When Larry Stewart drove down to Missoula with his wife to attend a Jewel concert, he was, admittedly, a reluctant attendee. A fan of the singer-songwriter, he wasn’t convinced the show would be worth the trip. But Jewel changed his mind. He remembers when she took the stage and the packed venue of more than 1,500 people fell completely silent.
“I was star struck,” he recalled of the show.
Now, Stewart is prepping to welcome the Grammy-award winning star to his venue The Bowl at the Abayance Bay Marina on Lake Koocanusa in Rexford on Aug. 24.
Known by her first name, Jewel Kilcher was born in Utah and famously was raised on a homestead in Alaska. She first shot to stardom at 19 years old in the ‘90s after being discovered in a coffee shop while living out of her van in San Diego. Her first hits, such as “Who Will Save Your Soul,” “You Were Meant for Me” and “Hands,” were ubiquitous on the radio, and her fame only continued to grow.
Since then she has released 11 more studio albums, been nominated for multiple Grammys, graced the cover of Rolling Stone and Time Magazine, toured the nation, published a book of poetry and founded a charity. More recently, she has scaled back on touring, spending time with her son and releasing a tell-all, bestselling memoir, “Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story.”
When Stewart learned that the prolific musician would be headlining the 2018 Billings Clinic Classic benefit concert, he knew he had to try to arrange a show in a matter of weeks. Luckily, the artist, with the right incentives, was willing to visit Eureka the night before her performance in Billings for a solo concert.
“It was a matter of networking the grapevine,” he said.
Once she agreed to the show, Stewart said, he and his team had to scramble find another artist to open for her and secured Halladay Quist, a Creston native who grew up riding a horse to school.
Quist played in her brother’s band for nearly a decade before embarking on her own solo musical journey, which recently culminated in the release of a new E.P. “In the Sun.” Though she has never before seen Jewel in concert, Quist characterized her as “such a powerful songwriter.”
“I feel like Jewel is the voice of that really feminine that just really speaks to your intimate thoughts,” she said. “I feel so blessed to share a stage with her.”
Although Stewart was unsure of the total number of tickets sold for the show, he and his team hope to host around 1,500 people on the big night. He noted that he has already sold access to more than two thirds of the venue’s VIP tables, which allow guests to sit close to the stage with full food and drink service. Other attendees can choose to purchase reserved seating for $75, which consists of 484 chairs lined up about 75-80 feet from the stage, or can enjoy the music with general admission tickets for $50 on the grass.
“It’s a bring-your-own-chair venue,” he added.
Sitting on a relatively isolated plot near the water, the outdoor venue opened in July 2016. Stewart, the owner and operational manager, designed and built it over a four-year period with the intention of drawing big name acts to the Tobacco Valley.
Dawn Jackson, a member of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, coordinated with nearby Kalispell hotels to arrange hotel stay packages for the concert nights as well as $5 shuttles that will ferry attendees to and from the show from Kalispell and Whitefish. Moreover, Abayance Bay will be adding $2 to the ticket price to donate money to Big Hearts & Open Arms, a local nonprofit that aims to help people struggling to pay a variety of fees like emergency travel, dental or educational costs.
Overall, Stewart said, he wanted this concert, like all other shows at Abayance Bay, to bring exposure and recreation to the Tobacco Valley.
“We’re a starving community,” he lamented.
Stewart said he wants The Bowl to not only provide the community with something new to do, but also serve as a destination, where attendees can listen to great music while enjoying a burger, a beer and some time on the water.
“We want our shows to be more than just music,” he explained. “We want it to be the whole experience.”
For Quist, the night will be all about the music.
“Just a couple of gals with their guitars,” she quipped.
The show will take place on Aug. 24 with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. Halladay Quist will take the stage at 7 p.m. Jewel will start playing at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.abayancebayevents.com.