Montana’s a state that tends to evoke a lot of imagery of rivers and mountains and, uh, fly fishing (thank you, A River Runs Through It). But those images aren’t always accompanied by a whole lot of music. Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament is from Havre, and Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy is a Helena native, but that’s about it. Still, Big Sky Country has its fair share of up-and-comers. Sure, the tunes to come out of the state can be folksy and down-home—when they want to be—but they can also be hard-driving and original. As part of The 50 States Project, here are our picks for 10 excellent bands from the Treasure State.
1. The Boy and Sister Alma
Hometown: Helena
Members: Lenny Eckhardt, Jennifer Murphy
Current Release: T B & S A (2013)
Lenny Eckhardt and Jennifer Murphy are not, in fact, siblings—they’re just a pair of Helena-based friends with a mad talent for combining ’80s-era psychedelia with 21st-century electro-pop sounds. They released a debut single “Lizard Eyes” just last year, but have already gone on to collaborate with an array of other artists, including British producer Sunglasses Kid. Their single Tom’s Cruise is particularly noteworthy for its teenage-dream-nostalgia.
2. The Clintons
Hometown: Bozeman
Members: John McLellan, Levi Kujala, A.J. Miller, Josh Keeh
Current Release: Sellout (2011)
Listening to The Clintons’ 2005 album Strange Day in Mexico, I honestly wasn’t sure if it was the same group that made the newer Sellout. It is—that’s just how much they’ve evolved over the past few years. Over the 15 years since the Bozeman-based band formed in 1999, they’ve worn many hats, and become one of Montana’s best-known acts, opening for the likes of the Barenaked Ladies and The Kentucky Headhunters. The Clintons have their moments of John Mayer-esque soft-pop. They have their moments of quirky indie rock. They have their moments of a self-proclaimed countrified “in-your-face, loud-and-proud attitude.” But somehow, they wear all these different toppers just fine.
3. Cure for the Common
Hometown: Bozeman
Members: Weston Lewis, Matt Rogers, Joe Sheehan, Jordan Rodenbiker, Garrett Rhinard, Steve Brown
Current Release: Laser Beretta (2013)
In 2008, Cure for the Common formed at Montana State University in Bozeman. After graduation, the guys stuck around Bozeman, where they’ve since become staples of the town’s music scene. Their album and song titles sum up their message best: Laser Beretta. Funky Man. Making Flippy Floppy. It’s all about the space-age funk for the guys of Cure for the Common, who have two full-length albums to their name and have spent the past few years touring all throughout the western U.S.
4. The Dirty Shame
Hometown: Bozeman
Members: Brandon Hale, Mike Hoffman, Kevin Toll, Tom Day, Adam Greenberg
Current Release: The Dirty Shame (2010)
The Dirty Shame is an outlaw country quintet whose rough, smoke-filled-bar, highwayman numbers have all the ruggedness and questionable morality of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. The members of The Dirty Shame hail from California, Michigan, Colorado and Washington, giving the band a distinctly Western and yet musically diverse sound. They recorded their first album in 2010, and have spent the years since touring and making a name for themselves on the small but surprisingly rich Bozeman music scene. The album boasts truly Wild West tracks like “Don’t Let the Deal Go Down” and “Last Rodeo.”
Hometown: Bozeman
Hometown: Livingston
Hometown: Kalispell
Hometown: Kalispell
Hometown: Billings
Hometown: Missoula-
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