Under the Big Sky Festival 2026 Preview | Chris Stapleton, Zach Top, Cody Jinks & Insider Tips

Heading to Under the Big Sky Festival 2026 in Whitefish, Montana? Whether it's your first trip to the festival or you're a returning fan, this episode of Side Tracks has everything you need to know before the gates open.

Daily Inter Lake reporter Taylor Inman is joined by Daily Inter Lake News Editor Derrick Perkins and Whitefish Pilot Editor Kelsey Evans to break down this year's lineup, including headliners Chris Stapleton, Zach Top and Cody Jinks, plus the can't-miss undercard featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Marcus King Band, Of Monsters and Men, Stephen Wilson Jr., Leftover Salmon, Jamestown Revival and standout Montana artists.

The trio also shares their favorite festival traditions, insider tips on parking, shuttles, food vendors, VIP perks, aftershows, what to pack, where to sit, how to beat the crowds, and why Under the Big Sky has become one of Montana's premier summer music festivals.

Learn more about Under the Big Sky at underthebigskyfest.com

Watch interviews Taylor had with festivalgoers in 2025: https://youtu.be/luklTL34bnw
Read Derrick's article from last year's festival: https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2025/jul/20/music-western-wear-take-center-stage-at-under-the-big-sky/
Read Kelsey's story about the light production for Under the Big Sky: https://whitefishpilot.com/news/2026/jul/15/the-glow-behind-the-big-mountain-stage/

Northwest Montana deserves strong news reporting. Your donation helps continue work like this possible. Learn more at dailyinterlake.com/support

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Were you guys around for the Tyler Childers show? Yeah, I skipped it. I was probably sleeping. There was a hot air balloon that was like up above the stage. He was about to go on, and I was like, he's gonna come down in this hot air balloon. I like filmed it, I like zoomed in on it because I was like, I was so sure that he was gonna like make a grand entrance. Everything I know about Tyler Childers uh doesn't lead to that at all. He's not the kind of guy to hot air balloon. All right, we're talking about under the big sky today. Um, I'm Taylor with the inner lake. We've got Derek with the inner lake as well, and then we've got Kelsey with the whitefish pilot. Um, I don't want to brag, but we're basically veterans of going to Under the Big Sky. For headliners, we've got Cody Jinks, uh, Zach Top, and Chris Stapleton. Uh, are either of you guys big fans of any of those?

SPEAKER_02 0:46

I definitely want to see Chris Stapleton. I think um, you know, one of the fun things about having a festival in town is that you get to check off some of the bands you might not otherwise see. And I don't know if I would ever go to a standalone Chris Stapleton show, but he's in town. I'm gonna go check him out. Uh, and I'm excited to see it.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I would let you have seen.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

I can't wait for Zach Top. And I gotta be honest, I had never listened to him until I started dating someone, and they're like, oh, you gotta listen to Zach Top. And I already know he has one song. I think it's South of Sanity. Okay. And in the first line, he's like somewhere south of Missoula or something like that. But I just know the crowd's gonna be like, oh, Montana. Do we get a Montana shout-out?

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Same. I didn't know much about Zach Top uh up until recently. Um, but I think he looks like a young Alan Jackson. He kind of gives like young Alan Jackson vibes. He's very like 90s country. I Chris Stapleton is like one of those acts, like, yeah, you're gonna want to catch him if he's in town. Exactly. But otherwise, yeah. Um, so that's cool. Um, yeah, some other ones we're looking at here. I am really, really excited to see Old Crow Medicine show um of Monsters and Men is great. Uh my boyfriend really likes Steven Wilson Jr. Um, so we've been listening to him a lot. And uh the fact that he's just like coming right to our door is like pretty pretty great.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Yeah. And then uh didn't they put on the schedule there's a revival for old chrmedicine show.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

I think this is the first year they've done that. I know, I think so too. I was looking at that, I thought that was interesting. Yeah, it's a Sunday revival, uh, which is kind of funny because I do think of them as like they have a lot of like gospel-esque kind of songs to me. Like if they played in a church, I wouldn't be, you know, it wouldn't be out of place. Uh so yeah, the Sunday revival that caught my my eye.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

