The music
Big Ski City Lights in The Mirna
Big Ski City Lights (Susan O’Dea and Nick Spear) will perform at The Mirna Loi on Thursday, July 7, in the summer indie-folk show.
Photo provided
The pandemic brought them together and now the duo Big Ski City Lights is receiving national recognition.
They have appeared on “Good Morning America” and will play at top music festivals featuring Jason Isbel and Emily Harris.
Big Ski City Lights performs all original music at 7:30 pm on Thursday, July 7, at The Mirna Loi, including songs from their 2021 album, “Wake Me When We Get There” and “some brand new songs we just wrote , ”Says Nick Spear.
He and his partner in the duo Susan O’Dea sang together for years when they could and wanted to joke so that one day, if they were in the same place, they would be in a band.
Then COVID hit and Spear was in Flathead, and O’Dea was in New York, but they still decided to collaborate online and form a band.
Spear sang from her recording studio, and O’Dea recorded from her bathroom.
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Spear jokes that “when the pandemic ended, she came out of the bathroom, and I came out of the closet.”
He describes their music as “independent folk acoustic music. There is usually harmony. ”
Their concerts tend to be “frivolous, passionate and intimate,” says Spear.
“They are also a lot of fun. We have a good sense of fun. ”
What they create is dizzying.
O’Dea is a classically trained vocalist who studied at the Boston Conservatory and performs many concerts across the country. He also sings with Broadway Inspirational Voices, a multi-racial gospel choir in New York City. Spear is mostly self-taught on guitar and voice.
“We’re really excited to play The Mirna Loi,” says Spear. “I wanted to play Mirna Loj for probably a decade because it’s a real gem.”
This performance will be recorded for later broadcast on The Mirna Soundstage. The 70-minute concert is followed by a short interview on stage by musician John Dandy.
Tickets cost $ 12 and are available at 15 N. Eving St. and https://themirnaloi.com/. For more information call 406-443-0287.
Fun in Levis & Clark Tap Room
The Fireside Collective plays bluegrass in the Levis & Clark Tap Room on Saturday, July 2 from 7 to 10 p.m., for a fee of $ 5.
Photo provided
Levis & Clark Tap Room has scheduled the following upcoming events:
- Country music from Bo DePenje on Thursday, June 30 from 7 to 10 p.m.
- More country music by Colby Acuff on Friday, July 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $ 10 in advance or $ 15 on the day of the show.
- The Fireside Collective plays bluegrass on Saturday, July 2 from 7 to 10 p.m., for a fee of $ 5.
- Igor & The Red Elvises will present Siberian Surf Rock music on Sunday, July 3 from 5 to 8 pm with a cover of $ 5.
- Jazz music from July 4 from Marbin from 5 to 8 pm with coverage of 5 dollars.
For information on all shows: Lewis & Clark Tap Room, 1535 Dodge Ave., https://lctaproom.com/ or call 406-442-5960.
Alive at five
East Helena’s Big Ska Country will play ska, rock and reggae on the July 6th part of the free live series Alive at Five in Helena.
“They do a lot of processing,” said Mike Rooney, former chief operating officer of Downtown Helena, Inc., who selected the bands for this summer. “They’re just a really fun band to listen to.”
Alive at Five is shown Wednesdays from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm from June 1 to August. 3. The event on July 6 is in the center of Great Northern Town.
State Capital Band Concerts
Jerry Secher plays the timpani during the last concert of the State Capital Band at the Memorial Park.
Thom Bridge, Independent Record
The State Capital Band will begin its 120th season of concerts in the park on June 30 at 8pm at the Memorial Park.
The concerts will be conducted by Robert Loveridge and will be performed by a group of some of the best local musicians. The music for this concert will include marches and other patriotic favorites to celebrate the independence of our country. Special recognition will be given to those who have served and are currently serving in every branch of the army.
Bring your chairs, blankets, picnics or snacks and enjoy a musical dinner with your family and friends. Be sure to vote for your favorite piece. The two best favorites from each concert will be performed during the last concert.
Art
Two open calls for trans artists from Montana
The Holter Museum of Art and TransVisible Montana would like to invite any transgender, non-binary or bi-spiritual artist who has lived or is currently living in Montana to submit works to be exhibited from January 20 to March 30, 2023 at the Holter Museum of Art in Helena .
Be part of an exhibition across museums with trans artists in or from Montana. Join painter and digital artist Rae Senarigi from the Love Montana campaign, who will be exhibiting her work at the Baucus Gallery at the same time.
The theme, medium and content are entirely up to the artist. Artists can apply for one or both projects.
The application deadline is August 15. Submit online at http://holtermuseum.org/artist-opportunities
1. Transilience Montana: Art and Fine Craft
Exhibit paintings, photographs, jewelry, woodwork or other art media that will be on display at the Millikan Gallery at the Holter Museum of Art. The theme and medium are completely open to the artist.
Sign up and find out more here: https: //holtermuseum.org/uncategorized/call-to-artists-transilience-montana
2. Transilience Montana: Photography / video project
Are you interested in photography or video recording? Holter would like to offer this opportunity to explore a new medium or to further dive into this art form in order to develop and exhibit new works.
The two recipients will receive a camera (they can record video or photos) and a $ 250 stipend to reimburse the cost of creating the new work, which will be on display at the Bair Gallery at the Holter Museum of Art from January to March 2023. Some tips are available in the app, but artists are not required to use them if they have their own concept.
Sign up and find out more here: https://holtermuseum.org/uncategorized/transilience-montana-photographi-project
Community
MHS offers programs in June
The Montana Historical Society is offering the next free program at 4:30 p.m., June 30.
Explore the mystery of the death of Meriveter Louis after the famous expedition of Louis and Clark 1804-1806. Lecture and signing of the book by Dave and Marty Peck, co-authors of “So Hard to Die”, which examines how Lewis returned from a dangerous journey with hope for a bright future, only to die three years later from two gunshots. 35 in a lonely inn in rural Tennessee. His death was originally a suicide, but historians and others have proposed various medical and psychological theories. This will be streamed live and archived on the MTHS YouTube channel.
Helena movie lists
Cinemark
760 Great Northern, 406-442-4225, cinemark.com
- Minions: The Rise of Gru, PG
- Top Gun: Maverick, PG-13
- Elvis, PG-13
- Jurassic World Dominion, PG-13
- Black phone, R
- Lightiear, PG
- Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, PG-13
- Scoob !, PG
The Mirna Loi
15 Н. Eving, 406-443-0287, mirnaloicenter.com
- Official competition, R
- Phantom of the Open, PG-13