There’s Music in the Mountains
Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals
Red Lodge, Cody & Livingston
Photography contributed by Mike Booth
Every great song starts with the songwriter, often while pouring out their heart with a guitar in hand. This process is personal, emotional and – at its most honest – cuts to the core of the human experience.
Mike Booth has made it his mission to promote the art of songwriting by sharing the music and stories of songwriters in Red Lodge and beyond. He believes the experience transports audiences into the world of song and creation.
“When you see these songwriters talk about the songs, their meaning and what they were thinking about when they wrote it…this puts the song in a whole different light,” Booth said.
At these songwriter festivals, it’s likely you’ll recognize the song and the name of the artists who have performed them, even if you don’t recognize the name of the writer. Hit songwriters who have played at Booth’s festivals include Leslie Satcher (“Troubadour,” recorded by George Strait), Tony Lane (“I Need You,” recorded by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill), Gretchen Peters (“Independence Day,” recorded by Martina McBride) and Matraca Berg (“You and Tequila,” recorded by Kenny Chesney).
The idea for the songwriter festival was born when Booth – a Montana native with an extensive background in large event management – was tasked with creating a multi-day festival in Red Lodge to attract out-of-state tourism. Thanks to a songwriter friend that introduced the concept to Booth, showcasing songwriters came to his mind.
The first Red Lodge Songwriter Festival was held in the summer of 2018. Booth wasn’t sure what to expect, but his desire was to put together a festival that the Red Lodge community would support every year. He also hoped it would attract songwriters from not only Montana, but even as far away as Nashville, Tennessee and Austin, Texas.
Kostas Lazarides, the legendary Greek Montanan who has written hits for such stars as George Strait, Patty Loveless, Dwight Yoakam and the Dixie Chicks, was supportive of Booth’s vision from the get-go.
“I suspected it was a good idea,” Kostas said. “Mike wrapped himself into this [songwriting] world and found the right people to build the concert. He got both locals and folks from Nashville. Mike continues to bring new talent and old talent to entertain the backroads of this country (meaning Montana). He’s doing good.”
Eight years later, Booth said he couldn’t be happier the festivals. In late June, the Red Lodge Songwriter Festival had its biggest celebration of song yet, with 23 songwriters (six hit songwriters and 17 “rising stars”) doing 40 performances in seven downtown venues.
It’s been quite a leap from the first Red Lodge songwriter festival, which had a total of 10 songwriters (four hit songwriters and six rising stars). Songwriters included festival staples Kalyn Beasley of Cody, Wyoming, Tom Catmull of Missoula, Chad Okrusch of Butte and Sean Devine of Livingston.
Booth doubts more than 100 tickets were sold the first year, but from the beginning, the people involved with the festival – the songwriters, volunteers, spectators and venue managers have been all in.
“When the artists harmonize together and back each other up – that’s when the magic gets made. You think they rehearsed it, but they didn’t. It’s all organic, all spontaneous.”
“Everybody that was there loved it and wanted us to come back and do it again,” Booth said.
The momentum continued giving Booth reason to think bigger and beyond Red Lodge, realizing that songwriter festivals might also fit other tourist-type communities.
And he was right. The songwriter festival expanded – first to Cody, Wyoming, and then to Whitefish. In October, a debut festival will be held in Livingston. All these festivals operate under the umbrella of the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals, a 501 c-3 organization.
The inaugural Livingston Songwriter Festival will feature several artists from the first Red Lodge showcase, including Beasley, Catmull and Okrusch. Similar in size to the first Red Lodge festival, there will be six venues hosting intimate shows. Hit songwriters coming to Livingston include Stephanie Quayle (“Selfish, “Drinking with Dolly”), Stephanie Davis (“The Thunder Rolls,” recorded by Garth Brooks) and Even Stevens (“What Will I Write,” recorded by Eddie Rabbit).
“The Livingston festival is going to give the community a taste of what the songwriter festival is all about, starting with Friday night [Oct. 4] at the Elks Club, which is free to the public,” Booth said. “It will be a fun night with a mixture of hit songwriters and rising stars sharing the stage.”
Seeing this collaboration is one of the highlights for audience members and the songwriters alike.
“That’s when it gets good,” Booth said. “When the artists harmonize together and back each other up – that’s when the magic gets made. You think they rehearsed it, but they didn’t. It’s all organic, all spontaneous.”
Chemistry can happen on stage and sometimes leads artists to writing together. James Dean Hicks and Abigail Compost have co-written several songs since sharing the stage at one of Booth’s festivals.
Booth said he looks forward to seeing this same kind of camaraderie and connection on display in Livingston.
“I’m excited to bring this kind of entertainment to downtown, where people can walk from venue to venue,” Booth said. “Using multiple venues in the downtown areas is what sets us apart from other festivals. And each venue showcases intimate shows by incredible songwriters. It’s way different than going to a major venue.”
Keeping the entertainment downtown is a key asset of the songwriter’s festival. Promoting unique local establishments and what the town has to offer gives tourists another reason to visit and support the local economy.
“The songwriter festivals not only promote songwriters,” Booth added, “It is the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festival’s mission to promote our host communities as a tourist destination for music, bringing incremental revenue to local businesses. It’s a positive thing for the community.”
But ultimately the success of a songwriter festival boils down to the quality of songwriters year in and year out. Without that, Booth said, it wouldn’t be worth it, and he’s grateful to host so many phenomenal writers.
“We are very blessed that we can continue to find songwriters who have written hits and made a lot of money and want to come out here to Montana or Wyoming,” Booth said. “We are also impressed by the quality of rising star artists. They are basically all professional touring artists. While you may not have heard their songs on the radio, their talent in many cases is equal to the hit songwriters, at least from a talent standpoint. That evolution of rising stars has been amazing.”
“When you see these songwriters talk about the songs, their meaning and what they were thinking about when they wrote it…this puts the song in a whole different light.”
Mike Booth
There are more rising stars that want to play at the songwriter festival than Booth has spots, which is exactly the kind of problem Booth hoped he’d have when he started creating these festivals.
Each year the number of songwriters applying increases, and Booth said the level of talent – be it from the hit songwriters, the rising stars or those who send in entries to the festival’s songwriting contest – keeps getting better.
This makes getting into the songwriting festival more competitive. But for those whose songs don’t get a spot as a rising star and don’t make it into the top 10 of the songwriter contest, there is still opportunity. Booth said he doesn’t want to see applicants get discouraged. Instead, he hopes they take advantage of the chances provided to nurture their craft. Each festival weekend includes song critiquing sessions, as well as an open mic night welcome to any and all aspiring artists.
Booth and his Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festival team do as much as possible for up-and-coming musicians by supporting music education. Since 2016, the festivals have raised more than $130,000 for music education benefiting area public schools, Montana State University-Billings and Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyoming.
Commitment to the craft and furthering opportunities for songwriters is what Kostas loves about these songwriter festivals. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019, but still he loves the opportunities to play in stripped-down settings, calling them a special celebration of the art form he cherishes, and he doesn’t that it for granted.
“Songs have stories to tell,” he said. “They are meant to reflect joy, suffering, pain, whatever. It’s good for people to see where these songs come from and how they got created. Mike is bringing the music close to the people and the people close to the source of the music, and that’s a good thing. It’s a congenial thing to do and be a part of. I enjoy seeing friends and hanging out with them. I also enjoy entertaining a bit on the side. That’s what we do when we get on the stage.”
