Lil Smokies back in Southwest Montana as part of five-show New Year’s run
Montana’s own neo-bluegrassers The Lil Smokies are set for a grand return to the mountain towns of their musical upbringing with a five-show run to help close out 2018 and welcome the New Year.
Their roots submerged in the thick buttery mud of traditional bluegrass, the Smokies have sonically blossomed into a leading player in the progressive acoustic sphere, creating a new and wholly unique, melody-driven sound of their own. The quintet, originally from Missoula, has been hard at work writing, touring and playing to an ever-growing fanbase for nearly a decade.
Showcasing a unique blend of excellent songwriting, bluegrass roots and the sheer raw energy of a rock band, the Smokies weave seamlessly through genres, leaving behind melodies stuck in the heads of their audiences for days. The Smokies’ latest album, Changing Shades, released last year.
In anticipation of the upcoming spate of year-end shows, the Rolling Zone hopped on the phone with frontman Andy Dunnigan to talk the band’s latest release, new series of singles, and expanding resume – in the bluegrass world and beyond.
RZ: Hey Andy. We’re catching you ahead of Lil Smokies’ winter tour, but also on the heels of a two-month run with Greensky Bluegrass. How were the fall shows with those fine fellows from Michigan? You’re surely exhausted.
AD: Yeah, man. I think I’m still processing the whole experience, in all of its grandeur, but it was nothing but incredible. They’ve been heroes of ours [and] have been on the road for a long time, so it’s really inspiring to see the fruits of their labor culminate. They’ve assembled such an incredible crew that works behind the scenes, too. It’s a well-oiled machine. This extended tour was such a great learning experience for us – and we got some serious hang-time with those guys. We had seen them a lot and we’d done a few shows here and there, so we were familiar, but we’re good buddies now. We just got to spend a lot of time backstage playing tunes and did a lot of sit-ins with them, and vice versa. It was simply amazing.
photo by McCormick Photos & Design
RZ: You’re closing – and also opening – another year with five back-to-back shows here in the Treasure State, two at Bozeman’s Rialto right before New Year’s at the Wilma.
AD: Treasure State, baby. Yeah.
RZ: What do you guys have planned for this celebratory, mini-Montana residency?
AD: It’s becoming a little bit of a tradition, as far as sticking around Montana where we’re from. I guess I’m the only one that’s from Montana, but half the dudes have been here for 12, 15 years. You can pretty much call that Montana residents by default. We’ve got a bunch of new tunes and we’ve curated some new sets. I think, from the Greensky run, we learned a lot as far as setlist and mixing it up. We’re definitely going to have a lot of surprises, unveil some new tunes and bring out some older stuff that we haven’t brushed off in a while. We’re so excited. And to have the multiple nights there in Bozeman, you kind of get to be a little more creative. So, it’ll be a little bit of everything that makes us up.
RZ: The Smokies recently released covers of “Rocket Man” and “Paperback Writer,” the first in a series of six called the ‘SnowGhost Singles.’ Tell us a little about the motivation behind the series and how the band is making its selections.
AD: It’s been a long time coming. Those are such great tunes and we love picking specific cover songs because they’re some of our favorites, but I think putting them on maybe one of our own albums, they just wouldn’t blend thematically with what we’ve got going on. We’d been doing “Rocket Man” for a while and had so many requests to have it on album that we wanted to get it out there. I think this way is the best of both worlds. We did all those covers in one day up at SnowGhost Studios in Whitefish, which is where we recorded Changing Shades, so we were really comfortable because we’d already been there before. We wanted to have a really raw, live sound that those covers lend themselves to. We’re releasing one a month and there’s a few we don’t really do live, so there’ll be a couple surprises for sure.
RZ: The ‘cover song’ is an interesting concept. You’re putting a fresh spin on classics some argue don’t need redone, while others are eager to embrace.
AD: I have a soft spot in my heart for well-orchestrated cover songs. The origins of the band, before I started writing tunes, we were totally a cover band. Some of those songs we kept in the repertoire because we spent a lot of time on the arrangements, so it’s kind of cool to harken back on that time. I still go to shows and I love to hear a good cover song, no matter who I’m listening to. That thread of familiarity was always a powerful and impactful moment during those shows, still is.
RZ: It’s a great unifier.
AD: “Rocket Man” just has that unifying quality. No matter what the demographic is – people in their 60s are turning their heads along with all the teenage kids. It really does permeate all walks of life. It’s great.
RZ: Obviously you’re touring selections from the Smokies’ debut record and last year’s Changing Shades. How do you go about mixing in some of the older stuff, considering the expanding repertoire? You can’t play ‘em all!
