‘Humbled Beyond Belief,’ Whitefish Musician John Dunnigan Receives Governor’s Arts Award
His nomination came courtesy of Toby Scott, a Whitefish resident and sound engineer who has recorded and mixed albums for Bruce Springsteen since 1980
By Mike Kordenbrock
Thursday was John Dunnigan’s first time in the Montana State Capitol building — the longtime Whitefish musician says he steers away from “the political thing” because “I don’t want to get my hands chopped off”— but in spite of that aversion to the halls of power, he admitted that he felt a bit choked up watching the sun streaming through the windows as he walked through the door to be awarded one of the Governor’s Arts Awards.
The biannual awards are administered by the Montana Arts Council and then issued in the governor’s name. A Governor’s Arts Awards committee reviews the nominees — there were 39 this year — and forwards them to the Montana Arts Council, whose members create a shortlist, which is then forwarded to the governor.
“Through this award, we’re proud to recognize Montanans for their unique ability to showcase the beauty of our landscapes, mark moments in history, and represent the sights and sounds of our vibrant culture,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement about this year’s winners. “For generations, the Treasure State has stirred the creativity of writers, artists, and musicians, and we’re glad to honor these individuals for their talents.”
Dunnigan was one of five recipients of the award this year, alongside the Great Falls-based Blackfeet bead artist Jackie Larson Bread, Belgrade metal sculptor Jim Dolan, Livingston musician John Lowell, and Helena painter Mary Gayle Shanahan.
His nomination came courtesy of Toby Scott, a Whitefish resident and sound engineer who has recorded and mixed albums for Bruce Springsteen since 1980 and moved to the Flathead 35 years ago.
During some remarks at Thursday’s ceremony, Scott noted with admiration how Dunnigan’s approach to music seems to blend a strong work ethic with a sense of humor. Scott remembered asking Dunnigan to play a fundraiser one year and the singer declined owing to the fact that it fell on one of his three days off that month. Dunnigan typically plays a three-hour set with no intermission or breaks, which amounts to what Scott described as “continuous entertainment.” He continues to play a regular weekly show at the Great Northern Bar in Whitefish.
Intermixed with storytelling and banter, Dunnigan weaves in jokes, often delighting in telling Whitefish crowds brimming with tourists that they’re all having a good time in Jackson Hole.
“In the course of being in the music business, I go out and I look at everybody that’s playing. I like to go to bars, restaurants, wherever, and I find them. And I ran across John Dunnigan in one of the bars in Whitefish. He was entertaining beyond belief. And I worked with some very entertaining people,” Scott said.
Dunnigan told the crowd that he wasn’t born in Montana, instead mumbling the name of a place that sounded a lot like California. However, he said he arrived in Montana as quickly as he could, which happened to be Aug. 18, 1976. Checking out a winter show at the Mountain Lake Tavern in Bigfork, where he lived at the time, was a turning point for Dunnigan, who went on to more fully dedicate himself to learning to play “a whole bunch of instruments.” Another turning point, he said, was seeing friend and fellow Flathead musician Rob Quist’s Mission Mountain Wood Band play.
Dunnigan himself has gone on to inspire and influence other musicians, like his son Andy Dunnigan, the lead singer in the Missoula blue grass band The Lil Smokies, and the Missoula singer-songwriter Izaak Opatz, who grew up in Whitefish and learned to play music with Andy.
As Dunnigan said Thursday, his wife couldn’t attend because she wasn’t feeling well, and there was also a sick dog in their household. He clarified that he was not referring to himself, but “a legitimate dog.”
“He’s 12 years old, which means he’s kind of my age in dog years. He sleeps a little harder than he should, and he has a little more trouble walking up and down the stairs, and sometimes he has trouble rubbing his butt on the carpet. Has anybody said that in these chambers before? I don’t think so,” Dunnigan said, as he wound down his acceptance speech.
“When I walked in here I was humbled beyond belief,” he said, before closing out with one more observation. “Wow, it’s so great to live in Montana.”