Inaugural music festival pays tribute to the Montana Band
Published: August 29, 2011
Country-rock legends Poco and Pure Prairie League join more than at dozen acts at the inaugural Montana Music Festival, Sept. 2-3 in Whitefish.
The Montana Band, whose five members died July 4, 1987, in a plane crash on a hillside above Flathead Lake, will be memorialized with the jam session and music festival. Organizers also hope to remember the musicians who died that day by building a permanent outdoor concert venue, named after the Montana Band.
Festivities begin with the Montana Band Acoustic Jam, 9 p.m. Sept. 2 at the O’Shaughnessy Center. Founding Montana Band members Rob Quist and Mark Wittman host the show, which features members of Pure Prairie League, Poco, the Mission Mountain Wood Band, Moonshine Mountain and other special guests. The jam session also serves as a rehearsal for the following day’s main stage concert. Tickets are $25-$30.
The Montana Music Festival kicks off at noon Sept. 3 in Depot Park. Eight bands perform on two stages, including country-rock legends Poco and Pure Prairie League, and the Flathead’s own Rob Quist and Great Northern. Sallie Ford and The Sound Outside, Kostas, Moonshine Mountain, Barnyard Riot and House of Quist also take turns on stage.
of Pure Prairie League.
Pure Prairie League broke onto the national scene in 1975 with their smash hit “Amie,” which was no. 1 on the pop charts, and broke into the top 10 on the country music charts. Three years later, the band hit the top of the charts again with “Let Me Love You Tonight,” which stayed in the no. 1 spot for seven weeks.
Poco was formed in 1968 by Rusty Young, Jim Messina and Richey Furay, following the breakup of Buffalo Springfield. The band hit the charts in the early ‘70s, then went all the way to no. 1 twice in 1978, with “Crazy Love” and “Heart of the Night.”
Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, which opens Saturday’s Main Stage show, blends country, rock and blues. Fresh off an appearance on the David Letterman Show in early August, the band is touring in support of their latest CD, Dirty Radio.
The festival closes with an all-star tribute to the Montana Band, featuring original band members Rob Quist, Mark Wittman and Jerry Zalnoski, The Great Northern Band and House of Quist, Bruce Robinson (whose brother, Terry, was a member of the Montana Band), and members of Pure Prairie League and Poco.
Tickets are $30-$35. Call 406-862-3501 or visit www.mtmusicfest.com for details.
