Ira Wolf w/ Gabrielle Tusberg
Tuesday, November 21 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $16 Advance // $18 Day of ShowRaised in the mountains of Montana and making a home on the road, Ira Wolf’s music and writing are vulnerably honest as she explores heartache, homesickness, and the highs and lows of an unconventional wandering lifestyle. She draws from personal experience and connects on an intimate level with her audience through her truthful lyrics and melancholy vocals.Since she began touring in 2014, Ira has earned more than 100 million plays on Spotify, performed across six continents, and shared stages with artists such as Penny and Sparrow, Dead Man Winter, Adeem the Artist, David Ramirez, and Andrea von Kampen. She’s been featured for her songwriting and vocal style at Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, Kerrville Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Americanafest, and Midwest Music Fest, and continues to travel the U.S. while living full time in a camper van.After sharing The Closest Thing to Home in 2017 Ira maintained a busy tour schedule, living on the road full time until 2020. Amidst the changes brought on by the pandemic Ira took a step away from music to focus on her mental health. In 2023 Wolf returned to writing and performing and signed with Nettwerk Music Group to release her highly anticipated fourth album Rock Bottom. Ira recently partnered with Storyteller Overland and moved back into full-time vanlife with plans to continue touring both nationally and internationally in promotion of the new record.Gabrielle Tusberg is a singer songwriter from Portland, OR. Her inspiration comes from female songwriters like Lucinda Williams, Fiona Apple, and Sara Jarosz. Listening to Gabrielle’s songs tells a story about her life experiences, relationships, love lost, love gained, a changed perspective, with wit and charm. Her songs will make you cry and laugh with her deepest thoughts and secrets.For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Husbands
Monday, March 4 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 8 PM // $20 Husbands plays landlocked beach pop that sidequests Krautrock, garage rock, and tropicalia. OKC-based songwriters Danny Davis and Wil Norton got their start directing a Godzilla musical at their college and then began sharing snippets of lofi grunge pop ideas that came together in their first album, “Golden Year.” This album caught local label Clerestory AV’s attention, who assisted Husbands release its first vinyl LP, “After the Gold Rush Party,” on an imprint label, Cowboy 2.0 Records. “After the Gold Rush Party” was featured on NPR’s Heavy Rotation and Spotify’s New Music Friday, Fresh Finds, and Feel-Good Indie Rock playlists. Past performances included an OKC release show that drew 550 attendees and a stint opening for Smash Mouth (what Wil and Danny both likely consider their finest moment as a band). Pre-COVID, Husbands was slated to play bills at SXSW, Treefort Music Fest, Norman Music Festival, and a New York City release show at Baby’s All Right.Not to be deterred, Danny and Wil got back to songwriting and put together their third LP, “Full-on Monet,” released in January ’22. Their single, “Must be a Cop,” released June 6, 2021, has been featured on Spotify’s All New Indie, Today’s Indie Rock, and Grade A playlists (among other editorial playlists), and has received coverage from prominent bloggers including David Dean Burkhart, BIRP!, and Indie Shuffle. Falcon Bitch and Gumball are best friends. The Texas-based multi-instrumentalists love to make up elaborate tales of their first meeting: as chimney sweeps in the mid-1700s, as shoemakers in Middle England, as competing acrobats in a traveling circus. It’s a testament to their ever-playful attitude—one that pours over into their project, Being Dead, in which the band toes the line between jest and sincerity. The nurturing foundation of these platonic soulmates urges both Falcon Bitch and Gumball to be their full, freaky selves, prodding at the absurdity of the world with slick n’ dreamy strums, gritty percussion, and kaleidoscopic harmonies.For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Order of the Sunshine Deity + Kyle Curtis & The Promised Lands + Jesse, The Ocelot
