Salt & Shadow + Transcendental Express + Sarah Frazier
Friday, March 3 // Door at 7:30 PM // Show at 8 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter Ticket Self dubbed as ‘Dystopian Folk Rock’, Salt & Shadow’s music has been described as ethereal and psychedelic, spacious and atmospheric, hypnotic and haunting. They have created a sound that captures the paranoia of a dystopian future, with a message of empowerment in the face of tyranny. Salt & Shadow is led by two female vocalists who seduce the crowd like sirens, with powerhouse vocals and soaring harmonies. Playing acoustic guitar and ukulele, with grandiose cello solos, they’ve weaved their music into a folk rock that is gracious to every ear. Transcendental Express aims to transcend negativity & bring people together through music. Their mission is to create a space where everyone is welcome, everyone is happy, and everyone is dancing. Sarah Frazier is an Electronic/Pop artist from Montana. She dabbles in the realms of synthesizers and vocal processing, with 29 years outstanding of creating musical scores across a vast board of poetic, melodious, and instrumental genres. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
ROCK LOTTO ‘1984’ … Obey Every Rule
Saturday, March 18 // Door at 7 PM // Rock Lotto begins at 8 PM // $20 TICKETS AVAILABLE on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 at 10 AM. Big Brother is watching. Seven bands will perform music from 1984 in a one-night-only night of unforgettable unforgettableness. Proceeds benefit Missoula Community Radio (501c3) and the ZACC. Advance tickets are highly recommended as this event is likely to sell out, and if you don’t have an advance ticket … the only way to get in is to be in line when a ticket holder leaves the venue. Follow the Missoula Rock Lotto Facebook page for updates. OBEY EVERY RULE! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about.
The Appleseed Cast w/ SenterLine & Worm Womb
Tuesday, March 14 // Door at 7:30 PM // Show at 8 PM // $15 The Appleseed Cast is a band from Lawrence, KS. They formed in 1997, and released the first album in 1998. They have since released seven albums, including Illumination Ritual in April of 2013. The band was founded in the early days of emo by singer-guitarist Christopher Crisci and drummer Louie Ruiz. The Appleseed Cast has steadily evolved over the release of eight full-length albums with Crisci as the main songwriter. Currently the band’s lineup includes Christopher Crisci, Ben Kimball, Nick Fredrickson and Sean Bergman. Major acclaim first came in the early 2000s that earned them a 9.0 from Pitchfork for their album set Low Level Owl Vol I and Vol II. The band have enjoyed continued high praise for their work on Two Conversations, Peregrine, Illumination Ritual, and others. SenterLine is a 3 piece rock group based in Missoula Montana. Their sound is a blend of punk, classic rock and funk – rooted in the sounds and atmosphere of early 90s Grunge. Worm Womb is a Missoula based punk rock band. Chick singer. Awesome drummer. Good times. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
JAAG + At Nadir + Sarah Frazier
Wednesday, February 15 // Door at 7:30 PM // Show at 8 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter JAAG is a new band drawing from post-punk and 90s rock to craft a dark and driving sonic journey. The project was initiated by Hank Donovan on guitar (Magpies, Rattlesnake Cable Company) and recent homecomer Jamie Aaron Aux on vocals and guitar (Le Butcherettes, XVIII Eyes), acquaintances with long mutual respect in the Northwest music sphere, both agreeing to test the waters after each taking breaks from band life. With a handful of demos written, the two brought in John Sporman on bass (Wylie & the Wild West, Jupiter Beat, Shahs) and Christopher Baumann on drums (Mass FM, Victory Smokes, Dead Hipster) to kick the rock into high gear. Christopher and Jamie share a long musical history as former bandmates in the early-2000’s Jay’s Upstairs-era emo band, The Pleasure. The group has not yet recorded any material but probably will soon because that’s what bands do. IG: @_j_a_a_g At Nadir is a three-piece band playing original songs in the indie tradition of no-name chords, weird tunings, and volume minus the bro factor. At Nadir’s songs take oblique views of relationships between people and the world and the things people put between themselves and the world. The Helena, MT band formed after a fruitful 2020 spent in isolation, in which guitarist-singer Peter Dudlo spent evenings, “carving chords from refrigerator-sized blocks of salted dark chocolate,” to make At Nadir’s first few songs. When he crossed paths with former Downer Party bassist Kristy Fortman at the skatepark one day, the two concocted the idea for a band and were fortunate to enlist rookie-of-the-year drummer Emmett Brown. Sarah Frazier is an Electronic/Pop artist from Montana. She dabbles in the realms of synthesizers and vocal processing, with 29 years outstanding of creating musical scores across a vast board of poetic, melodious, and instrumental genres. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
The Absent Wilson Conspiracy w/ Bigskylight
Sunday, January 29 // Door at 6:30 PM // Show at 7 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter The Absent Wilson Conspiracy explores acoustic, and electric jazz through contemplative and spacious original compositions. Drawing rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic textures from across the spectrum of classic and contemporary jazz, the band is driven by a deep love of the collective improvisation at the heart of jazz. Also known as The Captain Wilson Conspiracy, the band began conspiring in Missoula Montana nearly a decade ago. After keyboardist Keaton Wilson moved to Arizona, bassist Steve Kalling, guitarist DR Halsell, and percussionist Ed Stalling adopted the ‘Absent Wilson’ moniker as a way to acknowledge the origin and connection while forming the nucleus of an expanding group of like-minded conspirators. In recent years, Helena-based composer and pianist Steven Gores joined the fun. His emotional and cinematic compositions made him complicit from the first note. Montana has a way of pulling together people who love wild places and find the particular kind of quiet that comes in the wind and wide sky. This experience of the wide-open spaces and the people and communities who live here, has shaped their compositions. They look forward to sharing these stories and exploring the spaces they shape from the ZACC stage this January. Bigskylight’s music is inspired by the subtle differences in the color and timbre of light across the Montana sky. It is created to slow down, go deep and listen. Dynamic and fluid, the ensemble revolves around the ethereal and sound of the hand-pan (a contemplative relative of the steel drum). Image credit ‘Time to Feed the Frog’ by Paula Wittner, 2019, Gouache on Ragboard For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