And I also appreciate like the vibes on a Sunday early in the day. It's peaceful, you can have the whole lawn to yourself, as opposed to when it's in the evening and it's a little bit more lively. So kind of a different experience catering to to different folks there.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

I have probably been listening to Old Curl Medicine show. I think I relayed this earlier in the day before we started taping. But I mean, I remember when they were on Prairie Home Companion on NPR back in the early 2000s, and I was probably just becoming musically engaged, and uh it was really funny because I grew up on like alt rock. Um and now all of a sudden this this band comes on and plays during a car trip, and I'm like, oh, I guess I know what type of music I mean. Um I'm excited to see them. I wanted to check them off. And in fact, they've played in the valley a couple times now. They were at the Wacles, I think, last year. Oh, cool. I didn't know I recall correctly. Um so they've been through, I'm pretty sure, uh Monsters and Men. Um I've uh you know, I remember when folk took off in 2010. I was uh in my twenties, and that whole sound was huge. Uh, and so definitely have wanted to see them for a long time. And we'd be, I think, remiss not to talk a little bit about Leftover Salmon to mention them. They're a great band. I'm excited to check them out as well. Green Sky Bluegrass. If you want to see them, happy they'll be able to catch them. And then Jamestown Revival, I think is a fantastic band. Um I've they've got a couple of really good albums, and I'm super excited to see them live. And I believe they're playing one of the um after parties too in Whitefish.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Oh, yeah, yeah. I was gonna mention the after parties. That's something I usually don't take advantage of, but I really like looked at the lineup this year and just kind of wanted to give that a shout-out too, because I mean, obviously a lot of us locals are probably not gonna go to the festival. Maybe you are, if you are, that's great. But those after shows are really, really um are a really great opportunity to catch some of these acts. Um, just at like the Remington and the Northern and uh the Majestic Valley Arena. So uh I haven't listened to Leftover Salmon.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

They're fun, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Is it like a rock band?

SPEAKER_02 4:58

More of a jam band vibe. Okay. Yeah, more of a bluegrass jam band.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Yeah. Um, I'm also excited to see Caitlin Butts. Um, I hear her on TikTok a lot. Um, and she's got some really like fun, witty lines. Um, also kind of reminds me again of that kind of like early 2000s country, just something that feels a little old school.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

I am excited for the Broody Brothers.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Um specifically, I was listening to a song a few days ago. And it's called Me More Cowboy Than You. Oh, they sing that song? I think. And let me tell you, I just imagined like everybody in the crowds. You've got people in their cowboy boots that haven't worked a day in their life. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

It's just I wish you would stop calling me out.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

I mean me too, but yeah. Um it just really captures that epitome of you know the state of Montana, if I'm gonna be honest, and what's happening right now. And they also have a song called Moon Over Montana, oh, which is just pretty folksy and very sets the scene. So nice.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

I noticed their after show was sold out already.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Yeah, yeah. So well, I think all the after shows sell out fast, it seems like.

unknown 6:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Like you said, people just want that opportunity to be able to experience these artists in our natural whitefish setting, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Yeah, at our favorite venues. I would definitely like check the under the big skyfest.com to just like double check and see because a lot of them are selling out pretty quickly. Well, the Marcus King band is really great as well. Um, that's gonna be a good one to catch on Friday night. And a lot of these other acts um are either from like Seattle or Washington. There is an act from uh Queerlaine, there's some people from Canada, so and they're all very interesting, and also some great like Nashville acts coming through.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

I was gonna say, I feel like I appreciate the consistency with how they're even like scheduling the acts. You know, you've got you can expect where to see your headliners, and they have a really good balance of some folk and some bluegrass and some indie with those heavy hitter country all-stars.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Yeah, it's kind of hard sometimes to write like the preview for this because like they they have so many genres. So when you're trying to like name all the genres, like we're talking like a little bit of rock, a little bit of indie, folk, uh, Americana, if you want to get technical. And then, of course, just like country and bluegrass. Um, I love that they include uh some great bluegrass bands too.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

