Fans in Philipsburg on Aug. 22 for the sold-out first Annual Aber Day Reunion were treated to a day of perfect weather and wonderful memories and music courtesy of the Mission Mountain Wood Band and more.

For several years in the 1970s, the original Aber Day kegger and concert took place in Missoula, with an aim of raising dollars to support the University of Montana’s library. The event gained immense popularity and a kind of Montana cult status before it ended in 1979, and it’s now a well-loved and fondly-remembered part of Montana history.

The old Aber Day show took place at Missoula’s Miller Creek rodeo grounds back in the day, and hosted musicians like Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffett, and, of course, the Mission Mountain Wood Band, who always seemed to take the show, no matter who else was appearing on the bill. For the Reunion show (which was organized by the Philipsburg Rotary Club), instead of fans sitting on the hillside above the Miller Creek venue, the bands performed in the natural hillside amphitheater in Philipsburg’s Winninghoff Park. The venue fit the 2,500 fans there for the sold-out show with plenty of room to spare.

Heavy rain in the Philipsburg area on Friday night cleared out the dense smoke that has been part of Western Montana’s skyscapes in August, making Saturday a bluebird day for the show. Shane Clouse and Stomping Ground got the gig going just after noon with a great performance, warming the crowd up for Wylie and the Wild West, who had the dance area packed by the end of their show. But it was the Mission Mountain Wood Band that the Aber Day Reunion crowd was really there to see.

As Mission Mountain took the stage amid hoots, howls, and high fives in the mostly over-fifty audience (lots of gray hair among those folks), it was obvious the band was going to have as much fun as the fans. Original band members Rob Quist, Steve Riddle, and Greg Reichenberg, as well as newer band members Tim Ryan, David Griffith, and Trevor Krieger, were definitely all pickin’ and grinnin’ up a storm onstage as the show progressed. One fan in the crowd, noting the band’s enthusiasm and genuine joy, commented that it was obvious they loved what they were doing as the Mission Mountain Wood Band. And the musicians seem to be looking forward to next year’s Aber Day Reunion as much as the fans do.

“We got 2,500 of you into this year’s show,” Rob Quist told the crowd as the show neared its end. “Next year we’ll shoot for 3,500--looks like there’s a lot more room up on that hillside for more of you.” Reminiscent of the Aber Days of old, part of the proceeds from the Aber Day Reunion will benefit the Philipsburg library.