Big Sky Brewery says summer concert series is on tap in Missoula – to benefit local nonprofits

Big Sky Brewing Co. http://www.bigskybrew.com/ is hoping to draw crowds of thousands this summer for good music, good beer and good causes.

Big Sky will hold a series of four to seven concerts in an amphitheater behind the brewery, with all proceeds from parking and beer sales going to local nonprofits. The amphitheater is expected to hold between 5,000 and 8,000 people, and the first concert will be July 7, featuring John Fogarty and Bighead Todd and the Monsters.

By ERICKA SCHENCK SMITH of the Missoulian

http://missoulian.com/articles/2004/05/27/news/local/news03.txt

"We’re using this as a way to get projects done in Missoula that will benefit folks all over town," Big Sky president Neal Leathers said Wednesday.

Big Sky has a three-year lease-to-buy agreement for a large stage – "It’s going to be really sweet," Leathers says – so the concerts will likely continue for at least three summers, with hopes of carrying on well beyond that. The only major hold-up at this point is zoning: To avoid complications this year, the stage will actually sit just across Big Sky’s property line, on land belonging to a neighbor in a different zoning district.

Money from parking and beer sales this year will go to two local organizations: the Missoula Skatepark Association, the folks behind plans for a skatepark at McCormick Park; and Brennan’s Wave, a proposed "play wave" for kayakers on the Clark Fork near Caras Park.

Big Sky’s Bjorn Nabozney said the plan is to have both projects fully funded by the end of the summer. At this point, the skatepark is $50,000 short of its goal, and Brennan’s Wave is trying to raise the final $106,000.

"We’re real excited," said Spencer Bradford of the Missoula Whitewater Association. "Š We have some real time deadlines on our projects, so this is huge for us."

And aside from the causes the concert series will promote, Leathers said, "We want to have fun things to do in Missoula."

Frustrated by national acts playing in Bozeman and Spokane – but skipping right past Missoula – he said "the best way to do it was to just do it on our own, in our own back yard."

Leathers couldn’t release the names of any additional artists but said most of the concerts will take place on September evenings, with a variety of acts to appeal to a variety of people. Ticket prices will be set by concert promoters, not the brewery.

"We have a pretty good idea of who’s going to come, and one thing I can say is, it’s going to be a pretty good mix," he said.

For those who don’t want to drive all the way out to the brewery just off Expressway, three shuttles will take concert-goers from Caras Park, the parking lot near Circle Square on Higgins and the Kmart parking lot. A round-trip ticket will be $3, with buses driven by Beach Transportation and fueled with biodiesel.

Reporter Ericka Schenck Smith can be reached at 523-5259 or at [email protected]

The first concert

Tickets for the John Fogarty/Bighead Todd and the Monsters show July 7 go on sale June 4. To purchase tickets, visit the brewery at 5417 Trumpeter Way, go online to http://www.ticketswest.com, or call 1-800-325-seat.

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Big Sky, big shows

by Keila Szpaller

http://www.missoulanews.com/News/News.asp?no=4072

On Wednesday, Big Sky Brewing Company announced that it will launch a summer concert series in its backyard, soon to be the new Big Sky Brewing Amphitheater.

“It has been very difficult to find a location that was suitable for concerts and that would allow our beer for sale,” says Big Sky President and a company founder Neal Leathers. “Now that we have enough land around the brewery, it just made sense to bring the concerts to us. Frankly, we were tired of seeing all the big shows bypass Missoula.”

Big Sky folks believe the arena, which should seat about 8,000, will be the largest outdoor amphitheater in Montana when it inaugurates its concert season on July 6, with Big Head Todd and the Monsters opening for John Fogerty.

For shows, the brewery will serve what Leathers calls the “regular” beers: Moose Drool Brown Ale, Summer Honey Seasonal Ale, Scape Goat Pale Ale and Big Sky Crystal Ale.

“Of course,” he says, “there will be food from local vendors and non-alcoholic beverages for sale as well.”

The company plans to donate money from beer sales and parking toward two local non-profits, Brennan’s Wave and the Missoula Skate Park, says Leathers. Big Sky doesn’t expect to profit from the events, Leathers says, but they’ll be able to promote their brewery and beers, like the signature Moose Drool and new Crystal Ale.

The company sold its first beer “just in time for the 4th of July weekend in ’95,” says Leathers. In Sept. 2002, Big Sky, which employs about 30 people locally, began brewing at its present location near the airport. Now, the company distributes beer across Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and, of course, Montana.

To help music enthusiasts marooned in the downtown area, Big Sky plans to run biodiesel shuttles to the venue every 15 minutes for $3 roundtrip tickets.

Will being home to Montana’s largest outdoor amphitheater change the company’s micro status?

“Well,” says Leathers, “we plan to continue to grow at a nice steady pace, but we certainly don’t see ourselves as becoming a huge brewing conglomerate.”