Friday, November 10 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter TicketOrder of the Sunshine Deity is a neo-soul/fusion band out of Missoula with a stacked lineup made up of past and present UM Music School heavy-hitters, started by its frontwoman, Jolene Green, playing her original compositions which blend jazz, low-fi, soul, hip hop, metal and more.Kyle Curtis & the Promised Lands, considered by many to be Missoula’s hottest 7-piece soul revival act (and not just because all the other acts in town are merely sextet and under), have but one goal in mind: let the people dance. After honing their skills at the UM School of Music and through the streets of Missoula, Kyle Curtis & the Promised Lands are ready to serve Missoula’s ears (trained or untrained), fuel their passions, and move their feet.Jesse, The Ocelot is a solo artist from the mountains of Montana who uses guitar and vocal loops to create atmospheric soundscapes. Dreamy sounds of reverb-y vocal harmonies and warm guitar melodies combined with jazzy, soulful style. Jesse, The Ocelot wants to help guide you through the cosmos with meaningful lyrics and good energy. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Academy Order (Philadelphia) w/ (latent) & Pay No Mind
Tuesday, November 7 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter Ticket Since 2021, Academy Order have been honing their sound through various releases and live incarnations, expertly showcasing elements of death rock, punk, new wave, and even hardcore in a sonic amalgamation that is uniquely their own, while remaining just familiar enough to keep heads nodding. Now they surge forth with a debut LP, unleashing “A New Kind of Fear” to solidify an approach that touches nerves both lyrically and musically via counterpoints of aggression and melody not so commonly coupled in the broad genre of post-punk. The deliciously cold attack of driving guitars and Matthew’s demanding vocals weighed against synth lines straight from the 80’s dance floor and Norelle’s angelic vocal hooks bring the shadowy rhythm of the whole album to halting depths and infectious heights. Though far from derivative, fans of seminal acts such as 45 Grave, Clan of Xymox, and TSOL may find themselves moving just as readily as those who enjoy Danse Society, Bleached Cross, and Chain Cult.Pay No Mind is a skate punk band with hardcore and thrash influences consisting of former members of Stoned to Death and Super Sport(Great Falls), they have taken Missoula by storm opening for touring bands and supporting the music scene here. Two of the members are students at the UOFM And have played shows on Campus as well as supporting headliner acts throughout town. Debut EP coming soon! (latent) is a Missoula based band composed of Zack Buchholo, Nick Togliatti and Jake Swank. These three fellers have been playing music together for nearly a decade and this band is a culmination of their endeavors to incorporate absurdity, sincerity, and high energy music into a single intense project. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Piano Solos, Duos, & Trios
Ft. Jim Driscoll, Bob Packwood, Connor Racicot, & Ann Tappan Saturday, November 11 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $25 // $20 Students & SeniorsJazzoula presents ‘Piano Solos, Duos, & Trios’ a very special evening featuring some of Montana’s finest pianists including Jim Driscoll, Bob Packwood, Connor Racicot, and Ann Tappan.Pianist extraordinaire Jim Driscoll is one of Western Montana’s best secrets. A Butte, Montana native and a classical piano prodigy he discovered jazz at an early age. He quickly became a professional, touring nationally and in the mid 1980’s was “discovered” by the US Air Force at piano bar gig while studying for his masters in composition at University of Maryland. He was immediately offered a job (and signed him up for service as a 35 year old) as a soloist in one of the most prestigious bands in world -the Airman of Note also know as the Glen Miller 18 piece band where he played at the White House and touring internationally. He advanced to his own jazz orchestra as soloist and arranger for another Air Force band in Japan for many years. He has played with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Wynton Marsallis, Vince Gill, Crystal Gayle to name a few. Retired in Missoula now Jim is a member of the renown Missoula jazz group Basement Boyz and fronts his own trio.He will be joined by bassist Pete Hand and Ed Stalling on drums. Bob Packwood is a multi-keyboardist/composer/recording engineer with over 50 years professional experience including extensive international touring and studio recordings. His participation as a finalist in the 1988 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition was inspiration for a move to New York City where he spent the next 15 years absorbing the creative energy and electric inspiration of the Big Apple’s East Village. Opportunities developed that led to lengthy European and Canadian touring and ultimately over 50 recordings with a wide range of original songwriting artists recorded mainly in New York City, Nashville and Toronto. Bob has appeared on stage with Neil Young, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, Ron Sexsmith, Cyril Neville, Hank Williams III, Blue Rodeo, The Sadies and many others.The Connor Racicot Trio brings