Annual summer concert series scheduled

Sapphire Lutheran Homes will celebrate the summer of 2024 with their free 12th Annual Summer Concert Series and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks.

The Summer Concert Series is free and open to the public and will be held on the large lawn on the Sapphire campus at 501 N.10th Street in Hamilton. There is plenty of room to spread out, so bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the music. Food Trucks will be on site waiting to serve up some great food. There is a bounce house, face painting, miniature horses, popcorn, lemonade, snow cones, Aqua Fresca, a balloon tier and more. There will be $1 raffles held at the concerts with great prizes and at intermission. Free ice cream will be served. The music will be great and will feature a few bands that you will most likely not see anywhere else in the Bitterroot Valley this summer. It’s also a great opportunity to gather as a community. 

The line-up includes:

Friday, June 14, at 6:00 p.m. “The Western Front Band” (WFB)will kick off the series with a high-energy show. The WFB is a country band with Americana/bluegrass/rock influences. They are six members based in Western Montana. The band are seasoned players who have performed throughout the United States and on three continents. The performance has energy and keys on danceable music fitting for any venue/event. Whether performing live or recording in the studio, WFB is unstoppable, and audiences describe their shows as an experience not to be missed. WFB consists of four vocalists, two electric guitars, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and drums. WFB concentrates on traditional and contemporary country music. WFB is professional and family-friendly. They are steadfastly dedicated to providing Entertainment for all ages.

On Friday, June 21, at 7:00 p.m. “Paper Flowers: Remembering Fleetwood Mac” will perform. Paper Flowers: Remembering Fleetwood Mac invites you along on a journey back through time. Their multi-media show is a musical feast for the senses; it is an experience like no other. See, hear and feel the legendary music of Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie as they pay homage to the iconic and influential music of Fleetwood Mac. This live show invokes the feeling of the band in their heyday around the time of their seminal release, Rumours, and includes a range of songs from their earlier recordings and into the early 80s, as well as a selection of tracks with other celebrated artists. Join for an unforgettable live concert and feel the healing power of nostalgia; sing, dance, laugh and cry… and have one of the most memorable nights of your life.

On Friday, June 28, at 7:00 p.m. “The Police Academy” will perform. The Police Academy tribute band (TPA) stands out as one of the few younger acts in the tribute scene, and it is their youthful enthusiasm that enables them to recreate the essence of witnessing “The Police” at the height of their career. They effortlessly transition between the raw, stripped-down punk sound found on The Police’s early records and the intricate, synth-driven pop masterpieces of their later years. This makes TPA America’s greatest tribute to The Police. From the well-known radio hits like “Message in a Bottle” and “Every Breath You Take” to deeper tracks like “Murder by Numbers” and “Synchronicity II,” TPA delivers a powerful, authentic and dynamic performance to help take you back to the Police’s touring days in the 1980’s.

On Friday, July 5, at 7:00 p.m. “Heaven Right Now,” A Tribute to Tom Petty, will perform. Jon Fickes was born and raised in the small town of Moses Lake, WA. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in music, he spent many years playing in the vibrant scenes of New York City and Seattle. As a songwriter, his music has been featured in The Huffington Post, Paste Magazine, No Depression, and Big Takeover. The debut album for his band A View of Earth from the Moon reached #25 in the Top 200 National College Radio Chart and was included in KEXP’s Top 90.3. Fickes has shared stages with legends such as Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Jefferson Starship, Smashmouth, All American Rejects and has even played live on stage with former Beatle, Pete Best. “Tom Petty is easily one of the best songwriters of the past fifty years and it’s an absolute blast playing these songs every night,” he said. With a band name taken from the opening lines of “The Waiting”, Heaven Right Now keeps the spirit of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers alive and delivers us to a place where even the losers get lucky sometimes.

On Friday, July 12, at 7:00 p.m. “British Export” (The Beatles) will perform. What is there to say about the greatest band of all time? Featuring all the hits many know and love plus many authentic costume changes, British Export has provided the ultimate Beatles tribute show for over a decade. The band has performed for tens of thousands of fans at some of the most prestigious events in the world. They have appeared on NBC, FOX, and ESPN. British Export were voted the top Beatles tribute, three times, at Beatlefest in both New York and Chicago.

Sapphire Lutheran Homes will also host Montana Shakespeare in the Parks again this summer. Hamilton is a double feature city, meaning Hamilton will get to see both MSIP performances in a two-night event. MSIP will perform “Hamlet” and “The Winter’s Tale” this year.

On Saturday, August 24, at 5:00 pm “Hamlet”: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, regularly shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespearean_tragedy> written by William Shakespeare<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare> sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare’s longest play. Set in Denmark<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark>, the play<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_(theatre)> depicts Prince Hamlet<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hamlet> and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Claudius>, who has murdered Hamlet’s father<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_(Hamlet)> in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet’s mother<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_(Hamlet)>. Hamlet is considered among the “most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language”, with a story capable of “seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others”. It is widely considered one of the greatest plays of all time.

On Sunday, August 25 at 5:00 pm “The Winter’s Tale”: The Winter’s Tale is a play by William Shakespeare<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare> originally published in the First Folio<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Folio> of 1623. The jealous King Leontes falsely accuses his wife Hermione of infidelity with his best friend, and she dies. Leontes exiles his newborn daughter Perdita, who is raised by shepherds for sixteen years and falls in love with the son of Leontes’ friend. When Perdita returns home, a statue of Hermione “comes to life”, and everyone is reconciled.

For more information, visit: shakespeareintheparks.org, call Sapphire Lutheran Homes at (406)363-2800, or visit them at sapphirelutheran.org.