I would say um last year was really interesting. Um, you know, playing an outdoor festival. Uh, I've never done it myself, but I've talked to a lot of artists who have, and that it can be tough. It's challenging to play an outdoor festival, and it's interesting to look for that when bands are playing. Uh, and so last year, one of the things that really stuck with me was that Montfort and Sons, especially also Tyler Childers, both knew what they were playing. Like they came out ready to put on a festival performance. Uh, and I thought that was excellent. It really stood out to me.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

Is there anybody in particular you guys are looking forward to seeing like local band-wise? Or we've got Miller Campbell, the Tobacco River Ramblers, Michelle Rivers, Radio Ranch, Archer Town, and Hannah King, other Montana artists like Tanner Law's from Missoula, Madeline Hawthorne from Bozeman, and then we got the Kyle Hunter band and Blue Point also from Missoula.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Well, for me, um, I would say uh Radio Ranch. I've seen them probably, I don't know, five or six times around the the valley now. Most recently they opened for uh Paul Coffin at The Majestic. Uh they're just a really good um rock band, local rock band. Uh and I I appreciate their sound. Uh they put on a good show as well. Um Miller Campbell has a I listened to her new album. It's I think it's pretty good. It's a it's a real fun listen. So if you haven't checked out Miller Campbell's uh new album, so it's a fun listen. Um and then Archer Town, I've seen, I like them. Um Hannah King, I've seen a bunch. She's always great. Michelle Rivers is also always excellent. I think she's Eureka based. Um, so it's one that she comes down.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Yeah. Yeah. Um Radio Ranch, they're pretty great. I did a feature on them for the pilot a couple years ago. And boy, do they have a lot of character because there's two younger band members and then the drummer, yeah. And then the drummer. I think his name is Johnny.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Johnny, whenever I interviewed them, they just said that Johnny brings all the rock and roll. So I'm looking forward to seeing that on stage. And then Hannah King for sure. She, I whenever she plays, I'm like, that is art. She's just amazing on the fiddle.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Yeah, she's awesome. I got to interview her and um her bandmate in Denim Gold a couple years ago, uh, when they had the duo. Um, they're both great. Um, but yeah, Hannah King, I think she was there last year too, right? Yeah. So you got some photos of her that were just like, oh gosh, she looks gorgeous. The wind's blowing, she's playing the fiddle.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Yeah, it's hard to take a bad photo under the big sky.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

That's really true. There's a lot going on. Everybody's dressed to the nines. It's cool to see all the outfits and stuff for sure. It's great people watching. It's actually in general. I'd say, in terms of dress, you know, I mean everybody wants to dress to the nines. Everybody wants to wear their boots, everybody wants to wear their hat. Um, I start my day out in my this is real fake cowboy stuff. I start the day out in my boots and I put on sandals by the end.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Oh girl, I don't even have boots. I show up in my running shoes. That's probably smart. I'm ready to walk, I'm ready to sweat, I'm ready for comfort.

unknown 11:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

I don't care what anybody thinks of my outfit, and I'm okay with that. But that being said, you know, I appreciate some of the outfits. Yeah, some of some of the outfits. Some of the outfits. I'm like, you got it, you do it.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Flaunt it. Yeah. I mean, I love to play my outfit for this. I think it's so fun. Um, we don't have a lot of opportunities to like dress up up here. I'm from the south. We're always looking for an opportunity to dress up. So that's why I like it. But I can't take the uncomfortable shoes. Walk. I mean, it's you're always walking around, you're walking around all day. It's hot. Um, it's another thing I don't understand. Um, like boots are so sweaty.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

Yeah, that's true. The struggle is real.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Yeah. Cowboys chime in, like, tell me how you deal with that. But um, yeah, it's definitely like I bring like a sizable tote bag. Of course, we're bringing like other stuff like cameras and equipment and things like that. But I also just mostly have like a tote bag that has a pair of uh Tevas and water bottle and chair and stuff in it.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

