Summer in western Montana is flush with concerts again. Amid the flood of shows, it's worth keeping an eye out for the small music festivals, sometimes held in small towns, that offer a different kind of experience: a camp-like feel with local cost of entry, a laid-back atmosphere and a temporary community of like-minded folks and a chance to hear under-the-radar artists. Here's a few of the options that are happening in Darby; in Bynum along the Rocky Mountain Front; and one in small venues in Missoula.
Woodtick Music Festival Darby Friday-Saturday, July 26-27 This is the first year of a new festival called Woodtick, located on private property on Chaffin Creek Road just south of Darby. Well, it's not that new. The Mackey family started the event more than a decade ago at their place as an unadvertised hangout that slowly grew.
After the pandemic eased up, they reached out to a musician they knew about taking it over. Before Sasha Bell moved to Missoula, she played with indie rock bands like Ladybug Transistor and Essex Green, and now has her own eponymous group. Between them all, she's played small festivals everywhere, from upstate New York to Scandinavia and a western Montana event, Bynum If You Got 'Em (more on that one later).
An event planner by trade, Bell saw an opportunity to re-create what those gatherings offer. "It feels like you're at a summer camp," she said. Think cool decorations, a mellow atmosphere, good food trucks, a low-key craft market, even yoga sessio.
