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If you are wondering about this show, go have a listen:

https://stephanieannejohnsonmusic.com/videos

We are looking forward to a new visitor to Longstaff House.

Join the Alex Nauman Trio featuring Matt Smiley & Dru Heller (Denver, CO) for an intimate evening of retro-tinged surf jazz and help celebrate the release of their new album “Meadowlark.”

Meadowlark is a heartfelt collection of Alex’s favorite original compositions, written over the past eight years. This special performance celebrates the album’s release in one of Missoulas’ most beloved and intimate listening rooms. Expect dynamic compositions, dreamy textures, and adventurous improvisation inspired by the styles of Julian Lage and Bill Frisell. Vinyl & CD copies will be available for the first time at the show!

For more info visit www.alexnaumanmusic.com

Fresh off a first place win at the 2025 Telluride Bluegrass Festival band competition, Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light have been captivating audiences throughout the northeast. With songs as sweet and biting as the nectar and venom in her voice, Sumner’s lyric-forward writing and penchant for snaking chord progressions demand something far beyond folk conventions, highlighting the acrobatic range of her brilliant bandmates Kat Wallace (fiddle) and Mike Siegel (upright bass).

Sumner is no stranger to the stage. She spent her early career on the bluegrass circuit, singing and writing with the genre-bending roots group Twisted Pine. Since setting out on her own, Sumner’s songs have been critically acclaimed: winning the 2021 John Lennon Award in the folk category for her song “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison);” earning a spot in the Kerrville New Folk Competition; and being chosen four consecutive years as one of the top Massachusetts entries in NPR’s Tiny Desk Competition. Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light released their debut LP in the summer of 2022 to critical acclaim.

Please come and see Old Man Ben (who doesn’t look so old to me)  for songs, stories, and almost-cowboy-poetry on October 17th.

Ben Larson is a working musician, poet, historian and carpenter from Philipsburg, Montana. He developed his storyteller ways over years of hitchhiking and wandering with his guitar and tape measure from Australia to Newfoundland and a thousand places in between. He lives in a handbuilt homestead with his public school teacher wife and two cowdogs, where he alternates his days between carpentry and weaving his observations into gruff newspaper columns and eclectic, yet deeply poetic songs.

Ben is a student of Montana history. His performances are filled with tales of real life in rural Montana, ghosts of the past and wry words of wisdom compiled over years of living outside and working with his hands. From renovating an old saloon in the ghost town of Hasmark to revitalizing old Mining Songs with the Clark Chateau non-profit in Butte, to seeking out the lost homesteads of his wife’s pioneer parents on the east side of the state, Ben’s storytelling mediums span all geographic areas and aspects of Montana living. Out of those experiences, Ben  crafted a ninety minute compilation of original songs and poems, historic anecdotes and stories.

From Hobson to Scobey, Wibaux to Darby, Ben has performed in over 100 Montana towns and cities. Several albums of his music can be found on all streaming services, including his most recent release “New Tales From Old Montana.” In support of his Montana Living History show, Ben’s on a musical mission to bring his stories to all 56 counties of Montana; 41 down, 15 to go!

Two fabulous performers on the same bill….

Bill Mize … An amazing touch, killer tone and a sense of taste that can’t be beat.”
-Vintage Guitar Magazine
Music City Roots Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCt4K0caApM

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Grammy-winning guitarist Bill Mize is a son of Tennessee, and a fitting representative of
his state’s rich musical heritage. His critically lauded fingerstyle compositions are fluid
and intricate and their delivery masterful. One suspects an influential teacher; “I received
most of my musical education from a cheap Zenith radio,” says Mize, who as a child
drifted off to sleep to the decidedly non-sleepy lullabyes emanating from Nashville’s
WLAC and WSM and Knoxville’s WNOX.
Bill is a past winner of the Winfield National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, and
received a GRAMMY Award for his collaboration with musician and storyteller David
Holt on the recording Stellaluna. Popular acoustic guitar compilations “Windham Hill
Guitar Sampler” by Windham Hill Records and “Masters of the Acoustic Guitar” by
Narada Records have included his works. Bill’s music has been featured in a number of
films and documentaries, notably in Emmy-award winning Ken Burns productions
“The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” and “Country Music.” ” Mel Bay
Productions transcribed Mize’s second CD, “Tender Explorations,” into a songbook.
Bill will be playing some tunes off his new cd “The Southwind” and will be joined by
special guests, Beth Bramhall and Beth Youngblood.
www.billmize.com

Cruz Contreras:

Raised between the rugged lines of Tennessee and the long shadows of Michigan, Contreras has spent nearly thirty years forging his path through the Americana musical landscape. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, bandleader, producer, and storyteller whose voice cuts through noise like a well-honed blade.

He got his start at just 15, playing guitar behind his younger brother Billy Contreras at fiddle competitions—long before Billy became a world-renowned fiddler, known for his work with George Jones, Sierra Ferrell, Ricky Skaggs. But it was a moment in 1993 that sealed Cruz’s fate: finding himself in a room with the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. That room, that sound, that presence—it lit a fire that’s never gone out.