So no, my system is to go uh the first day in there, usually the Friday, is to go uh in the proper attire, which means I'm wearing my beat up cowboy boots, uh, I've got jeans on, uh I've usually got a genum denim top. Yeah, I do not have a cowboy hat or a western hat. Um maybe someday. Right now the price tag always scares me in those things. Yeah. But I'll wear that the the first the Friday. Uh and you're right, the boots get hot and sweaty. Um, you know, it's important to hydrate that day, especially. Uh the rest of the weekend, though, I usually switch into my native uh New England gear, which is boat shoes and the Ntucket shorts and uh, you know, a t-shirt or something. And that's a lot more uh weather appropriate, I think. But one day is fun. One day's a blast. I like to get into it for one day.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

Yeah, it's fun to dress up in like the the country western, you know. Like again, I feel like we just don't if you're really like, you know, um living the life, you know, you probably dress up like that all the time. I think that's great. But I mean this is like a special occasion to kind of play into the the country music of it all. So, you know, I was gonna say if you're a hater, that's fine, but it's should we address the haters?

SPEAKER_01 13:18

I think there should be no haters. I think you should show off it's fun.

SPEAKER_02 13:23

The whole thing is what I'm it's lighthearted, yeah. It's it's hard to I don't I don't have the energy to get offended.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

Yeah, it's like whoever you are, wherever you're far, wherever you're from, like it's a good time.

SPEAKER_02 13:38

Yeah, the funny thing about the haters is I remember when I first moved out here, and I was living in Libya at the time, and I was talking to a friend after a few months, and I was like, Yeah, I'm surprised. I don't see that many western hats. I don't see that many bolo ties. Uh, you know, people wear sneakers or uh, you know, construction boots, the the same I would see back all in Massachusetts. I don't see a lot of cowboy boots. And uh the guy I was talking to looked at me and he's like, Well, that's more of the eastern part of the state. We're all waggers and miners out here. We we're not ranchers, it's a different part of Montana. Um, so that's not true.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Yeah, that's true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

So maybe it's okay to to cosplay a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

I think it's neat to see. Um they they hire a lot of local people, um, a lot of local companies to help with the festival. Um, for our business journal insights, I interviewed a couple. Um, I talked to Flare Pops, uh, popsicles out of Pulson. Uh they have a popsicle stand there every year.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

I definitely would recommend the Sweet Peaks Food truck for sure.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Actually, Sausage Queen. Sausage Queen for sure. Yeah. She's always there. She's always there. I talked to Glacier Rim Hats because they have the hat making over there and they've been there almost every year. There is a um a few people who bring clothing.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

I think there's a local guy who curates vintage stuff who usually has a booth. There's a couple of artists. You know, it's different every year, but usually the there are locals and have some local products like the uh like the handkerchiefs.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

Those I'm always tempted to buy one. And also just in general, like the merch, I think, is like really good. You know, it's not always we have a couple of examples here in the front. Um, I mean, that's just their general like lineup t-shirt, but they also do some really fun designs. Like last year they had like a NASCAR-esque. Did you see that one? I got that one. I did, yeah. Okay. Um, and then um I know that they also partner with some local designers to design some of that stuff, too. I believe so. Um, which is which is neat. So yeah, there's a lot of different vendors. Um, little vintage shop, you know, guy is always really cool. Um, and they rotate. So yeah, it's kind of hard to like, I guess, predict what's gonna be. But there is some like cool clothes and and stuff to look at.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

You know what else is cool is um in the tattoo studio, yeah, there's a couple of Calispell artists who do the show every year. So like they bring in tattoo artists from like California and all over the place just to work this. But there's a few who are able to represent locally. That's so cool. And hopefully they make good money.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Yeah, I hope so. They're that's also a place that's busy all day.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Yes, get there early if you want to tap.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

Yes, line out the door.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Yeah, the lines can be long. I think the lines aren't bad for beer.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Um but some years it's been so hot that I haven't been hungry. That's true. You know, that'll happen. In other years, it's just yeah, I don't know if I want to spend 20 bucks on uh on a hot dog. Yeah. We can we can cut this hour.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

No, I mean I think it's fair enough, right? You know, or believe it in. Hey, we're being honest, okay? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

I mean, there are ways to get around it if you don't want to be there from the moment it starts to the moment it ends. So you can definitely load up, do a carb load before you go into the shelf.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

But this goes along with my running shoes.

