FRENCHTOWN — Last year, a college student tried to plan an electronic music festival in Victor. The event was postponed after community uproar and rescheduled for this July near Frenchtown.
Deep in the woods, the Falcons Roost Music and Arts Mountain venue has been holding arts and music events for more than 30 years.
Emily Brown reports - watch the video here:
“This place is magical. I mean, there's love just soaked into the ground," Lovers and Lunatics Festival's Ivan Gallego said.
Jimi Falcon owns the piece of property up in the mountains, miles up Fern Creek.
“It's something to experience. It's hardly something I could even put into words," Falcon told MTN. "We had a few bands for many years and then we started getting into electronic music and that really took off."
Soon, the Falcon’s Roost will be home to the first Lovers and Lunatics Festival.
“We're setting a good vibe and we're going to keep it that way," Falcon said.
After last summer in Victor didn’t work out, Gallego switched gears.
“Myself and a bunch of other collaborators on this event, we've just been working our tails off," Gallego said.
Lovers and Lunatics is set for July 10-12 with 40 artists, camping, and vendors.
“There's a bit of a chasm between the house and techno lovers and the bass head lunatics in the electronic music scene. So, our intention is to bring those two groups together and just, you know, we can celebrate this music," Gallego detailed.
The road up to the Roost coming from Missoula is rocky. Gallego says the way from Arlee is a smoother.
"Frenchtown to this location, calling that the lunatics route. Then, Arlee up here is called the lovers route. So, people can kind of take their pick on which direction they want to go. The Arlee route is much smoother," Gallego explained.
Gallego says he's making sure the hundreds of people coming will be safe and courteous of local traffic.
“We so we have a shuttle system. Ideally no one has to leave and if they do, hopefully it's only for like emergencies," Gallego said.
Since the event is in the middle of summer, open flame cooking is not allowed during the festival. Porta-potty facilities will be available and attendees are highly encouraged to bring water.
“There's a lot of people that are going to be monitoring things," Gallego stated. "We'll keep an eye out for people and make sure they're being smart."
Falcon notes, the area is home to all sorts of wildlife and says animals no strangers to events.
“When the music's done, they come back. They all come back, like within 24 hours. They're back," Falcon explained.
Gallego says he’s informed Missoula County about the event and he says he’s connected with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as well as the Forest Service.
Both Falcon and Gallego want all attendees to be respectful of the environment.
"It's the setting, the energy that the folks that are behind this have been coming up for years. They've set that precedent," Falcon said.
To learn more about the festival or volunteer, click here.
