On the road to Under the Big Sky Festival, several local artists are gearing up for the big journey to Whitefish, MT, on July 12th,13th, and 14th. Playing to a potential crowd of roughly 20,000 festival goers [2023 attendance], two of these acts joined forces Friday night and hit the newly opened venue, The Westerner, in Gallatin Gateway. 

The Dead & Down [Bozeman] is not your typical rock band. They describe their music as ‘space cowboy rock and roll,’ a unique blend that is sure to captivate concert go-ers. They effortlessly sew the needle between country and rock, offering a diverse musical experience. The band, consisting of 5 talented members, is led by Taylor Burlage (vocals, guitar) and Jed Nussbaum (vocals, guitar), with Ben McCandless (bass guitar), Matt Angelo (keys), and Josh Higgenbottom (drums) completing the lineup. For this performance, Andrew Olivo subbed for Ben on bass guitar. 

The Dead & Down’s band page description reads as follows:

‘The Dead & Down are an exploratory roots-rock band inspired as much by the vast landscapes and dramatic mountain ranges of their Montana home as they are by the myriad musical influences that weave through their sound. Based around the introspective songwriting and dusty vocals of frontman Taylor Burlage, the band navigates sonic trails between rust-flecked alt country and swampy rock ‘n’ roll, with detours through psychedelia and genre-bending experimentation. Their recently released sophomore album, No Broken Bones, displays the sound of a band hungry to find out what lies beyond the next ridge and only just beginning their journey.’

The special evening guest, Madeline Hawthorne [of the Madeline Hawthorne Band], has been covered several times in Bozeman Magazine. As an already established up-and-coming artist out of Bozeman, she continues making new waves in the music industry, recently dropping a new single, “Night Ride,” on May 31st. The full Madeline Hawthorne Band will be in attendance for Under the Big Sky Festival, coming straight off the band’s summer tour schedule, which includes Yarmony Grass Music Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, and Waterfront Blues Festival [to name a few]. 

Both groups can be listened to on Spotify and YouTube. To hear more about Under the Big Sky Festival’s 2024 artists, search for the official Under the Big Sky Festival playlist on Spotify. 

Set times for each band at Under the Big Sky are as follows: 

The Dead & Down, Saturday the 13th, 12:30pm-1:15pm

Madeline Hawthorne Band, Sunday the 14th, 12:30pm-1pm

www.underthebigskyfest.com