The first ever Livingston Songwriter Festival will take place in locations all over town on Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th. For two days, the festival will feature hit songwriters from Nashville and rising stars from Montana performing in songwriter rounds, sharing songs and stories.
Thirteen songwriters will perform in the theaters, restaurants, coffee shops and bars of Downtown Livingston with some of the best songwriters in the music industry. Each show will feature two or three songwriters telling stories, trading songs and showcasing their creativity.
The hit songwriters featured this year include Stephanie Quayle, Even Stevens (member of the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame), James Dean Hicks, Stephanie Davis and Helen Darling. The rising stars include Christy Hays, Tom Catmull, Abigayle Kompst, Kalyn Beasley, Erica Sunshine Lee, John Hewitt, Chad Okrusch, Jess Jocoy and Matt Strachan.
art by Parks Reese
The event has historically taken place in Red Lodge, Cody and Whitefish, but this year Whitefish let the festival producers know they wouldn’t be able to host it. Mike Booth, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals organization reached out to Kris King with Explore Livingston and John Lowell and Joanne Gardner Lowell of Mighty Fine Time Live Events to discuss moving the popular festival to Livingston.
“Livingston makes so much sense,” said Booth from his home in Red Lodge. “It’s an arts town that has fostered and celebrated writing of all types forever. Adding hit songwriters and up and coming songwriters in a forum people can connect with – I think we’ve found a forever home.”
The Livingston Songwriter Festival is a production of the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals, Inc. The RMSWF is a nonprofit organization dedicated music education in local communities. Since its inception, the festivals have gifted more than $130,000 to fulfill this mission. The local festival is being supported by the Livingston TBID, Explore Livingston, the Livingston Bar & Grille, Montana’s Yellowstone Country, the Murray Hotel, Neptune’s Brewery, the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, Tito’s Vodka, American Bank, the Art of Parks Reece, Montana Quarterly, Flying S Title & Escrow, Mighty Fine Time Live Events, KGLT and The BoZone.
Performance venues include 1900, The Attic, The Owl Lounge, Livingston Center for Art and Culture, Livingston Bar & Grille, Tru North and the Elks Lodge. The festival is hosting a free community concert featuring all of the songwriters to perform at the Elks Lodge on Oct. 4th at 7pm
“This gives Livingston a chance to get acquainted with the concept of a songwriter circle,” added Mike Booth. “We’re hoping people enjoy the concept and buy a ticket to all the shows on Saturday. Your ticket/lanyard gets you entrance to every venue on Saturday, and a chance to see several combinations of writers playing their songs.”
Tickets are $55 for Saturday, with plans to expand the festival to three days in 2025. Find ticketing access and additional information at www.livingstonsongwriterfestival.org.
There are opportunities for VIP packages, sponsors and patrons to become involved, and a need for volunteers to keep things rolling. One four-hour volunteer shift gets you an all access pass to the rest of the festival. Those interested in volunteering can contact Joanne Gardner Lowell at joannegardnerlowellmt@gmail.com or (406) 599-1075. •