AD: We just recently took down our first live album that we recorded at the Top Hat. We weren’t sure if it was a good representation of the current lineup, and things have changed sonically, especially tonality-wise. It was mainly harder for us to listen to. I know a lot of people have been a little upset by that but we’re kind of mitigating that response with the fact that we’re going to do another one. We might put some of those tunes back on there, but I think we definitely want to have a little more texture. The songs evolve over time, especially when you play them live. We’ve made improvisational changes and there’s extended instrumental parts. It’s going to be different with some more surprises.
RZ: Changing Shades is a fantastic showcase of the band’s stringwork, but the lyrical content also impresses. Is there a story behind one of those songs you’re particularly smitten with?
AD: I always like “Ms. Marie.” A lot of those tunes are about my last girlfriend, Marie is her middle name. She was [one of two] dance instructors with the same first names, so the kids called her ‘Ms. Marie’ to differentiate between them. This song was just one that I spent a lot of time on and it was a really fun and therapeutic process writing. It was one of the first out of that batch that became the album. I’m fond of that song, for sure.
RZ: The ‘SnowGhost’ series is a nice tide-over for fans awaiting a follow-up album. What’s the status on a possible third LP? Then again, maybe you guys aren’t going the traditional ‘album’ route.
AD: We’re having those talks now. The whole idea of an album is almost becoming, I wouldn’t go so far as to say obsolete, but as far as popular culture goes, I think the singles are kind of overtaking the way that people listen to music, with Spotify and just one song at a time. I like that, too. I’m very open-minded but I don’t think the concept of another album will ever die. We’re starting to play some of the new songs, and also sitting on a lot of the really new stuff that will eventually be the next ‘album.’ We’re plotting the recording and we’ll definitely release a single first, but we have the cover songs going now, so that’ll buy us a little time.
RZ: There’s been a lot of chatter lately about fan engagement at all levels of the music industry. The Smokies have always been pretty grassroots, but your base is broadening. How important will it be for you guys to remain as accessible as you have while the band continues to grow?
AD: There’s so many different ways to engage with fans now, on and off social media. I don’t ever want to stop that kind of intimacy and immediacy of always engaging with fans. There’s a fan page on Facebook [for] the diehards, so we’ll post videos of us just clowning around or doing a silly song. I love that. It’s a vehicle to give a little bit more to the people who really want a little bit more. Social media is here and it’s not going anywhere. Sometimes it is a little bizarre to me, but it’s the means to an end, and ultimately in the occupation that we reside in, it’s really important and necessary. People are on Instagram all the time, probably too much, but it’s cool to check up on what everyone’s doing. I like seeing when a band posts the behind the scenes of what’s going on. They’re curating a setlist, or they’re at soundcheck – it’s another glimpse, another layer. That’s only a good thing for your fans and the engagement.
RZ: Okay so, winter tour, possible new album on the horizon. Flash forward to this very time next year. Where might the Smokies find themselves?
AD: We’ve done a lot of New Year’s here and I really like the approach of doing two nights Whitefish, two nights Bozeman, and then ending it in Missoula where it all began. It’s a really cool homecoming for us, we get to kind of ruminate and show everyone what we’ve been doing for the last year. It’s a great way to start fresh the new year. It’d be safe to say that we’ll probably be in Montana again, for sure, with a bunch of new music.
RZ: A final message for the people before the show(s)?
AD: I hope to see all our friends and fans come out to Bozeman. It’s been a little bit and it’s amazing to see the band grow. From my perspective, I get to be on stage and hear the music night after night. The band’s as tight as it’s ever been and they’re going to be fantastic shows, I can guarantee that.
The Lil Smokies bring their string-heavy live show to Bozeman’s Rialto theater on both Saturday and Sunday, December 29th and 30th. The music begins at 8:30pm both evenings. Tickets to these 18+ performances are $20 in advance at www.rialtobozeman.com (Night 1 / Night 2). Doors at 7:30pm.
Prior to the Bozeman run, the Smokies will play two nights at the Great Northern in Whitefish. Ticketing information for the Dec. 27th and 28th shows can be found at www.greatnorthernbar.com (Night 1 / Night 2)
Tickets for the New Year’s Eve show at Missoula’s Wilma theater on Dec. 31st can be purchased at www.logjampresents.com.
The Lil Smokies are Andy Dunnigan (dobro), Matthew Rieger (guitar), Jake Simpson (fiddle), Scott Parker (bass), and Matt Cornette (banjo). Learn more about the band at www.thelilsmokies.com or find them on Facebook and Instagram for updated tour details and other announcements. The band’s latest album, Changing Shades, as well as ‘SnowGhost’ singles “Rocket Man” and “Paperback Writer,” are available now. Stream on Spotify and Apple Music. •