SPEAKER_02 17:05

I think this year I'll probably spring. Um yeah, I think this year I might try some concert food. The thing is, you get there and I want to get a t-shirt, and then I spend like an hour looking at the hats at Glacier Rim usually on us trying on a bunch of hats, and there's all these other things I want to spend money on. Uh, and then usually get a couple of like di cokes, uh, which are also not cheap. Uh, and so that feels like my uh my my f my festival budget goes by real quick.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Yeah, no, definitely. Um I've been there a few times. I feel like I well, I've eaten they have like good chicken strips. These are just like the general vendors that are really close to the stage because they're there's a lot of food trucks, um, some local food trucks too, you know.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

It does seem like there always is a little bit of a shortage, especially in terms of drinks and servers.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

No, it definitely, I think sometimes the drink, like if you want like a cocktail, like the drink lines can be kind of long for those. Yeah. Um, but I've never really been there's like a Tito's truck. Tito's is a huge sponsor um of Under the Big Sky, at least in like recent years. Um, so there's like a Tito's truck. Um, there's like a few other like big names that you'd recognize, like alcohol-wise, that are just kind of around. And they have their own thing um that is like just like a mobile bar situation. There's also like just kind of um people with coolers, kind of like like small bars, making drinks.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Yeah, that's what I was talking about with the vendors hanging out, yeah, hanging out beers.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Um that's not usually like too long of a way because I'm usually handing out beers.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Um no, I've actually never really seen a line. You just want a simple beer.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Yeah, yeah. Not too bad. Um, there's been a couple years where I've sprung for the uh commemorative cup. Oh because the drink I mean, the the drink is twenty dollars, and so I'm gonna maybe spend like eight dollars more to get the cup that I could just get refilled. Because in my mind, I'm like the cup looks pretty big. Yeah, so maybe they'll give me a bigger drink if I buy the cup, um, because it's more money anyway. But I will say for what it is, you know, we all know it's expensive, but the drinks are very good. Like they always have like a mixed cocktail of some kind that I think is is good. So in all those places you can still get like your standard like sodas and whatever else you would need.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

You know what else I really appreciate is the number of first responders that are always at the festival. I think that's been a really important part of things going well.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Yeah, I think so. At least the years I've been there. Um yeah, because there's like multiple EMT tents. Yeah. Um you're never really looking like if if somebody was in a situation, you could look and find one very easily. Yeah. They do a good job of that.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

Yeah, crowd management. Um, the years I've gone has been, I gotta say, excellent. Um, it seems like they have figured out uh the right amount of attendees to keep things moving without getting too jammed up. Uh, I've never struggled to find a seat for any show that I've wanted to catch. Um I'd say the the one time it feels like there's a press of people is probably after the last act of any given night. Everyone's getting out at the same time. But yeah. I, you know, honestly, and if you go there earlier in the day, I mean it's so wide open for the first four or five hours where you just got a lot of room to move around to relax in. Um I re I just really appreciate it having been shoved into a lot of you know, been at the lawn on some amphitheater type uh venues where you're shoved in with a bunch of other people. It's a nice step in the elbow room.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

Yeah. I agree, and I feel like that fits the whole vibe of the concert because even if you stay later into the night, you can just kind of you know back away from the main crowd and just have your space, hang out in the woods. There is a little wooded section that everybody likes. Um, so I do think this is a good festival, both for crowd management and for maybe people who don't like crowds.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

No, I think so too. I haven't been to many music festivals, but I like this one and that, yeah, like you don't really feel uh packed with people when you're in there. Um, of course, if you're up at the front, like there's always gonna be people, you know, headliner when it's like really busy or whatever. But um I I'm glad you mentioned in the wooded area because that's my favorite place to post up is the woods.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Have you ever bought a hammock?

