Snowbowl Ski Resort near Missoula, MT, offers a beautiful mountain setting for three shows this summer as part of the second annual Snowbowl Mountain Music series. The series, produced by Andrew Morris, features bluegrass, American and country-western music.
Hot Rize kicks off the series on July 14 in a show co-produced with Ruby Jewel Jamboree. International Bluegrass Music Association’s very first ‘Entertainers of the Year’ in 1990, Hot Rize has been nominated for Grammy Awards and toured across four continents. The retro-western outfit Red Knuckles and Trailblazers opens with zany versions of country and western classics.
Next up, Monroe Crossing and Missoula a cappella ensemble Dolce Canto preform “World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass” on July 28. “The World Beloved” weaves together the traditions of the Catholic liturgy and classical choral singing with contemporary poetry and traditional bluegrass instrumentation. Monroe Crossing will also be featured alone for a traditional bluegrass set after the mass.
The series will conclude with The Maldives and Sera Cahoone, two popular Northwest country music acts, on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Maldives are more than a band – they are an institution. With a history that goes back more than a decade (their friendships considerably longer), they’ve played every kind of gig imaginable – from a backwoods festival on the back of a flatbed truck to the inauguration of Seattle’s musically minded mayor. They have stood on the stages at SXSW, CMJ, Capitol Hill Block Party, Sasquatch, and Bumbershoot. They were featured on MTV’s $5 cover series which spotlighted the best of Seattle’s music scene.
Sera Cahoone is a long way from home. Growing up the daughter of a dynamite salesman in the Colorado foothills, she got her start on the drums at 11, and at 12 her mom was taking her to dive bars to sit in with the scruffy old bluesmen. By the time she picked up a guitar, she had been so shaped by these things – the dynamite, the blues, the woods and the hills – it’s no surprise she went on to be one of the strongest songwriters in Seattle’s ever-vibrant Americana scene.
Snowbowl Mountain Music is a family-friendly series. The on-site bar and restaurant provide a full array of food and beverages, and zip-line tours are also available. This unique venue is a natural bowl-shaped basin that accommodates 2,000 viewers, and is nestled in the Rattlesnake Mountains 12 miles from downtown Missoula. Free and paid parking is available on-site, and shuttles are also available from the Reserve St. exit off of Interstate 90.
Tickets are available online at snowbowlmountainmusic.com, at Bob Wards Sporting Goodso stores across western Montana, and at Rockin’ Rudy’s in Missoula. Tickets for Hot Rize are available at Ruby’s Inn in Missoula. Children 12 and under are free of charge.
Learn more about the summer concerts at snowbowlmountainmusic.com.