Tag: Big Sky Brewing Company

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Artists Worth Checking Out Reviews

Rayland Baxter, Jose Gonzalez and The Brite Lights, Shakey Graves at Big Sky Brewing Company – live performance review

Our final concert for August at the Big Sky Brewing Company occurred on August 25, and included solo performer Rayland Baxter, and bands José González & the Brite Lights and Shakey Graves.  It was a remarkably chill evening that coincided with the return of the students for the fall semester at the University of Montana and the 13th annual River City Roots Festival.  Once again, it was produced by Knitting Factory Presents, and they did another wonderful job, as did the amazing catering staff of Riversong Gourmet Catering.

Nashville native Rayland Baxter kicked off the evening with a short 20-minute solo set, playing songs from his recently released album Wide Awake.  He also made a tongue-in-cheek attempt at shredding, much to the delight of the crowd.  After his set, we got to spend some time together, as he hung out with me at the pass gate, watching portions of the rest of the artists performing.  He was an extremely nice guy who had a few friends and fans in the audience, and took the time to talk to each and every one of them.

Next on the stage was Swedish artist José González, who brought his band, The Brite Lights, with him.  The harmonies were exquisite, as was the amazing sound of their music.  The audience got into them rather quickly, and were soon in sync with the performance.  The band also had the amazing sound of The Gipsy Kings, and the audience roared with approval at not just the vocal harmonies but the musical harmonies and percussion as well.  Check out their most recent Spotify upload for a taste of the magic.

Finally, it was time for the headliner, and the crowd was restless with anticipation.  This was the third recent performance by Shakey Graves in Missoula.  The last time he was here, he was the opening act for The Decemberists’ Traveler’s Rest Festival last year.  He and his other guitarist snuck into the crowd and began their set from just in front of the sound booth while his drummer and bass player joined in from the stage.  The crowd went crazy, and it became quickly clear that we were in for a wonderful show.  Graves played with his band for approximately 30 minutes before sending them off on a break while he performed alone as a one-man band, reminiscent of the great Rocco DeLuca.  As this was his first local performance with a full band, the audience was most familiar with his solo material.  This portion also lasted about 30 minutes before he was joined on stage for a stirring duet with Baxter.  After the song, Graves invited Baxter to join in with the band, and he continued on acoustic guitar, providing a welcome addition to the overall amazing sound of Graves’ band.  He sent the band away again and performed his final songs by himself, honestly telling the crowd that it was his true “last song”, as he wasn’t going to do a fake encore.  The concert ended before curfew, and the crowd quickly departed the venue.  Afterwards, I had the opportunity to take a co-worker and his date backstage.  She was a huge Shakey Graves fan, and was dying to meet him.  I had already cleared it with management, and Graves was the perfect gentleman as he took the time to talk with them and take pictures.  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful night of music.

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Artists Worth Checking Out Reviews

Travelers’ Rest Festival – day 2 review (part 1)

Here’s the first part of our review of the second day of Travelers’ Rest Festival, brought to us by the good folks at Knitting Factory Entertainment and our friends at Big Sky Brewing Company.  Day Two followed the same format as Day One, with four artists performing on the Ponderosa Stage and five artists on the main stage, including a second day of The Decemberists headlining.

The first artist of the day was NPR’s latest darling, the adorable Gaelynn Lea.  Despite her diminutive size, she is an amazing violin player whose vocals bring her fans to tears.  She is also one of the most humble artists I have ever encountered in my 30 years in the music industry.  She packed the structure around the Ponderosa Stage like no other artist that played there, and even got Chris Funk (guitar), Jenny Conlee (accordion) and Nate Query (upright bass) from The Decemberists and Joy Pearson (vocals) and Rebecca Marie Miller (vocals) from Lenore to join her for her final song.  Her new album comes out in September, and we can’t wait to review it and share it with you.  It was one of the best performances I have ever experienced, and set the bar for the rest of the day.