SPEAKER_00 21:32

No, but I would love to. That would be a great idea.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Yeah, I think you'd probably have to get there a little early. Um, but yeah, that's a great hangout. Shaded. It's a little farther back from the sh from the stage, but I think it's a good example of like you know, it's the beauty of a of having a festival on a ranch. You're able to dip your toes in the creek and just enjoy being outside, which is important.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Yeah, let's talk about that for. second because the whole ranch is just so beautiful. Um and they do a good job. There's two stages. Um I'm not even going to try to say the the the stages have names, you know, of course, but Big Mountain and Great Northern. Oh okay there you go. Yeah. Because there's one over by like the creek and that's where they do the rodeo and stuff. And that's cool. Yeah that's got more of a view of Big Mountain.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:22

In the the railroad. I mean the train comes through three or four or five times that day.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

Oh it's more than four or five yeah it's constantly rolling back there. It's very picturesque.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yeah I think both locals and tourists can appreciate the train roll and thorough.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

Again it's a Montana experience yeah it's like yeah um it does crack me up though whenever people are like yeah for those of us who live in the white fish in whitefish we're just like okay it's like I know you have trains where you're where you live like wherever you're from I know there's trains there has to be they're not as pretty as whitefish. Yeah no definitely um and then the view from the other stage is also beautiful. So you kind of get like again like one of them faces big mountain the other one faces I guess just the other direction.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

Well actually it technically faces Great Northern. Oh yeah yeah wow so put in some things I don't remember if you can actually get a good view of the Great Northern um from there. But you can at least see into the direction of glacier yeah in the Swan Range.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

So yeah and at night on that uh the second stage of the Great Northern stage uh once the sun goes down a little bit and you can really see all the people in the tree it look it feels much more intimate than it does during the daylight where it's you know it's a wide open field but it just with the darkness it really feels like you're in a backyard.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Yeah I think bring a lawn chair bring a blanket I mean I'm supposed to be young but no I'm old I want to sit down.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

So I done with the towel the beach towel for two years and she this is the first year I bought an a low fat chair to sit in. I'm jealous yes I decided I'm finally old enough that I need to make the move to sitting down lean back a little bit not propped up on my elbows the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Yeah no it makes a big difference to bring a chair I usually bring like a camp chair like when you bring backpacking or the really small to like throw in a bag um yeah it's a game changer just to be able to like you know take a seat somewhere.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Yes I have snuck snacks in before whoa I don't need to cut that I know let this get to the wrong people kill some such a rebel but I mean they do check your backpacks you don't you know leave some things at home.

SPEAKER_02 24:44

Yep if you go to their website there's uh they have a pretty good frequently asked question section which will tell you what you can and cannot bring uh it's pretty um pretty much what you'd expect you know no guns no liquor uh that sort of thing can't come in um but you can bring chairs and yeah um I think limp lip balm and sunscreen and that sort of stuff yeah like a water bottle 32 ounces or they do have water fill stations which is just those are clutch um so definitely bring a water bottle yeah you can refill so it's gonna be hot it's it's it's gonna be toasty and then I think their bathroom setup is personally like I don't know it's pretty great like I feel like there's never an issue yeah if you spring for the VIP uh the bathrooms are air conditioned.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Oh my gosh yes the VIP bathrooms are a whole other world yes they are I mean the other ones are nice too but these are like they may be worth the difference in the price tag. Yeah um and the like I I've thought about that a lot with the VIP because every time I'm in there I'm like wow the bars are like not as busy um it's shaded um and it's a little I will say it's like you can get a decent view of the stage but um I mean if you want to be right up on the stage the general admission like kind of where people flood in front of the stage is you know I don't know you're not gonna be beat that in terms of yeah it's like here's the difference for me is that I don't have to fight to get in front of the band or to get a good view.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

