BUTTE – Although Butte is down two festivals this summer, one local promoter refuses to have a quiet summer.
“Evel Knievel Days was canceled. I postponed Original Festival at least for a year or so, and with those two losses, people were asking questions, ‘well, what will happen? Will anything happen’?’” said Matt Boyle, who runs the Montana Booking Agency.
The Wild West Music Fest is what’s happening. The two-day event will happen the last weekend in July and will feature live music at the Copper King Hotel ballroom from Montana musicians, as well as national recording artists Liz Cooper and the Stampede and Rum Rebellion.
“Some country music, bluegrass, funk, some Irish punk rock even, so it kind of goes all over the place,” Boyle said.
Organizers hope this will in a small way fill the void left by the canceled festivals.
“The demand’s there, we’re already getting a great response. The bands themselves already have a great following, it’s just getting them together in one place,” said Zach Leipheimer, who co-organized the event with Boyle.
The local businesses in Butte rely on those summer tourism dollars, so that’s why economic leaders say any new festival is welcome in the Mining City.
“This will be great; there will be activity, and hopefully people from out of town will be coming to enjoy the festival, and the more that’s going on the better for Uptown, for all of Butte and for all of southwest Montana,” said George Everett of Mainstreet Uptown Butte.
With only four weeks to go, organizers are still confident they can pull off this new event. The event will be held on July 27th and July 28 th and is $20 each day or $30 for both days.
