by John Dowd
On June 6, the Yellowstone Darby Xtreme Bareback Rodeo will be rolling out a new partner event to kick off the weekend. The Darby Music Fest will be the biggest of its kind in the area, and will pull headliner names as well as up-and-coming Montana talent.
Names like Ned Ledoux, Chancey Williams, Paulette Carlson and Sammy Sadler will grace the stage, and will be joined by Montana-grown Tanner Laws Band from Thompson Falls, Missoula’s Jaden Decker, the Missoula-based Western Front Band as well as Libatious Gents and Craig Moritz.
According to organizers, the weekend is set, rain or shine, to be a big deal. Cal Ruark, president of the Darby Rodeo Association, and Ericka Brewster, the event creator and organizer for the festival, spoke on the weekend and the two events coming together. Starting with the music festival, Brewster said it will take place on a Severson Productions covered stage, set several feet off the ground and alongside two huge monitors. The Festival will have numerous food vendors, shopping, lawn games and three bars. There will be face-painting, a bucking mechanical bull, a photo booth, a 50/50 raffle and a hat giveaway, presented by Double H Custom Hat Company, for premium ticket holders.
Ericka Brewster and Cal Ruark, organizers of the Darby Music Fest and Darby rodeo. They believe the partnership between the two events is going to be a hit. Photo by John Dowd.
For those especially interested in making the most of the Darby Music Fest, there are special VIP tickets. The fest is partnering with a new restaurant that will be opening in Darby. During the festival, the Sapphire Restaurant will cater to 20 exclusive tables. These tables will have access to a private bar, exclusive food and wine and much more.
“I mean, they are going to be very well pampered,” said Brewster. Members of these exclusive tables will have VIP parking, their own bathrooms, a private entrance and more. Tables are available when tickets become available. They are limited, and each can include up to eight people. Individual VIP tickets are also purchasable, with limited availability.
According to Brewster, “It is going to be a hootenanny of a time!” For her, the event is all about bringing the community together for a world class time. There will also be an after-rodeo concert, Saturday night, featuring Clair Dunn, kicked off by Libacious Gents and Western Front Band.
Ruark wanted to highlight that they will be adding 11 new skyboxes to the arena, which will be ready by the event weekend, bringing the total number to 23. They will also add two new sets of bleachers, allowing an additional 350 people each.
The rodeo itself will partner with professional bareback-rider, and ten-time National Finals Rodeo Qualifier, Caleb Bennett. Bennet is the bareback riding representative for the PRORODEO Contestant Executive Council. Bennett will join Curt Rasmussen as co-masters of ceremonies for the weekend. The rodeo itself will be announced by William Rasmussen, another big name in the rodeo industry.
With the inclusion of Bennett, the pot this year is bigger than it has ever been, clearing $100,000. According to Brewster and Ruark, Bennett has been looking to do another rodeo after one in Kamas Valley, Utah. Through a chance meeting with rodeo and festival organizers, it really was “a match made in heaven,” said Brewster.
“I don’t do things to take second place,” Ruark commented. This sentiment was shared by Brewster. Both are more than excited to see all of their work come to fruition, and believe this partnership will help boost both events. As Brewster explained, “Part of doing the Music Fest is recognizing local talent,” and for Ruark, it is also about bringing premium talent to their community.
The Rodeo event will be broadcast live on the Rodeo Sports Network, and according to Ruark, it is the “world’s richest single bareback riding event.” It is also the only stand-alone bareback event in the U.S. The Darby Rodeo Grounds holds the world bareback riding record, and everyone involved with the weekend has a deep history in rodeo. Ruark himself has been part of rodeo his entire life of 78 years. This event will be Darby’s sixth rodeo.
The rodeo grounds hold nine days of entertainment, including now one day of music and eight days of rodeo, every single year.
“I’ve been to a piece of rodeos and I’ve never seen a rodeo arena like Darby’s,” said Ruark. For him, there is something special about the place, and the way it is designed. Viewers are close to the action, and Ruark says it really feels like an old-school honest rodeo. Alongside the design, Ruark is proud of the work they do for the community. The location is home to the local Bitterroot Marksmanship Club, as well as many other youth and community programs. Ruark spoke about their “Twisted Nut Rodeo,” a special event that raises money for various charities. The rodeo is held the weekend after the Fourth of July, and has raised thousands over the years.
According to Ruark, the money raised from that event allowed the Darby Rodeo Association to give nearly $8,000 last year to the local charity, Emma’s House. Next year, their goal is to raise that number to $20- or $25,000. They used to raise the money for the hospital and Tough Enough to Wear Pink. In fact, over the years they have donated over $100,000 to Tough Enough to Wear Pink.
Another event Ruark wanted to highlight will be the August rodeo, which will include the full gamut of rodeo events. A key addition to that event Ruark was excited to mention will be a tug-of-war between all Ravalli County firefighters. This will also be a fund raiser for charity, and will benefit all involved fire departments.
For Ruark, and the Darby Rodeo Association, their motto is “Let’s make it happen.” This year, they plan to do exactly that, by going above and beyond in everything they do. When asked why he puts all the effort into the rodeo, Ruark said bluntly, he has MS. “This is my physical therapy.” He carries a deep love for the rodeo and what it can do for a community. For both he, and Brewster, this event is meant to be the feather in the community’s cap.
Festival tickets go on sale Feb. 7, and they can be found at darbymusicfest.com. Organizers also ask the community to keep an eye out for the QR code to quickly and easily access the site. The rodeo will be June 7 and 8, and tickets will be available on the rodeo website, darbyrodeo.org.
