Weekend mountain music festival takes over Moonlight in August 2018
Friday and Saturday, August 17th–18th
The inaugural Moonlight Music Festival comes to Big Sky for its inaugural event Friday and Saturday, August 17th–18th. The two-night mountain music extravaganza will feature headliners Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers and Grace Potter in Moonlight’s Madison Village alongside Sam Bush Band, The Wood Brothers, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Mission Temple Fireworks Revival with Paul Thorn and Blind Boys of Alabama, Anderson East, The Suffers, Hawthorne Roots, and The Well.
Preceding the main event, a FREE Thursday night “Music in the Mountains” concert in Town Center Park will feature the Jeff Austin Band and Two Bit Franks.
For an artist who has built a devoted fan base through her electrifying live show, Grace Potter seems hell-bent on breaking out of the box when it comes to studio work. She refuses to be defined by a single genre. Over the last three years, she has seamlessly transitioned from collaborating with the Flaming Lips for a Tim Burton film, to songwriting and producing for soundtracks and theme songs for film and TV, to multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated country duets with her friend Kenny Chesney, to joining The Rolling Stones on stage for an inspired rendition of “Gimme Shelter.” Citing Miles Davis, Dylan, the Beatles, Bowie, Blondie and Beck as prime examples, Potter says she is drawn to artists who make sonic leaps from record to record. Her debut album, Midnight, is available now.
Decades after winning a Grammy for Best New Artist and launching one of contemporary music’s most diverse careers, Bruce Hornsby still makes joyful noise as he discovers clever and expansive ways to chronicle dynamic musical snapshots of his often generously collaborative journey. Hornsby visits Big Sky in continued support of his latest album, Rehab Reunion. The piano-free release features guest appearances by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon as well as the magisterial soul-gospel singer Mavis Staples. Recorded in Williamsburg with The Noisemakers, produced by Hornsby, it’s a trenchantly sung ten-song collection that spins into intricate dramatic scenes mundane things like skipping town (“M.I.A. in M.I.A.M.I.”), calculating gratuities at restaurants (“Tipping”), and airport security as sensual experience (“TSA Man”). But it also captures rarer stretches of life that seek or attain transcendence.
Advance festival tickets ($125 weekend, $65 Friday, $75 Saturday plus fees) are available at www.moonlightmusicfest.com where you can learn more about the featured acts and weekend festivities. Kids 12 and under are admitted free. Be sure to follow the Fest on Facebook and Instagram for updated event information, @MoonlightMUSICFEST. •