The first artist on the Main Stage came all the way from Morocco, bringing their native sound to share with the Festival attendees.  Dressed Bedouin style, Tinariwen shared their drums, guitar, bass and native vocals and the crowd loved it.  The rhythms were amazing, and it was near impossible not to break into dance during the show.  They have a very unique sound that translates well on the Festival scene, and they kept the audience very entertained and engaged throughout their performance.

Here’s the link to their most recent album on Spotify.

Back to the Ponderosa Stage for LA-based indie rock trio Cardioid, composed of Lizzy Ellison on lead vocals and guitar, Riley Geare on drums and Erica  Shafer on bass.  Although the band started in Portland, it has transplanted to the City of Angels, where they are working on their next album, Fantasy Metal, which we can’t wait to review.  Their sound is pure indie rock, with exquisite guitar and bass performances, a throbbing drum beat and the voice of Ellison like the cherry on top of your favorite sundae.  They turned in one of the best rock performances of the Festival, and their 30-minute set was far too short to adequately display their immense talent.

The second artist to take the Main Stage was also the oldest artist performing.  Mavis Staples is 79 years old, and joined her family’s band, The Staple Singers, in 1949.  The band began as a gospel and folk group until after they signed with Stax Records in 1968.  They switched up their sound to a more R&B/soul vibe, and with their third Stax album, they reached #2 on the charts with “Respect Yourself,” and #1 with “I’ll Take You There.”  Staples’ music defies genre, as her sound is a combination of gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, soul and folk.  She wrote the amazing “Freedom Highway” for Martin Luther King in 1962, and participated in the Selma march alongside Dr. King.  She has won multiple Grammy awards, giving her a rich catalog from which to perform.  Unfortunately, 45 minutes is not nearly enough time for her to showcase her immense talent, but she did get to wow the crowd with the aforementioned “Freedom Highway” and “I’ll Take You There,” with which she ended her set.  Her music brought back so many great memories of growing up in the 70s, and was the true highlight of the weekend for me.

The action returned to the Ponderosa Stage and continued in that same 70s R&B/soul vibe with the performance by Ural Thomas & the Pain.  The band is composed of Ural Thomas on vocals, Scott Magee on drums and backing vocals, Arcellus Sykes on bass, Brent Martens on guitar, Steve Aman on keys, Bruce Withycomb on baritone sax, Willie Matheis on tenor sax and Dave Monnie on trumpet.  Thomas had some success back in the late 60s and early 70s when he performed more than 40 shows at the acclaimed Apollo Theater, but left what he considered an unfair business to return home to Portland.  Thomas never gave up his music, and sponsored a jam session in his home for nearly 20 years.  In 2016, Magee convinced him to return to the business, and Ural Thomas & the Pain was born.  Their debut album on Tender Loving Empire is scheduled to be released on September 28.  With that kind of a pedigree, you know the joint was jumpin’.  Thomas was the perfect complement to continue to R&B/soul trip started by Staples, and kept the Ponderosa Stage audience engaged and dancing throughout his set.  He even managed to squeeze in an extra song  beyond his 30-minute set.  His performance was my second most favorite of the Festival.

We’ll be back soon with part 2 of our review.

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Artists Worth Checking Out Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2018: vol. 18

Happy Monday – hope you are all recovered from your Cinco de Mayo celebrations.  I spent the weekend working at a Grizzly track meet, played our first softball game of the year, handed out water at a half-marathon to support Veteran Suicide Awareness & Prevention, and got hired by CMS to work the summer concert series at Big Sky Brewery.  I’ve also been working on my schedule of shows to review at the ninth annual Hollywood Fringe Festival, and already have 21 shows confirmed.  Hope to see 40-50 during my two weeks in Los Angeles next month.   We will be publishing our list of most anticipated shows later this month.

We’ve got some news for you today, as well as five new singles and music videos to check out.  Let’s get going.

INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION UPDATE

After reviewing more than 16,000 entries, the 2017 International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has concluded, and a Denver-based indie EDM artist has won the Grand Prize.  Nick Miller, better known to his fans as Illenium, takes home the Grand Prize for his song, “Crawl Outta Love ft. Annika Wells.”  The song was co-written with Annika Wells, Kate Morgan and Michael Blancaniello, and was released on his sophomore album Awake.  Wells and his co-writers will receive $25,000 in cash and more than $35,00 in additional prizes.  Here’s that award-winning song.

STACY JONES BAND TOURING EUROPE AFTER WINNING MORE AWARDS

The Stacy Jones Band, who we reviewed back in September, continue to pile up the accolades.  They recently took home 10 awards at the Best of the Blues, including Best Blues Band, Best Blues Recording (“Love is Everywhere”), Best Female Vocalist, Best Songwriter, Best Harmonica, Best Blues Bass, Best Blues Drummer, Best Blues Writer, Keeping the Blues Alive and Best Non-Festival Blues Event.  To celebrate, the band began their European tour on May 4, playing their first of eight shows in Switzerland.  The band will perform in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands before heading back home next weekend.

NEW SINGLES

Our first single, “Everything Nearly Comes Apart Completely,” comes from Dante Matas.  We love his sound, and think you will too.

Our second single comes all the way from Stockholm, Sweden, and is the debut for Sabine Women.  Here is their song, “Buenos Aires.”

Moving over to Germany for our next single, here is Bonnie Li with “Décroche.”  We love the mix of English, French, and Mandarin.

We rock it up with our fourth single this week from Feel Alright.  Here is their single, “Truth About Us,” from their new album set for release on May 18.

Our final new single today is from one of our favorite up and coming singer-songwriters, who we have been following for several years.  We really think you will love “Sonic Baby” by Santa Barbara-based indie artist Jamey Geston, which just had its radio premiere last night.

https://soundcloud.com/jamey-geston-music/sonic-baby-final/s-sAVqT

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

Our first video this week comes from  YouTube darling Megan Davies for her single, “Doesn’t Matter.”  We think they’re on to something, as we are adding this artist to our hot list.  We don’t mind jumping on the bus for her.

Next up is “Dino” by The Mountain Carol.  It is a raw rock song with powerful cinematography.  Definitely check them out.

Our third new music video is an homage to The King.  Check out Australian Susie Scurry and her tune, “The Elvis Hour.”

Our next video is the final single from the debut album for All for Darcy.  Check out “Ordinary Life.”

Our final video this week is “I See You Among the Stars,” a chill tune from Jessica Risker.  Have a wonderful week.

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Artists Worth Checking Out

Big Sky Brewing Company show is a special homecoming for Fitz and the Tantrums’ drummer John Wicks

The upcoming Fitz and the Tantrums show at the Big Sky Brewing Company in Missoula, Montana is a special homecoming for their drummer, John Wicks.  Wicks calls Missoula his home, and recently opened Drum Coffee in March 2016.   What sets this coffee shop apart from all the others in town is the fact that Drum gives back to the community through its Donation Station, where patrons can vote on their favorite of three designated charities.  Drum then sets aside two percent of its profits which it donates to those charities according to their popular vote, with all three receiving something.  The charities are changed quarterly.   Currently those charities are the Watson Children’s Center, the Humane Society and Garden City Harvest.

Founded in 2008, Fitz and the Tantrums is composed of co-vocalists Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs, James King on saxophone and flute, Jeremy Ruzumna on keyboards, Joseph Karnes on bass, and Wicks on drums and percussion.

The band released their latest album on June 10, and several songs are already climbing the charts, including the seriously infectious “Handclap.”

Fitz and the Tantrums will storm Wicks’ hometown on Sunday, August 28, 2016.  Gates open at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m.

Tickets are available at the Big Sky Brewing Company and Rockin’ Rudy’s Records, by calling 866/468-7624 or online at www.ticketweb.com and www.knittingfactory.com.  Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 on the day of the show.

You can keep up with the band by checking out their website or Facebook pages, by following them on Twitter and Instagram, or by subscribing to their YouTube Channel.  Click on the link about to connect with Drum Coffee’s of Wicks’ official Facebook pages.