Summer is prime-time for music festivals, and there are plenty to choose from in Montana. These 10 Montana music festivals will keep you singing and tapping your feet all summer.
Montana Public Radio is proud to be a media co-sponsor for many of these summer music festivals. You may even see us on stage at some of them.
St. Timothy’s Summer Music Festivalis held at St. Timothy’s Memorial Chapel high above Georgetown Lake in Montana. The concerts stretch over five Sundays from June -August. All concerts start at 4:00 p.m. MTPR is a media sponsor and will be doing some stage announcing at the shows. The 2015 Season features:
- June 28: Luca Rodoni Jazz Ensemble
- July 12: Montana Chamber Music Society with Muir Members & Guests
- July 26: The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass featuring Dolce Canto and Monroe Crossing
- August 9: CanAm Piano Duo
- August 23: Drum Brothers
Big Sky Classical Music Festival is in it's fifth season and this year's theme is Beethoven Meets Brahms in the Mountains. The three concerts include a very impressive group of world class musicians:
August 7 - Windsync - wind ensemble
August 8 - Brahms String Sextet
- Rachel Barton-Pine, violin
- Angella Ahn, violin
- David Wallace, viola
- Gillian Gallagher, viola
- Matt Haimovitz, cello
- Kathe Jarka, cello
August 9 - Brahms Double Concerto
- Rachel Barton-Pine, violin
- Matt Hamovitz, cello
- Big Sky Festival orchestra, Peter Bay conductor
More free events... full event calendar
The Montana Folk Festival is one of the Northwest's biggest free folk festivals, with multiple stages and continuous live performances by some of the best traditional performers in the nation. This year's festival takes place July 10 - 12 in Butte, Montana.
More than 20 groups representing a broad diversity of musical and cultural traditions will perform, including:
- New Big Sky Singers
- Kenny James Miller Band
- Experience Unlimited (E.U.)
- Western Flyers
- See the fulllist of Montana Folk Festival performers
Montana Baroque Music Festival July 21 - 23 at Quinns Hot Springs in Paradise, Montana. Set in the idyllic Clark Fork River Valley, steps from the Clark Fork River, the Montana Baroque Music Festival presents three exciting concerts each summer. For the festival's 12th year, the theme will be Baroque and Beyond, and will showcase the music of Bach and his many sons, who diverted from their father's style quite dramatically. This will be three spectacular nights of thrilling baroque performances.
- Monica's Paradise: Bach and Mozart: Music of "Papa" Bach, such as his riveting A minor violin concerto, and some bubbly chamber music of Mozart
- From Offspring to Hot Spring: Bach's sons and their music: Matthias and Sophie bring us the lovely Adagio and Fugue of W.F. Bach, alongside "Papa" Bach's famous Concerto for 2 Violins
Mozart and Friends: Champagne for the ears!: Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Devienne, a French contemporary. Joyous,delightful concertos and chamber music from this Rococo period!
Red Ants Pants Festival is designed to bring people together and raise funds for the Red Ants Pants Foundation, a non-profit in support of women’s leadership, working family farms and ranches, and rural communities. The music festival runs from July 23 - 26 outside White Sulphur Springs, Montana. Performers this year include:
- Shook Twins
- Lee Ann Womack
- Keb' Mo'
- The Lil' Smokies
- Ryan Bingham
- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
- See the full Red Ants Pants festival lineup here
The Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival is in it's 7th year. This festival has a "old timey mountain feel" and features traditional bluegrass music. The festival is an affordable, family friendly gathering in a beautiful setting, that is geared towards having good clean fun while celebrating the sounds of traditional bluegrass music. The festival runs from July 24-26 in Hamilton, MT. See the full Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival schedule here.
Celtic Festival Missoula is an annual celebration of great Celtic culture, focusing on music, dance and food. Their mission is to perpetuate Celtic culture and to introduce the culture to future generations in Montana. The festival presents the culture both in its historical form, and as it has evolved into new and modern forms, such as Celtic Rock. This great tradition is alive and we celebrate it with abandon through Celtic Festival Missoula. The festival takes place July 24 and 25 in Missoula. Performers include:
- Celtic Dragon Pipe Band
- Montana Shamrockers
- Missoula Irish Dancers
- The Tossers
- The Screaming Orphans
- The Young Dubliners
Festival Amadeus, presented by Glacier Symphony and Chorale, takes place from August 3 - 9 at venues around the Flathead Valley. John Zoltek, Music Director and Conductor of Festival Amadeus has planned another spectacular week of music that will feature highly accomplished guest soloists bringing them together in three chamber concerts and four orchestra concerts. See the full Festival Amadeus schedule here.
An Ri Ra Montana Irish Festival. The An Rí Rá Montana Irish Festival is a celebration of the Irish heritage and contribution to the people of Butte and the State of Montana. This festival has created its place as a world-class event that draws people from not only Montana, but across the United States and internationally. An Rí Rá is regarded by the world’s best performers as the best Irish festival in North America. August 14 - 16 in Butte, Montana. Performers include:
- Cathie Ryan Band
- The Town Pants
- Dublin Gulch
- See the full list of An Ri Ra performers
The Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop and Festival runs from August 30 - September 6 in Bigfork, Montana. The guitar workshops feature study with some of the worlds greatest guitarists across all genres. In the evening, workshop leaders and students play concerts for the public. Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival Concerts this year include:
- World Famous LA Guitar Quartet / Blues Prodigy “King” Solomon Hicks
- Steely Dan’s Jon Herington / Sultry Songstress Madeleine Peyroux
- Jazz Legend Lee Ritenour / Oscar-winning Composer David Grusin
- Amazing Finale Extravaganza with Hall and Oates guitarist Shane Theriot and Dweezil Zappa plus surprise guest artists
