This Week in Concerts: August 29th thru September 4th

As cofounder of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, David Crosby has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once — but twice.

Now, he’s gearing up for his next tour featuring five of his musical friends, collectively and affectionately known as the ‘Sky Trails Band’. The band is comprised of James Raymond on keys, Mai Leisz on bass, Steve DiStanislao on drums, Jeff Pevar on guitar and Michelle Willis on keyboards and vocals.

Milltown Damn has been holding it down for 2 years in Missoula, MT. Playing trad-grass to new-grass and country, this five-piece brings high energy classics and tightly arranged original tunes to private parties, bars, theatres, campers, porches, and pretty much anywhere there’s a few pairs of ears willing to listen.

Reminiscent of James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone, Diggin Dirt, is a band that is very well known around Humboldt County and the Pacific Northwest for uniquely blending together their influences that range from funk to blues to reggae to psychedelic-rock, to make something that is all together new and old sounding, in the best way possible.

The band, based mostly in North Carolina, is made up of John Darnielle, Peter Hughes, Jon Wurster, and Matt Douglas. Darnielle started under the Mountain Goats moniker in 1991 and released the debut album Zopilote Machine in 1994. They’re known for their prolific output of music, often releasing low-fidelity cassette only recordings during the mid 90s before switching to a more polished style with the release of Tallahassee in 2002. Since then, they’ve released 9 more albums with their most recent recording Goths coming out in 2017.

Last year, Bon Iver opened up the 2018 KettleHouse Amphitheater season with a rainy and foggy sold out show in late May — a show that frontman, Justin Vernon, claims as one of his all-time favorites. Indigo Girls last played in Missoula to a packed house at the Wilma in October 2016.

In 2012, the band won two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album for their album Bon Iver, Bon Iver. In 2016, they released 22, A Million, which went on to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Their 1986 debut album, Mechanical Resonance, would eventually go platinum and produced the iconic hard rock hits, “Modern Day Cowboy” and “Little Suzi.” The album is seen as one of the most successful and acclaimed debuts of the era.

Tesla’s legacy is alive and well as they continue to record and sellout venues all over the world. As worn in and comfortable as your favorite pair of jeans, as tough and dependable as your coolest leather jacket, TESLA endures because they are a celebration of the greatest spirits of rock and roll.

Brown’s Guit-Steel guitar allows him to switch instruments quickly in mid song while singing. According to Brown, his guitar and steel guitar playing became more his own around this time, with less imitation of others and more his own original ideas and licks.

His unique and entertaining combination of singing, songwriting, instrumental and production skills led to a seven record deal with Curb Records that began with “Twelve Shades of Brown” in 1993. He later released two albums on the TelArc label. There were several Grammy nods, a CMA (Country Music Association) award for “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead”, move and repeated TV appearances like Letterman, Conan, Saturday Night Live, Austin City Limits, SpongeBob, X Files, Dukes of Hazzard, Me Myself and Irene, Tresspass, Still Breathing, Blue Colla Comedy Tour 1 and 2, and more recently, Better Call Saul.

As part of the Logjam Foundations Community Action Series, Logjam Presents will host a fundraising event for the Opportunity Resources at the Top Hat on September 3rd where 25% of all food and beverage sales between 6pm – 9pm will be donated to the Opportunity Resources. This event will be part of the Logjam Foundation’s Community Action Series – an ongoing series of events dedicated to raising funds and awareness for local non-profit organizations.

It kicks off at 3pm at The Wilma with “Montana Jobs & the Outdoors: Highlighting the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act”, a panel discussion led by Senator Jon Tester.