SLAM showcases eclectic blend of Montana’s best musicians
The Summer SLAM Festival, which stands for Support Local Artists and Musicians, will be bringing some of Montana’s best artists, craftsmen, musicians, and chefs to Bogert Park on Friday and Saturday, August 3rd and 4th. Admission is absolutely free, so there’s no excuse not to attend. The live music lineup alone is a multi-layered ice cream treat with sprinkles featuring scoops of musical flavors that range from Classical and assorted variations on Jazz and Blues, layers of folk, country, Americana and bluegrass, whole slabs of indie, punk and rock and roll, topped with a smidgen of world music. Any of these flavors individually are enough to make anybody do Eddie Murphy’s “Ice-Cream Dance,” but eat the whole thing and you’ll feel you’ve won a prize – and all without the brain freeze.
SATURDAY
Schubert String Quartet
Classical (11 – 11:55am)
Emma & The Ledge
Rock (noon – 12:55pm)
The sixth generation Gallatin Valley sisters are making a name of their own in the Montana music scene. Despite their youthful age, this duo wows the crowds with musical talent far exceeding their years. Emma is a soulful powerhouse with a voice and range both inspiring and moving. Artfully crafting lyrics to the band’s independent feel and sound, her music is expressive, visual and meaningful. Abby (“The Ledge”) has a unique ability for sculpting the perfect sound through her intricate guitar effects and patterns in every composition. Together, they skillfully create a sound that’s luminous and atmospheric, yet energizing enough to send an audience to their feet.
In addition to writing and performing original songs, they offer an eclectic mix of covers from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jack White, and U2 (whom they are greatly inspired by). Their music is not limited to one genre: blues, alternative, rock, folk and independent styles are woven together utilizing a mix of acoustic and electric guitars.
Alex Robilotta & The SLAM Allstars
Jazz (1 – 1:55pm)
The ensemble features some of Bozeman’s finest and funkiest musicians, playing new quintet arrangements of funky soulful jazz that will get people dancing in the sun. Guitarist Alex Robilotta is joined by Allstars Orin Gunderson (trumpet), John Swendseid (sax), Eddie T (bass) and Alex Platt (drums).
Michelle Manzo Quartet
(2 – 2:55pm)
The acoustic jazz band founded upon a shared passion for irresistible music. An acclaimed vocalist dedicated to jazz, Michelle Manzo Cobb puts her heart in everything she sings. She believes improvisation is not just a technique but a way of life. Originally from Miami, she moved to New York to further her music studies and began performing with Les Paul, Gene Bertoncini, Ray Santos and Victor Jones. Among the countless music endeavors she embraced there, she also dazzled audiences in the far East. She has performed in Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Now based in Bozeman, she looks forward to exploring all the music it has to offer.
The Love Darts
(3 – 3:55pm)
High-energy rock and roll guaranteed to knock your socks off!
SlomoJoe & the Noshows
(4 – 4:55pm)
A veteran of the Montana music scene, Joe Knapp writes, performs and records an eclectic mix of guitar-driven American roots music. Depending on the band or the billing, you can expect anything from Depression-era folk songs to honky tonk classics to soulful psychedelia. His ever-expanding repertoire of originals and covers offers a little something for everyone. In 2016, Joe made his theatrical debut, composing the original soundtrack to Freak Out! the Musical, a rock and roll horror comedy written by Ryan Cassavaugh.
Sam Platts & the Great Plainsmen
Country/Honky-Tonk
(5 – 5:55pm)
Playing honky-tonk music meant to be danced to, songs range from originals written by Platts to traditional country staples led by his vocals and guitar. The group calls the small mountain town of Pony home, but has played across the country, and even as far away as France. Each member spends the time they aren’t playing music working in agriculture, including Platts who can often be found working or feeding cows. The group has a passion for traditional country music that few young people have today.
Tropical Bandwidth
Samba/Rumba/Funky Jazz Latin Rhythms (6 – 7pm)
SUNDAY
Wes Urbaniak & the Mountain Folk
(11 – 11:55am)
The Mountain Folk have been emulsifying Urbaniak’s genre expressions into their more creative forms, so that the tempo fusions hit when the strings hammer down. Some conscious music got snuck in, and Urbaniak made sure the beatboxing dissolved backward into the mix, too. Over the past year, the group has begun to form a catchphrase while playing that audiences pick up on right away and love. After coming into a hard break, Urbaniak will lean over to the group and yell out, “Bluegrass it!” From here, they play crazy fast, and that beautiful stomp comes full on. Urbaniak has been touring the country for years, now with the Mountain Folk, sharing their Montana music performed on locally crafted instruments from Urbaniak’s shop.
