s something a little different,” he says. Cincinnati’s Buffalo Killers and the Boston-based Tarbox Ramblers will make their first appearances in Livingston, joined by Partland-based Hillstomp and Bozeman’s Jawbone Railroad.
Jawbone Railroad will step on stage at 4:30 on Saturday, July 26 to begin the show. The band combines blues, folk, gospel and bluegrass. Much of their repertoire is drawn from blues classics of the 1920s and 30s. Following the railroad will be Hillstomp, a band familiar to the Livingston live music scene. In their hometown of Portland, Oregon the *Willamette Week awarded the blues duo Hillstomp with its “Best Local Album of the Year” award in 2005. The group plays songs by classic blues artists such as Mississippi Fred McDowell and R.L. Burnside, adding their own modern touches.
The Boston-based Tarbox Ramblers will play original blues, gospel, and traditional songs and will feature electric slide guitar by frontman Michael Tarbox. A *Rolling Stone review of the band’s 2004 release *A Fix Back East says the album “jumps with old-timey authenticity...Michael Tarbox’s sour-mash-soaked voice and grunting guitar burns like canned heat through any doubts you have about Yankees fooling around with plantation moans.”
The highlight of the festival will be indie-rock trio the Buffalo Killers from Cincinnati, Ohio, whose music is described by promoter Taillie as a fusion of rock, blues, and psychedelia. The group received the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards “Artist of the Year” award in 2007, and they have toured with the nationally renowned Black Keys. Bassist Zach Gabbard promises that attendees “can expect a sweaty, swaggering, rockin’ good time.” The Buffalo Killers will close the show on Saturday night.
John Taillie says the blues are at home at a railroad depot. “It’s perfect...trains and blues have been side by side since trains started running, all the old bluesmen used to hop trains.” Taillie encourages locals to come enjoy a day of great music and notes the efforts of organizers to keep ticket prices low.
The festival will offer full bar service and food. Tickets are available for $18 in advance or $22 at the door. Children under 12 get in free. Doors open at 4 p.m. on July 26 and music begins at 4:30. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Depot or Conley’s Books and Music, or in Bozeman at Cactus Records or Vargo’s Jazz City and Books. For more information visit www.bluesatthedepot.com or call 406-222-2300.
Magic City Blues Fest
The seventh annual Magic City Blues Festival, “Montana’s Urban Music Festival” will be held August 8 and 9 in Billings. The festival will take up two stages on Montana Avenue in downtown Billings and will feature Delbert McClinton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Albert Cummings, Juke Joint Duo, JJ Grey and Mofro, Bettye Lavette, Moreland and Arbuckle, Po’ Henry and Tookie, Mighty Lester, Papa Mali, The Insomniacs, and Mary & the Mudcats. For more information, visit www.magiccityblues.com or call (406) 670-2329
Rockin’ the Rivers
The ninth-annual Rockin’ the Rivers Festival, held August 8, 9, and 10 runs the gamut of rock n’ roll, featuring everything from Brian Howe of Bad Company to alt-rockers Third Eye Blind. The festival has a history of bringing in big names of classic rock, and other participants this year include Soul Asylum, the Clintons Band, Fran Cosmo of the group Boston, Too Slim and the Tail Draggers, The Dave Walker Band, Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings, and many others. For more information visit www.rockintherivers.net or call (866) 285-0097 or (406) 285-0099.
Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival
The Twenty-First Annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival, held August 8, 9, and 10, calls itself “the grandfather of bluegrass festivals in the northern Rockies.” The lineup at the festival features Grammy-award-winning artists such as Bela Fleck, Tim O’Brien, and Sam Bush. Other participants include the Infamous Stringdusters, Abigail Washburn, Casey Driessen, Ben Sollee, Tony Trischka with his Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular band, Jeff Austin & Friends (from Yonder Mountain String Band), Spring Creek, Blue Highway, and Darrell Scott. For more information visit www.grandtarghee.com.
Jackson Hole Music Festival
The Jackson Hole Music Festival, August 16 and 17, is a new event featuring a variety of popular musicians. The festival will feature bands such as Wilco, Brian Wilson, Medeski Martin & Wood, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, the Black Crowes, Kaki King, Backdoor Slam, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Son Volt, and The Avett Brothers. For more info search www.festivalnetwork.com.
River City Roots Fest
The River City Roots Fest, August 23 and 24 on West Main Street in Missoula, is a free event. Participating bands include the Clumsy Lovers, Martha Scanlan & The Stewart Brothers, the Emmitt-Nershi band featuring members of Leftover Salmon and String Cheese Incident, Great American Taxi, Wylie and the Wild West, South Austin Jug Band, and the Mike Bader Blues Band, among others. The festival also features a juried art show. For more info, visit www.rivercityrootsfestival.com.
—Wes Venteicher
