by Victoria Howell
After a pandemic-induced two-year hiatus, the Montana Rockies Bluegrass Association (MRBA) has scheduled its annual Spring Festival and Fundraiser for Saturday, April 9 at the Neely Center in Victor. The festival will feature 19 bands from Montana and Idaho and “hither and yon.”
Interestingly, this festival is a return to the place it started – in Victor 25 years ago, according to Mike Conroy, one of the organizers. That first spring festival was held at the Victor School. Then it moved to Stevensville, then to Lone Rock, and now back to Victor, only this time at the Neely Center, which is run by the Church of the Nazarene.
“This is a fundraiser for the organization,” said Susan McCauley, a musician and former board member of the association. “We use the money we raise to support and promote bluegrass music in the area.”
Raynae Redman founded the organization 25 years ago.They started out playing at Pizza Hut. Over the years the group has grown to a membership of 200.
“But our numbers are down right now,” said Tari Conroy, Mike’s wife and a member of the Darby Sireens, a perennial favorite at the festival. “The pandemic was hard on a lot of things.”
MRBA is also tthe exclusive sponsor of the Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival, a for-profit festival put on by the Conroys annually.
The Spring Festival will have a variety of musical offerings, including The Kemps, a father and son duo on banjos; the Frog Pond String Band, a family group from Kalispell; Kentucky Sky, a professional band from Idaho Falls, and Pinegrass from Missoula, a group that’s been together for over 20 years.
“We’ve got musicians from teenagers to some in their 90s,” said Conroy. The nonagenarian group is the “Over the Hill Gang” from Victor.
There will be food available – chili, soup and lots of desserts – as well as speciaity merchandise from MRBA. Some of the bands will have CDs for sale.
The Neely Center is located at 150 S. A Street in Victor. The festival will start at 11 a.m. and run until 8 p.m. Admission is $10 for non-members, $5 for MRBA members and children under 12 will get in free.
For more information contact Mike Conroy at 406-821-3777.