With new venues and an expanding stable of talent, the Flathead Valley’s music scene isn’t just expanding for local singers and songwriters, but it’s opening a window to a broad catalog of artists who are adding western Montana to their tours.
In 2019, that’s nowhere more evident than at the Under the Big Sky Festival in Whitefish, where Nathaniel Rateliff, Dwight Yoakam, Jenny Lewis, Band of Horses, and more are slated to converge for a two-day festival in mid-July.
To enjoy the region’s full gamut of concerts from the Flathead Valley to Missoula and Spokane, check out this guide to a summer’s worth of sound.
April
4/10 Moonshine Mountain • Tupelo Grille, Whitefish
4/14 Hozier • First Interstate Center for the Arts, Spokane, Washington
4/20 John Mellencamp • INB Performing Arts Center, Spokane, Washington
May
5/2 George Thorogood and The Destroyers • The Wilma, Missoula
5/3 Arlo Guthrie • The Wilma, Missoula
5/10 Pinky and the Floyd • The Wilma, Missoula
5/16 Art Garfunkel • Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, Spokane, Washington
5/18 Neil Young • Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, Spokane, Washington
5/28 Gogol Bordello • The Wilma, Missoula
June
6/1 Bela Fleck and the Flecktones • The Wilma, Missoula
6/2 Joe Russo’s Almost Dead • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
6/3 Little Feat • The Wilma, Missoula
6/9 Goo Goo Dolls • Northern Quest Resort & Casino, Airway Heights, Washington
6/13 Reverend Horton Heat • Knitting Factory Concert House, Spokane, Washington
6/14 Brad Paisley • Big Sky Brewing Co. Amphitheater, Missoula
6/18 Rain — A Tribute to the Beatles • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
6/19 Judas Priest • Northern Quest Resort & Casino, Airway Heights, Washington
6/22 Jim James and The Claypool Lennon Delirium • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
6/23 Patty Griffin • The Wilma, Missoula
6/25 Lyle Lovett and his Large Band • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
6/28 Greensky Bluegrass and the Lil Smokies • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
July
7/11 Slightly Stoopid • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
7/13-14 Under the Big Sky Festival • Big Mountain Ranch, Whitefish (see related story for details)
7/24 Norah Jones • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
7/27 Trampled by Turtles and Hayes Carll • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
7/30 Shakey Graves • KettleHouse Brewing Co. – Northside, Missoula
August
8/2 Jackson Browne • Big Sky Brewing Co. Amphitheater, Missoula
8/3 Umphrey’s McGee • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
8/11 Mumford and Sons • Ogren Park, Missoula
8/13 Travis Tritt • Northern Quest Resort & Casino, Airway Heights, Washington
8/18 John Butler Trio and Trevor Hall • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
8/20 Shinedown • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
8/22 Styx • Northern Quest Resort & Casino, Airway Heights, Washington
8/27 Amos Lee • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
8/30 Coolio • Riverfront Park Festival, Spokane, Washington
September
9/8 Gary Clark Jr. • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
9/9 Foreigner • KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula
9/22 Moonshine Mountain • Gunsight Saloon, Columbia Falls
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10 Concerts Not to Miss
Hozier
4/14 First Interstate Center for the Arts, Spokane, Washington
This Irish singer and songwriter had his international breakthrough after releasing his single “Take Me to Church,” but with his second album, Wasteland Baby!, Hozier proves that his reservoir of creative talent and output runs deep.
George Thorogood and The Destroyers
Head down to Missoula and get Bad to the Bone with this enduring, high-energy blues rocker who’s been a staple of rock radio for three decades. Not sure what to order at the bar? Try One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
Neil Young
5/18 Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, Spokane, Washington
Seeing this Canadian singer-songwriter perform live is an unrivaled experience. Since his days fronting Buffalo Springfield, to his timeless work with Crosby, Stills and Nash, to his stage-stomping shows with Crazy Horse, Neil Young can still bring an audience to its knees with a harmonica, an acoustic guitar and his falsetto voice.
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
This ensemble of virtuosos has been combining jazz and bluegrass music since the late 1980s, and its original members are back on tour — Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass guitar, his brother Roy Wooten on Drumitar, and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards.
Jim James and The Claypool Lennon Delirium
6/22 KettleHouse Amphitheater Missoula
Best known for his work as lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket, Jim James has also released three solo albums, and hearing his spooky falsetto voice live is a mesmerizing experience.
Greensky Bluegrass and the Lil Smokies
6/28 KettleHouse Amphitheater Missoula
That western Montana’s Lil Smokies are touring with Greensky Bluegrass is a testament to the band’s rise to prominence, and with a new album prompting a national tour, they’ll be plenty busy, so be sure to drop in on them when they stop in Missoula.
Under the Big Sky Festival
7/13-14 Big Mountain Ranch, Whitefish
(see related story for details)
Trampled by Turtles and Hayes Carll
7/27 KettleHouse Amphitheater Missoula
Minnesota’s Trampled by Turtles join Texas tunesmith Hayes Carll for what promises to be an entertaining night featuring Carll’s unrivaled lyricism and acute storytelling skills, and Trampled’s raucous, uplifting bluegrass.
Umphrey’s McGee
This American rock band is always entertaining for its mix of musical styles, blending rock, metal, jazz, blues, reggae, bluegrass, and folk in a genre-bending Cuisinart.
Gary Clark Jr.
Austin’s Gary Clark Jr. has shared the stage with Eric Clapton, B.B. King and the Rolling Stones, but continues to establish himself as a prolific talent as the Grammy-award winning artist tours his new album This Land.