After a rainy day at Zootown Festival, the skies cleared and the weather warmed up for the festival’s second and final day. Day two, just like day one, had a rich lineup of fantastic musicians, and the crowd’s excitement for the weather and the acts was evident in the increased crowd presence for the sold-out festival. The day began with the impressive local bands Lost Canyons and Why We Went West, followed by some incredible acts througout the day. The legend Lee Fields took the Lookout Stage in an unfortunate time slot where many may have missed the delight that is a Lee Fields set as there was some overlap between Evan Honer and Modest Mouse.
Evan Honer
Evan Honer was one of the biggest takeaways of the festival. The band quickly won over the festival crowd and had one of the most energetic sets on stage and in the crowd of the entire festival. Their set was impressive. Honer can sing. The band can shred. A truly great performance, as they prove to be one of music’s fastest-rising stars. We saw them at High Water Festival, where they were just as impressive, but didn’t capture the crowd quite like they did at Zootown. Not many acts captured them as well as Evan Honer did. The band expressed their gratitude and also named Montana their favorite state while promising that they weren’t pandering to the crowd. They are a must-see if they are playing a venue near you.
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse are legends and it was so fun to see them in an outdoor festival setting. I’ve seen both memorable Modest Mouse shows and shows that were quite forgettable. The show at Zootown was somewhere in the middle. They sounded great. It was more of the energy of the crowd that the set suffered from. While it was a sold-out crowd, it was evident that it wasn’t full of MM fans, and that made a difference. Energy-wise, there was a lull until around the time they played their biggest hit, ‘Float On’, and the crowd picked up for the remainder of the set.
Mt. Joy
At this point, Mt. Joy is a fixture in my summers. Seeing them outdoors and live is always a highlight when things get warm. I’ve been consistent in saying that I often leave their shows feeling the energy of a jam band, both from the community of the crowd and the improvational show that they consistently put on with incredible performances from each member of the band whether it’s Matt Quinn’s vocals, Jackie Miclau’s performance on keys, Sam Cooper on guitar, and more. They always deliver. Seeing them at the foot of the Montana mountains was an exceptional experience. The band had a memorable performance of Lucy, and shared the moving story behind the intimate song on heartache and grief and the beautiful friend that inspired it. Never miss a chance to see Mt. Joy.
Kacey Musgraves
After an oddly overcast Fourth of July weekend in the Montana mountains, things cleared up beautifully for the festival headliner Kacey Musgraves, who almost had to withdraw from the festival when she broke a rib on an international vacation. As she told the story you could feel the gratitude from the crowd that she made the appearance. You wouldn’t be able to tell she was performing under those circumstances, as she had the special vocals fans are accustomed to with Musgraves.
Her set was beautifully decorated with an almost whimsical mossy set design to match some of the themes of her recent album. It was a nice touch that doesn’t always make it to the festival stage but added to her performance.
She provided a wonderful headline set to close a fantastic weekend. The irony of how great it was to be in a sold-out crowd singing ‘Golden Hour’ during golden hour wasn’t lost on anyone. She brought out Grammy-nominated Maddy Diaz to sing with her for a cover of ‘Don’t Do Me Good,’ before closing the night as fireworks flashed as the cherry on top of a wonderful weekend. At the close of the festival, the Zootown website read “See you next year,” an exciting sign for all that attended and one I’ll look forward to travelling back to.