Whitefish Montana has always been one of our favorite destinations so when we saw there was going to be a huge music festival held there for the first time in July, we bought tickets as soon as they went on sale. The timing was perfect for the 600-mile road trip as it landed on the weekend of our 4th wedding anniversary.

The "Under the Big Sky Music Festival" was a first for us. Not a big stretch though considering our love of live music, but we had never gone to an actual festival with multiple bands playing on multiple days. This festival featured two stages highlighting performances from alt-country, Americana, folk, indie, and bluegrass. We were most excited to see Dwight Yoakam, Cody Jinks, Shooter Jennings, and Ryan Bingham but the entire line up was fantastic:

We left for the festival on Thursday, July 11th, taking a longer route to go through Bonners Ferry Idaho and spending the night at the Kootenai River Inn Casino. We enjoyed a nice anniversary dinner, gambled a little without any luck and then sat together on the deck overlooking the river. It's quiet moments like this when we remember to appreciate how beautiful life can be. We were on the cusp of a new exciting adventure but happy in just that moment. Remember to always enjoy the journey!

The next morning we left towards Libby and crossed the state line into Montana. We had all day to get to Whitefish, so we stopped along Hwy 2 at milepost 21 where we hiked down to the Kootenai Falls Swinging Bridge. We crossed over and back on the old bridge, probably for the last time as construction seemed nearly finished on a newer swinging bridge right next to it. Here’s a video of our little excursion:

We made it to Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort later that day to check-in at the Hibernation House. The festival organizers worked out deals with various lodgings, and we chose this one knowing there was a shuttle to and from the venue. We loved everything about Big Mountain from our room and daily breakfast to the deer casually walking by and snacking on the hanging petunias. Breathing in the fresh mountain air on the deck of the Bierstube Bar at the base, we watched the lift carry summer visitors to the top. We tried the local brews, talked, laughed, and dreamed up new adventures together. Neither of us has gone snow skiing for over nine years, but staying here triggered our desire to "GO DO IT!"

With eager anticipation Saturday morning, we were the first ones on the shuttle, which was a good thing because just as we sat down, it started pouring down rain outside. The storm passed over during our 15-minute ride to the festival, and the sun came out to reveal the remarkable 350 acre Big Mountain Ranch. The gates opened at noon and we rushed with a small crowd to set up our lawn chairs in the first row at the Great Northern Stage. Two giant screens framed a backdrop of glorious mountain beauty for the performing artists. Once we set up our "home base," we then set out to explore the 10 acres the festival encompassed.

The two stages were on opposite sides of a rolling hilltop with veins of newly blacktopped pathways connecting them. Each one settled into a unique amphitheater setting, but the Big Mountain Stage was probably my favorite. Trains rolled on behind it on an elevated track, adding to the atmosphere with their long soulful whistles. Rodeo grounds with bulls and broncs lay to the right, and best of all, a lazy creek flowed directly in front!

Oh - did you catch that little tidbit about rodeo grounds??? This was not just a music festival… this event fully embraced the heart of Montana by including Brash Rodeo bull riding and bronco busting several times each day in between the Big Mtn Stage performances. LOVED IT!!! We ate our meals from the grassy hilltop and watch all the rodeo action below us but also got up close and personal right on the gates where the riders would come flying by. Check out some of the action in our 3-minute highlight video:

Encouraging future cowboys and girls, horses were tacked up with western gear and stationed for trail rides through the pines. Children were also invited into a petting zoo where they enjoyed the hands on fur experience with some friendly critters. For the tourist, there were only about half a dozen vendors set up, but I bet next year there will be more once the word gets out how successful the festival was.

Of course, this event was focused on music. The acoustics were exhilarating as the sounds of guitars, fiddles, banjoes, and perfect harmonies sang out across the wide-open spaces of Montana. Saturday's headliner "Band of Horses" and Sunday's finale favorite "Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats" brought the house down to over 15,000 fans.

Our fellow fans' taste in music prooved deeper than two headliners. As we talked to new friends, we discovered people were excited to see every one of the 28 acts lined up for the weekend. Some we had never heard of but jumped on the band wagon right away! This includes our favorite discovery of the weekend, "The Lil Smokies" who tore up the stage with their passionate rockin' energy, hot fiddle licks, haunting dobro melodies, and grass-root lyrics. If you love bluegrass, you'll love this band that started right here in the Northwest out of Missoula Montana.

Our favorites did not disappoint either. Saturday I danced with my "Honky Tonk Man" "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" as we sang along with Dwight Yoakam's "Guitars Cadillacs,"" Little Sister," and "Fast as You." We both raised our drinks to scream our heart-felt support of his tribute to Merle Haggard. I also admit I swooned with the rest of the women when he shimmied across the stage with his signature tight jeans and cowboy hat! ;-)

Sunday, we pulled down the front of our cowboy hats, tipped our beers, and raised some hell with the “Hippies and Cowboys” and Cody Jinks. His deep resonant voice, backed up by steel guitar and Texas attitude has made him one of our favorite new country music stars with phenomenal story-telling hits like "I'm not the Devil," "Must be the Whiskey," and my personal favorite "Cast No Stones." If you're tired of candy-crap country music on today's radio, I highly suggest you add the Cody Jinks station to your Pandora list.

The festival began to wind down and the sun set behind the stage where Waylon's son Shooter Jennings performed. We devoured a pulled pork sandwich from Blake’s Blazin BBQ and sat on the grass enjoying the warm summer night. The silhouettes of two young lovers danced by themselves down by the creek as Shooter sang "4th of July". It was perfect! As far as we could tell the first-ever Under the Big Sky fest went off without a hitch. Who made this happen, and how? By chance, we were lucky enough to meet one of the organizers.

We were introduced to Josh Shockey by a mutual friend Gary Watterud whom I've worked with for 20 years but met face to face for the first time at the festival. He filled us in on how the whole thing came together. Josh's brother Johnny Shockey bought the ranch off of Voerman Road about three years ago with his wife. Together they designed the venue and brainstormed ideas to create an event for all ages. As I listened to the story, I totally envisioned a "build it, and they will come" situation!

People DID come, and from all over! We chatted with a cool couple from Ritzville, WA and made new friends with a couple from Cranbrook BC. Of course, I think the entire Flathead Valley was there too, and I couldn't help but be jealous of the hometown feel from the crowd. We witnessed multiple reunions of family and friends, from apparent old high school buddies to aunts and uncles meeting newborn babies for the first time. I applaud the Shockey's for achieving their goal. They have created a unique family event for a community nestled in Northern Montana that lives and breathes the stories we embraced all weekend long. Watch our video highlighting some of our favorite artists and memories here:

Thanks for coming along on this adventure with us. This was a completely new experience and we had a blast. Future festivals are definitely on our list to attend every time we can, maybe we’ll see you there! Click the link below for their official recap of this year’s festival and dates for next year! Remember to make time to have fun, create your own adventures and GO DO IT! #JACTventures