a fresh perspective to great American standards. Featuring Owen Cleary on the upright bass and Sam Purvis on the drums and cymbals, the trio distills nearly 80 years of influences into a modern and exciting sound. Ann Tappan grew up in Montclair, New Jersey where she started playing piano at the age of four. She entered Berklee College of Music to study jazz piano, composition and arranging then returned to the NYC area to connect with the avant-garde loft scene of the ‘70s. In 1976 Ann relocated to the Bay Are to study with ECM pianist Art Lande becoming part of his experimental jazz school, first as a student then as an instructor. During her time in the Bay Area, she wrote and arranged for many live and recorded projects and performed with such giants as Eddie Henderson and Joe Henderson. Ann migrated to Montana in 1993. She was the author and administrator of a 2001 MAC/Jazz Montana grant, a year-long creative music program linking national and local professional musicians to state-wide audiences and K-12 students. She was a faculty member (along with Phil Aaberg and David Morganroth) of the Montana Jazz Piano Workshop, Bozeman’s Camp Epic and in 2017 was Artist in Residence at Hanford High School in Richland, WA. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Wednesday
Friday, May 24, 2024 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 8 PM // $18 Advance // $22 DOSA Wednesday song is a quilt. A short story collection, a half-memory, a patchwork of portraits of the American south, disparate moments that somehow make sense as a whole. Karly Hartzman, the songwriter/vocalist/guitarist at the helm of the project, is a story collector as much as she is a storyteller: a scholar of people and one-liners. Rat Saw God, the Asheville quintet’s new and best record, is ekphrastic but autobiographical and above all, deeply empathetic. Across the album’s ten tracks Hartzman, guitarist MJ Lenderman, bassist Margo Shultz, drummer Alan Miller, and lap/pedal steel player Xandy Chelmis build a shrine to minutiae. Half-funny, half-tragic dispatches from North Carolina unfurling somewhere between the wailing skuzz of Nineties shoegaze and classic country twang, that distorted lap steel and Hartzman’s voice slicing through the din.Rat Saw God is an album about riding a bike down a suburban stretch in Greensboro while listening to My Bloody Valentine for the first time on an iPod Nano, past a creek that runs through the neighborhood riddled with broken glass bottles and condoms, a front yard filled with broken and rusted car parts, a lonely and dilapidated house reclaimed by kudzu. Four Lokos and rodeo clowns and a kid who burns down a corn field. Roadside monuments, church marquees, poppers and vodka in a plastic water bottle, the shit you get away with at Jewish summer camp, strange sentimental family heirlooms at the thrift stores. The way the South hums alive all night in the summers and into fall, the sound of high school football games, the halo effect from the lights polluting the darkness. It’s not really bright enough to see in front of you, but in that stretch of inky void — somehow — you see everything.The songs on Rat Saw God don’t recount epics, just the everyday. They’re true, they’re real life, blurry and chaotic and strange — which is in-line with Hartzman’s own ethos: “Everyone’s story is worthy,” she says, plainly. “Literally every life story is worth writing down, because people are so fascinating.”But the thing about Rat Saw God — and about any Wednesday song, really — is you don’t necessarily even need all the references to get it, the weirdly specific elation of a song that really hits. Yeah, it’s all in the details — how fucked up you got or get, how you break a heart, how you fall in love, how you make yourself and others feel seen — but it’s mostly the way those tiny moments add up into a song or album or a person. Draag inhabits the space between bliss and pain, interweaving shoegaze, electro-industrial, and punk elements within a pop ballad. Originating in Sylmar, a forgotten neighborhood in Los Angeles, Draag began when Adrian Acosta (songwriter, vocalist, guitarist) revived songs he recorded on his karaoke tape deck when he was 10 years old. After years of refining their sound, five-piece Draag gained a reputation for their sonically immersive live shows in LA, largely by word of mouth, known for transforming any range of DIY to high production stage into a wall of sound described as a storm in slow motion. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Leisure Hour (Muncie, IN) + Blankslate (Denver) w/ New Old Future & Pussy Mouth