That's true of the band. The VIP section it's more of a well I can kind of hang out back here a little bit no one's pushing on me no one's hip checking me and there's the uh there's the guy there's Tyler Child is right up there in front of me.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Yeah I love taking the shuttle I actually even say it's part of the experience. I remember my first under the big sky I got on the shuttle and there was you know a few people who had already had quite a few drinks before leaving home.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

It was like 12 it was noon I was leaving from Depot Park there was hardly anybody on the shuttle but let me tell you the people who were there were excited yeah because I usually take the shuttle as well and there's like a vibe on the shuttle especially heading in the vibe is different leaving that's for sure. Everybody's like so tired but um going in like everybody's amped up and like all these people are just excited to be here I mean you know most of the people that go to the festival are doing other things around the area so they're just like excited to be here. It's it's a it's a vibe for sure.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

Yeah it's fun um and so you said you take the shuttle from the Blue Moon. I do yeah yeah and then there's the depot park in downtown Whitefish and then up at the resort on Big Mountain. Yeah right and then the new shuttle from Majestic Valley Arena. Yeah. So if you're coming from the south it's a good option.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

Yeah I thought that was a nice option to add for like if you're coming from Kalispell you can um take it from the Majestic Valley Arena which is yeah I mean it's usually quite a a drive.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Anything that reduces congestion going into the whitefish intersections is a big plus.

SPEAKER_00 28:00

But you always like park.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

You always drive I usually drive I drive up from Kalispell I usually go uh towards Columbia Falls I sneak around um I take that route to the to the ranch um usually I've never had a traffic issue getting there um yes there'll be more cars on those back roads than normal uh but I've never had any issue getting in I do usually go like early afternoon um so that might make a difference I know people seem to be streaming in all throughout the day and then you know somewhere around seven o'clock the whole place seems kind of jammed but I've never had an issue parking um and the the one thing you need to be prepared for if you're driving yourself there is it's gonna be a wait to get out of the parking lot. Uh and for some of us old heads uh we're used to that that's so it's gonna happen it's happened at every concert I've ever been to uh what I usually do is I'll get uh a cooler and stock it with seltzer water and just leave it in my car. Um I'll get out I'll throw the hatch back up I'll have a couple seltzers and I will just wait because you are not getting out any earlier than anybody else. So might as well put on some tunes, relax, watch the uh kind of party as it flows out of the venue at the end of the night.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

And yeah it's just like you just gotta hang out. Just be prepared to wait a minute.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

It's a concert it's a music festival there's going to be a wait.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

Yeah. Um but I mean for what it is I mean they're pretty efficient at getting people out of there at the at the end of the night so I I like what you said a few times Kelsey about like you know just being courteous. I think if there's maybe like I mean this sounds slightly but like a general tip to leave people with is just like be kind, be courteous like if you're visiting here, you know like be um you know cognizant of you know all of our services and stuff and just um yeah be nice to each other.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

Yeah I mean it it has uh faded over the last couple years but there was you know quite a bit of um you know consternation in the community when the festival first started happening uh and I think the organizers have done a great job at addressing some of the concerns that came up from the community. Uh but this is just such a cool thing to have in the backyard. It is just really nice to be able to know that uh over three days in July I'm gonna get to see a bunch of bands I want to see. Uh have a great time and uh I you know something I always keep in mind is act like I want to have this again next year. Yeah. That's um you know just the just the way I approach something like this.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

Yeah definitely I mean and also I go into it thinking I mean we get our summertown summertime crowds here but um like being in the mind space of I'm gonna be in a crowd. And like you said like it's gonna take a minute to get out and it might take a minute to get a drink and like the bars and whitefish are going to be a little busier just kind of like tempering your expectations is like what the town is going to be like. But for those who aren't a fan it's a good weekend to go camping oh it's a perfect weekend to get out is a good weekend to go camping. For sure um well guys thanks so much for joining me here today we're just you know just kind of going over some of the stuff we like about the festival um I mentioned this earlier but if you want to just double check anything going on this weekend you can go to under the big skyfest.com