This Week in Concerts: August 1st thru August 7th

Kip Moore’s debut album Up All Night came out in 2012, eventually going platinum, and included his double platinum breakout hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck.”

Moore’s third album, Slowheart, released in 2017, included the hit single “More Girls Like You.” The single received praise from critics as Moore’s “most complete, cohesive declaration of his artistic sensibilities yet” (NPR,) as well landing on multiple “Best Of” lists including Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, UpRoxx, PopMatters and others.

Formed in 2000, Blitzen Trapper has since released 9 studio albums, several of which earned particularly high praise. Wild Mountain Nation came out in 2007 and received critical acclaim from Pitchfork Media and Spin Magazine. 2017s LP Wild and Reckless dropped via the band’s own label LidKerCow and 2018 saw them release the 10th Anniversary Deluxe version of Furr, which was ranked No. 13 on Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of 2008.

Missoula-based rock quintet Wrinkles is opening the show. Their songs range from dark and ominous dream pop to upbeat rock and roll — drawing influence from bands like Wolf Parade, Modest Mouse, Joy Division, and Lvl Up. Wrinkles is gearing up for the release of their sophomore album later this year.

With a fresh new lineup, a bracing blend of original songs and vibrant cover material and some unanticipated new musical tangents, Asleep At the Wheel demonstrates convincingly it’s more relevant, enjoyable and musically nimble than any time in its 49 year history!

“New Routes” the brand-new album by Asleep At the Wheel, marks both a new path forward and a nod to the freewheeling roots (get it?) of one of Texas’ most beloved bands. After a decade of collaborating on record with friends, including Willie Nelson on 2009’s Grammy Nominated “Willie and the Wheel” and in 2015 their critically acclaimed and Grammy winning tribute to the groundbreaking music of Western Swing pioneer Bob Wills, titled “Still the King”. With “New Routes” the Wheel has released their first album of new material in over a decade!

The Stacy Jones Band are continually nominated for “Best of the Blues” awards in songwriting, performance, harmonica, guitar. Winning the 2018 Best Band award plus nine other “Best of the Blues,” awards from the Washington Blues Society including Best Female Vocalist, Blues harmonica, Blues songwriter, Blues Drummer, and Bass player awards and The 2018 Northwest recording of the year award for her album Love IS Everywhere.

Umphrey’s McGee played to a packed Wilma theater two night’s in a row in March 2017 — performing two unforgettable shows — and returned in March 2018 for another night of in-your-face rage rock as they celebrated their 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, they’ve played 2,200 gigs and have sold over 5 million tracks. They became the “first group to launch its own single artist streaming service” with UMLive.net, which houses recordings of every gig since 2005. Not many artists can effortlessly flow from heavy metal headbangers to ethereal electronica, but that’s exactly the type of genre melding sonic wizardry you can expect from Umph. Aside from their music, they have one of the top light productions in the game.

High flying jam funk rockers Pigeons Playing Ping Pong will open this show up. They’ve been seen headlining the Top Hat the last few years. Speaking of the Top Hat, there’s also a FREE Official Afterparty… find out more below.

California improv rockers Brothers Gow have become a favorite in Missoula — always delivering a lively and energetic show, whether that means playing a mashed up cover or one of their imaginative originals.

They’re a hardworking, DIY type band. They tour constantly, having members of the band help with production, marketing, merch… you name it. The cherry on top — they bring a great light show, so it really is the perfect Afterparty for Umphrey’s!

Selling out the Top Hat in years past, Texas-based country rocker, Casey Donahew, has graduated to the Wilma! Casey has mentioned a range of influences including the Rolling Stones, Rob Thomas, and Garth Brooks.

His sixth album, All Night Party, was released in 2016 and debuted at No. 3 on the Top Country Albums chart. It sold 11,000 copies in its first week and is arguably Casey’s most commercially successful album to date. Currently, he’s celebrated the recent release of his latest album, One Light Town.

8:00 PM | All Ages |  Tickets & MORE INFO

Nahko and Medicine for the People blend elements of rock, hip-hop, and alt-folk creating a sound that OC Weekly called “empowering” and “powerful”, while The Huffington Post compared Nahko to Bob Marley and called him a “musical prophet”. The October 2017 album ‘My Name is Bear’ premiered at #1 on iTunes and debuted on a number of Billboard charts.

2016’s ‘HOKA’, sold over 8,000 units in its first week in the U.S. and debuted at #6 on the Billboard Alternative Albums Chart. The album went on to win Record of the Year at the Native American Music Awards later that year.

8:00 PM | All Ages |  Tickets & MORE INFO

Grammy award winning outlaw country rocker Steve Earle and The Dukes make their triumphant return to Montana. Heavily influenced by Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, Earle released his breakthrough album Guitar Town back in 1986. Since then Earle has released 15 studio albums.

His songs have been recorded by such country greats as Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Bob Seger and Emmylou Harris. Besides music, Earle has appeared in film and television, and has written a novel, a play, and a book of short stories.

8:30 PM | 21+ |  Tickets & MORE INFO

Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain has earned raves for their hard-driving sound, their in-house songwriting and the honky-tonk edge that permeates their exhilarating live performances, whether in a packed club or at a sold-out festival.

Town Mountain’s latest album New Freedom Blues (2018) is full of new material and features several guest artists including Tyler Childers who co-wrote one of the songs, Miles Miller (Sturgill Simpson, drummer), and other friends. Their prior album, Southern Crescent (2016), debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart while staying for ten weeks on the Americana Music Association’s radio chart Top 40, and widely considered one of the best bluegrass albums of that year.

8:00 PM | All Ages |  Tickets & MORE INFO

As an iconic songwriter and social activist, Ani DiFranco has been the inspiration for woman artists and entrepreneurs for over two decades. She has been featured on the covers of SPIN, Ms., Relix, High Times, and many others for her music and activism. She was one of the first women to embrace the “DIY” culture in music and started her own label Righteous Babe Records in 1990 on which her most recent album Binary was released in 2017. She’s planning to release her memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream on May 7, 2019 by Viking Books.

She’s shared the stage with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Franti, and many more. Ani has received many honors and awards. She’s been Grammy nominated nine times and won Best Recording Package for Evolve in 2003. She’s received the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women, the Gay/Lesbian American Music Award for Female Artist of the Year, and the Woody Guthrie Award.

8:00 PM | All Ages |  Tickets & MORE INFO