Singer/Songwriter Power Block
(noon – 2pm)
Chelsea Hunt & Jim Averitt
This musically diverse and dynamic vocal, acoustic guitar and violin duo draws from jazz, Americana, singer-songwriter, and blues influences. Both are fixtures in the local music scene, and have performed in the Gallatin Valley and beyond for decades. The duo’s new album, Music in My Coffee, features vibrant and creative original instrumental tunes. The guitar and violin music is both carefully crafted and freely improvisational, at times playful, poignant, melancholy and joyful.
Amber Ikeman
Amber’s spirited, earthy folk songs carry audiences across the open spaces of the American West and into the depths of their souls. With soaring vocals ranging from a husky chest voice to a bell-clear soprano, her powerful and intimate songs tell stories of self-discovery, resilience and wildness.
Inspired by her solo journey from her Florida hometown to live and work in Yellowstone National Park, her debut album, Free, recorded by Chris Cunningham at Bozeman’s Basecamp Studio, was named one of Southwest Montana’s top local albums of 2015. Amber’s engaging performances earned the 2017 Vic Heyman Songwriting Award and the 2018 John O’Hara Outstanding Folk Song Award. She recently completed a cross-country tour with her second album, Rise.
Jessica Eve
A singer/songwriter from Billings, Jessica has all the gears behind her vocal engine. She can pull the smooth, slow, long notes with ease right into amazing highs that is beautifully controlled power. Audiences immediately pick up on her the spirit, drive, and talent. Her songs a mix of Folk, Country and Blues, Jessica’s self-titled EP is a recording of her voice and guitar just as you would hear it live. Her follow-up release, Next Train Home, is a full-length album with lyrics that reflect her life experiences and the highs and lows of the road. Jessica has been named Best Female Vocalist at the Magic City music awards three years in a row. She has opened for acts such as Blackhawk, Restless Heart, Colt Ford, Dan + Shay, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin brothers, Davina and the Vagabonds, and many others.
Steve Squared
The duo of Bozeman locals Steve Reida and Steve Schwab have enjoyed a musical collaboration together for over 30 years. Their focus is on writing, arranging and recording original songs that vary from acoustic to electric, folk to blues to rock, with mandolin and a variety of percussion rounding out their sound. Steve Squared have recorded two full-length albums, The Soul Tree Sessions and Out West, as well as their Decade EP. Guest musicians will join the duo for their SLAM performance.
Tom Catmull’s Last Resort
(3 – 3:55pm)
The sound you’ll hear during a Last Resort live show is that of a veteran singer/songwriter amplified, elevated and occasionally made more sinister, by the creative musical syndicate of Jaime Rogers, Travis Yost and Aaron Jennings. Over the past year, this band has continued to round a stylistic corner, regularly trading in its roots-inspired inclinations for the seductive impulse of a sleeker American rock sound.
Tom has been featured on Montana PBS’s 11th & Grant in a stripped-down acoustic showcasing of his most recent release, Words and Malady. With an extremely loyal following, he has been voted “Best Musician” in the Missoula Independent’s annual “Best Of” issue for over a dozen years in a row. This summer already has the band slated to cover Oregon, Washingtion, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana for festivals, private events and the occasional gas tank-filling honky-tonk show. Two slightly questionable foreign cars will be loaded with acoustic and electric guitars, upright and/or electric bass, drums, keyboards, iPads, harmonicas, melodicas and any other noisemakers that happen to fit between the seats. The Last Resort has found itself in the arc of transition, and that’s by design. New songs, new sounds. Don’t miss it!
Cole & the Thornes
(4 – 5pm)
The Mountain-reggae, gypsy-infused soul band began with an infectious restlessness, a ukulele, and a heart engraved with longing adventure. This funky eclectic group is known for their playful horn melodies, islandy ukulele, and sultry, empowering vocals. In 2013, Cole Thorne sung her songs on the uke alongside Jordan Rodenbiker on bass. After Cole’s first tour to Maui and a freight train music tour across the country, the band grew into a fully bloomed six-piece group in the summer of 2016. They added members Andy Gavin (drums), Aaron Banfield (jazz guitar), Daniel Wood (pocket trumpet), and Matt Sloan (sax).
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Cole & The Thornes released their debut album Map Maker to a sold out crowd at the Rialto in the spring of 2018. Since then, the Thornes have performed throughout the state, playing with popular reggae bands HIRIE, Solseed, and Treehouse. They have shut down the streets for Music on Main, jammed out the Brew Fest in Big Sky, and have performed at various music festivals such as The Original Festival, Silver Cloud Campout, Harvest Fusion, Groovin’ On, and SLAM. The group plans to tour around the country in the spring and summer of 2019, while working on writing their second album.
So head on down to Bogert Park on August 3rd and 4th! Check out some local art, listen to some live tunes and devour some absolutely divine culinary creations. SLAM has something for everyone! Visit www.slamfestivals.org for additional information about the 2019 summer festival. •
