Shinyribs, a Texas based eight-piece band, closed out the Bob Marshall Music Festival in 2019. Event organizers estimate that nearly 800 people attended the festival that weekend.
Festival Attendees dance to Laney Lou & the Bird Dogs, a band from Bozeman, Mont. The band asked attendees to shout "Yeah!" after they sang "I want to die the cowboy way."
Flatland Cavalry bassist Jonathan Saenz looks over the Bob Marshall Music Festival attendees.
The Shiny Soul Sisters of Shinyribs, Alice Spencer (left) and Kelley Mickwee (right), stunted their choreographed dance moves while providing supporting vocals for the band.
Matt Demaris (left) and Brian Kassay (right) of Laney Lou & the Bird Dogs break things down during their song "Cowboy Way."
Kyle Zumwalt prepares his specialty cheese steaks at the Bob Marshall Music Festival with Merriweather IPA from Lewis & Clark Brewing Company.
Young festival goers use a hula hoops to paint the sky and groove to Shinyribs' performance on Saturday night.
SEELEY LAKE - The Bob Marshall Music Festival celebrated its fourth year in Seeley Lake by bringing people from all across Montana to the event in the name of music. This year, the event was organized by Lewis & Clark Brewing Company of Helena, Mont.
Event organizers with Lewis & Clark Brewing Company estimated that between 700-800 people attended the event this year.
Beth and Mark Mogensen traveled from Victor, Mont in the Bitterroot Valley to attend the festival for a second time. The couple was excited to experience the festival, and were most excited for the musical performances from Shinyribs and Laney Lou & the Bird Dogs.
"The whole atmosphere of the weekend has made it so fun," said Mard.
"Everybody's so friendly, it's been such a great time," added Beth.
Seventeen bands from across the country shared the stage over Friday and Saturday afternoons. The bands varied in style and ensured that there was a little something for everyone to enjoy.
Flatland Cavalry of Lubbock, Texas performed on Friday evening and brought the crowd to its feet with energetic singing and dancing.
"The crowd was very receptive and gracious," said Flatland Cavalry frontman Cleto Cordero.
Due to the band's touring schedule, they were disappointed to not have more time to explore Seeley Lake's natural beauty. While on stage, the band mentioned several times how grateful they were to perform in the natural beauty of the mountain town.
"I hope we don't wear out our welcome in Montana, anytime, ever, because it's so beautiful," said Cordero.
Food vendors were also present and provided attendees with many choices throughout the weekend, from hard ice cream, to tacos, and local favorite It's Ah Wrap.
Kyle Zumwalt, owner of It's Ah Wrap, said that he worked nearly 19 hour days during the festival and provided attendees with breakfast, lunch and dinner options. He even prepared specialty cheesesteaks for the event with the Merriweather IPA from Lewis & Clark Brewing Company.
Festival organizer and owner of Lewis & Clark Brewing Company Max Pigman was pleased with how the event turned out. According to Pigman, the brewing company purchased the event in February 2019. Lewis & Clark Brewing Company served the festival as a caterer last year.
"I think the festival has gone very well this year," said Pigman. "We took the festival over half way through the year in sort of a 'salvage it mode.'"
"Personally, it was just too much," said Stout on why he sold the festival to Lewis & Clark Brewing Company. 2018 was the first year Stout organized the festival on his own accord. According to Stout, he sold the festival for approximately $6,000 in order to cover the costs of getting out of the three year contract with the previous ticketing agency. Stout only utilized the three year contract for one year.
Stout felt that the Lewis & Clark Brewing Company is a better fit to continue the festival. The brewery hosts many concerts in its taproom and have a strong following that allows for more effective outreach.
"I just want to see [the festival] continue," said Stout.
According to Pigman, the festival hadn't booked any music acts by the time he took over in February. By the time Pigman took over the event this winter, roughly 100 tickets had been sold through a booking agency he didn't have access to. He decided to honor those tickets, though it would impact his bottom line as a business owner and festival organizer.
Stout said he put the 2019 festival tickets up for sale to help cover the debts from the 2018 festival. He estimated that the festival was nearly $20,000 short last year.
"The bottom line is we love the area, we love the ability to bring people into a smaller venue that creates a positive experience," said Pigman. "We understand that this year is going to be a loss. We are willing to take that loss because the reputation of the name 'The Bob Marshall Music Festival' has a lot of value."
According to Pigman, former Bob Marshall Music Festival organizer Chris Stout served as an event adviser to the festival this year, but will not be involved in the organization next year.
Pigman is hopeful for the future of The Bob Marshall Music Festival in Seeley Lake and is eager to see growth. Though he doesn't want the event to expand into a large music festival, he hopes it will one day sell-out.
In addition to those plans, Pigman hopes to integrate a booking system for campers to reserve spots to camp next to their friends, rather than give camping spots out on a first-come-first-serve basis.
"In order to effectively run it we had to get more organized and even though we were late to the game this year we're going to be much more organized next year," said Pigman. "Hopefully concert goers will see an improved amount of organization not only this year, but dramatically next year."
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