Beartooth Music Festival Coming to Red Lodge This Saturday

If you need an excuse to make the drive to Red Lodge this weekend, the Carbon County Historical Society and Museum has a pretty good one. The inaugural Beartooth Music Festival is happening Saturday, August 29, from 3 to 9 PM, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Beartooth Highway with an afternoon and evening of live music, food, games, and Montana history.

Becky Van Horn with the Carbon County Historical Society says the event will feature several local bands, including the Grizzly Peak Pickers, Leopard Appaloosa, Lee & Charlie, and You've Had Your Six.

"We're keeping a variety," Van Horn said, with live music ranging from bluegrass and folk Americana to rock and melodic metal.

Check out the museum and stay for the fun.

Admission is free, and the museum will also offer tours of the historic building and its ongoing restoration projects. One of those projects is the restoration of the museum's third-floor dance hall, which was built in 1909 as a gathering place for local miners.

Regarding the talented musical lineup, Van Horn says there's something about Red Lodge that seems to inspire creativity. "I think there's something about Red Lodge that just drives talented people's creativity," she said. "Gets the juices flowing."

Carbon County Historical Museum - Google Maps

The festival will also include a silent auction, bake sale, kids' games, a shooting gallery, pig races (not real pigs; you'll have to bounce over to Bearcreek for that), and mechanic sled races, with proceeds supporting the museum's restoration efforts.

Late August is a pretty fantastic time to visit Red Lodge.

Summer crowds are beginning to thin, the weather is usually cooperative, and all of the restaurants and shops are still operating with summer hours.

As Van Horn laughingly said when I mentioned the changing seasons, "I don't want to talk about it." I get it, Becky. Nobody wants to admit summer is almost over.

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Take advantage of it while you can. Head to Red Lodge Saturday, enjoy some live music, grab some food, explore the museum, and soak up one of Montana's coolest mountain towns before winter takes over.