First with Robinella and the CCstringband, then as the fire at the heart of The Black Lillies, Cruz helped carve a sound that feels as old as the hills and as wild as the road. His songs have topped the Billboard and Americana charts, picked up Independent Music Awards, and earned him a nomination from the Americana Music Association as an emerging artist — though his music suggests he was never chasing trends to begin with.

He’s stood on stages from Conan O’Brien’s late-night set to the Grand Ole Opry — the latter over 40 times — and drawn praise from Rolling Stone, NPR, American Songwriter, and Vanity Fair. Contreras has toured with Robert Earl Keen and the Turnpike Troubadours, collaborated with John Oates, and shared stages with Old Crow Medicine Show, The Travelin’ McCourys, Tyler Childers, Mavis Staples, Elizabeth Cook and more. A festival veteran, Cruz and The Black Lillies have performed at Bonnaroo, Merle Fest, Jazz Fest, Red Ants Pants, Stagecoach, High Sierra, DelFest, Pickathon, Mile Zero, Cayamo, to name a few. But he doesn’t play for headlines, but for the quiet connection — the still moment in a crowded room when a lyric hits home like a memory you forgot you had.

Now touring behind his debut solo album Cosmico, Cruz is joined once more by a band of road-tested companions under the name Cruz Contreras and The Black Lillies. Together, they bring with them a catalog of songs that stretch across time — from the familiar past to the hopeful unknown.

Bruce Molsky is returning to Longstaff House for a workshop and concert on June 7th.  He is stopping off on the way to MT Fiddle Camp.

The workshop is free and paid for by Montana Old Time Fiddlers.

BRUCE MOLSKY – FIDDLE BANJO GUITAR & SONG 

Yahoo, they are back again.  In case you didn’t know, read this;

Dust off your boots and gather around for some true and original modern honky tonk music. An all-star cast of master musicians backs these two soul singers of country music, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms. These two are known to roots music fans across the globe for their soulful harmonies, driving dance tunes, classic original songs, and commitment to the raw truth of rural American music. They live in the San Juan Islands of Washington, though until recently, home was Portland, OR. They are foundational to the exceptional old-time and country music scene in the Pacific NW with the Caleb Klauder Reeb Willms Country Band and their membership in the Foghorn Stringband, of which Caleb was a founding member. Charismatic performers, they bring their unique set of talents to the stage with an eye towards good times and an ear towards the deepest songs and tunes. 

Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms both originally hail from Washington State: Caleb from the coastal islands, and Reeb from the high desert plateau. The two have come together in music and are hailed as some of the most compelling musicians making country roots music in America today. When these two sing together, their honest incantations leave us spell-bound and smiling. 

Their repertoire is made up of original songs and tunes as well as gems from American roots repertoires, and the music they make is Americana in the truest sense of the word. Music is clearly in their blood. Caleb and Reeb’s originals and interpretations of songs have been covered and recorded by many performers and their musical presence reaches into a diverse and loyal fanbase, giving credence to the impact that this duo has on their listeners. Pillars of the Northwest music scene, they carry the torch of their music around the world, and can be found touring as a duo, as well as with the Foghorn Stringband, and the Caleb Klauder Country Band. Their fans exude admiration for the timeless sound that these two produce, capturing the essence of American roots music. 

Sometimes we get so unnecessarily swept up in who’s rising and falling in music these days that the sheer joy of music is overlooked. One of the great things about Caleb and Reeb is that they are a world apart from all of that nonsense and let you immerse yourself in the melody and story of classic sounding country music until all other cares of life fade away. Country music is the music of working people who use it to pass the time and forget about the ever-present hardships in their lives. After years of touring together, Reeb and Caleb work intuitively. 

Caleb’s study and understanding of roots music is so dedicated and rich, that he can hauntingly immerse himself in the same perspective of those old primitive country composers and write as if he was right beside them. Their album Innocent Road includes a clutch of lovingly arranged Klauder originals, along with well-placed and rare covers. The pair bring the spirit of legendary country duos into their contemporary takes on country music. Trading vocals back and forth, they complement each other strikingly well in an attractive meld of honky-tonk that brushes shoulders with trad bluegrass. Caleb has penned over 50 songs many of which are standards across America in honky tonk and bluegrass jams and festivals, both on and off stage.  There is a long list of bands and singers who have recorded Caleb’s songs over the years.  

The blend of true harmonies, the sharply-written country songs, and the un-showy authenticity strike a rich vein that makes them seem like they are born and raised in Music City.  They quietly pursue a musical vision without much of a care for what’s expected or in vogue at the time. There’s a lot to admire in this singular perseverance and honesty. 

VIDEOS:

https://www.calebklauder.com/home

https://www.facebook.com/calebklauderband

https://www.instagram.com/calebklauder