Sunday, November 5 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter TicketLeisure Hour is an emo/pop punk band from Muncie, Indiana. Taking inspiration from bands such as The Front Bottoms, The 1975, and Weezer, Leisure Hour’s unique mix of roaring electric guitars, bright synthesizers, and cathartic vocal performances make the group the most exciting band in the upcoming emo rock scene. The band has toured extensively throughout the United States, and has played with acts such as Michael Cera Palin, Equipment, Charmer, Widowdusk, and Camping in Alaska. Their self titled EP, built on genuine passion and filled with nostalgic passion, is out now on Refresh Recs.Self-described “not a girl band”, Blankslate was founded in 2018 by college roommates Em, Tess and Rylee after the trio transferred to the same school. In the beginning, they practiced in a storage closet in the basement of their dorm and played small coffee shop and open mic gigs before graduating to the city’s club scene. After releasing an EP in 2020, the band’s debut album, ‘Summer on a Salt Flat,’ was released with a sellout show on October 28, 2022. ‘Summer on a Salt Flat’s lead single, “Bell Station,” debuted on Indie 102.3 ahead of the album, and the band was named to the station’s Best of Local 303 list at the end of the year by listeners.New Old Future is a four piece garage pop, alt rock, grunge band that has been playing in Missoula for ten years. The members are Logan Heindl on lead guitar, Kyle Campbell on bass, Zach Froehlich on drums, and Bry Froehlich on vox and rhythm guitar. ‘Birds’ is their third studio album. Follow New Old Future @newoldfuture on Instagram or visit newoldfuture.com.Pussy Mouth is a balancing act between control and surrender, electo acoustic shape shifting sounds with samples, saxophone and voice exploring unknown lands listening to the pause, drone, and rhythm of the moment.For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Disco Hammer + Intice + I Imagine Murder
Wednesday, October 25 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter The Missoula Montana love child of industrial, nu metal, and EDM, Disco Hammer combines high-energy dance beats and bizarre synths with heavy guitars and barking vocals to serve as the perfect soundtrack for someone who thinks the “good ol’ days” of music were the early 2000s. The band features Jacob Sowles on vocals, Alex Wickham on bass, Tyler King on guitar, and a sassy iPad on drums and synths.Intice is a progressive metal/rock band based out of Missoula Montana. They play the original music of their front man, Cameron Kinney, who plays guitar and vocals. Cameron started the band with guitarist Justin Brantley in Great Falls and met the rest of the band members while studying with them at the UM School of Music a couple years later. Along with Cameron and Justin the band features Josh Smith on drums, Lane Ulberg on bass and Jolene Green and Cade Chastain on saxophone. The band has two albums on Spotify and is currently recording their third album.I Imagine Murder is an American Metalcore band from Missoula, MT. They’re a powerhouse of brutal breakdowns, fierce vocals, and intense energy! Check out their newest single “New Era” on all major streaming services!For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
ROCKTOBER VOL. 3
Saturday, October 28 // Doors at 8 PM // Music starts at 8:30 // $15 ROCKtober returns BIGGER and BETTER THAN EVER with an epic line-up of favorite local bands and musicians (like Senterline, members of Arrowleaf, The Western States and members of Shakewell, plus Rach Against the Machine!) covering, in costume, an incredible array of bands and styles including 80s Pop Hits, Nirvana, Classic Heavy Metal, 90s Pop Rock Hits and more! Believe us when we say, this is going to be way more than just a rock show. Costumes, ROCK N ROLL or otherwise, are strongly encouraged! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Friday the 13th w/ The Foilies, Kürøishi, & Panic Boner
Friday, October 13 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter Ticket The Foilies are a Montana-based Speed Rock/Punk/Rock N Roll band bringing tight riffs, sick leads and an always driving bass line with a full on assault to your eardrums from a relentless machine of a drummer. They balance this by exchanging lead vocals between three people and having back gang vocals to match. The sonic attack will make you feel like you’re about to go off the rails on every song right before arriving at your abrupt destination. Kürøishi is a D-Beat Hardcore Punk & Crust band from Oulu, Finland. Panic Boner Unsemble is a free music group based out of Missoula. They’re known to be unconventional with their sound making and uncompromisingly abstract in nature and performance. They incorporate elements of free jazz, noise, and no wave and all their gigs are totally improvised. A quick taste of their vibe would be like John Zorn meets Grateful Dead and your getting close. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