But I’m a Cheerleader + Mido Skip + Intice
Wednesday, January 25 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter But I’m a Cheerleader is a band comprised of four nice queers living in Missoula, MT and all of their repressed feelings. They invite you into all their sweetness and rage expressed through song (if you’re into that kind of thing). From the great city of Missoula, Mido Skip started out as a simple idea, formulating into one of the biggest conspiracies to date. It is said that on a full moon you can hear the mad ravings of the nü-emo band from abandoned alleyways. Have you captured a glimpse of this enigmatic event? If you’re lucky enough, it could change how you look at yourself, and the world as you know it. 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 second album. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Jazz Night with Patti Nolan & Friends
Sunday, January 222 // Door at 6:30 PM // Show at 7 PM // $12 // $15 Artist Supporter Join us at the Show Room at the ZACC for a spirited night of jazz classics and standards performed by Patti Nolan & Friends, with Patti on vocals, Dylan Bautista on piano, Pete Hand on bass, and Ed Stalling on drums. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
The Foilies w/ Night Witch & DAMNTHEBADLUCK
Saturday, January 21 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter Formed by the heaviest hitters in Montana, The Foilies are determined to spearhead the New Wave Of American Rock And Roll, delivering pure, uncut speed rock. Fast, loud and crossing more lines than a jacked up trucker on a head on. Night Witch will be dropping heavy bombs like veteran anti-fascist pilots fighting Nazis when they shred searing twin-jet guitars, thunderous rhythms and piercing screams to the ZACC! DAMNTHEBADLUCK is a hardcore/post-punk band from Missoula, MT composed of Luke Harmon (vocals), Cody Sumner (guitar), Mars Sandavol (bass), and Chris Ostheimer (drums). Sounds like Idles, Turnstile, and Amyl and The Sniffers. Photo credit to the amazing Abi Baumann. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Bluest w/ Violet Danger, Dylan Running Crane, & Worm Womb
Friday, January 20 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter Bluest is an indie rock band out of Missoula MT, orchestrated by the longings and hauntings of Noelle Huser. Her songs are chalked full of early adolescent nostalgia and sweetness, soured by the biting existential dread of figuring out who you are in it all. With pleas of empathetic anger a la diary-scrawled lyrics, she pays homage to her 90s/00s angst pop and country influences Alanis Moirissete and Sheryl Crow. Bluest’s chilling debut album Cold Sweat, sifts through dreams and nightmares to find solace in serenading ghosts. It is emboldened with a hunger to return from dissociation back into the body, finding oneself in the present, feet on the ground, blood boiling, head in the clouds and heart on the sleeve. Cold Sweat will be released in January 2023 through Anything Bagel. Violet Danger’s music is self-described as kinda pop, country, and rock. Dylan Running Crane is a singer-songwriter from Browning, Montana – a place that remains the subject of most of her work. Her vibe is country meets rez-folk meets tender and silly. Kelsey Star is the front woman of Worm Womb. She grew up in Montana playing rock music with friends and participating in live theatre. She loves performing live, and believes music is medicine for the soul. Kelsey is currently learning music engineering and just released her first (partially self produced) album out of Pyrymyd Music Studios, with the help of another musician and mixing extraordinaire, Angel of Discord. Stream Worm Womb’s album Desert Honey on Spotify NOW and find out more about Kelsey on Instagram @kelseystarart – many thanks, many blessings! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
**CANCELED** Cosmic Sans + Tree Form + Molly Liu Buchanan
This performance has been canceled due to unexpected flooding and lack of running water at the ZACC. Thursday, January 19 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter From the ashes of a renaissance of garage rock and psychedelia ravaged by a global pandemic, a new contender emerged from the small but robust Missoula DIY music scene: a one Cosmic Sans. Cosmic Sans consists of a multi-instrumentalist music teacher holding down the low end, an underground hip-hop producer splaying syncopated rhythms behind the kit, an experimental rock/contemporary folk enthusiast fingerpicking unintelligible noise, a chicken pickin’ Montana boy playing modal jazz boomer-rock riffs, and a wannabe punk waxing poetically through a microphone. We emerged not from a place of want, but from a place of necessity in a community with a dearth of fresh musical blood. Cosmic Sans weaves their collective inspirations through a fine line in a way that can only be described as… Cosmic. Tree Form, a new Missoula quartet, is inspired by the traditions of soul, funk, and jazz. The band dedicates themselves to rhythmic exploration and a creative harmonic palette. Their debut album Fever Dream, is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp . Come enjoy a selection of originals, standards, and ear worm jams, designed to serenade the senses and leave behind all terrestrial ties. Molly Liu Buchanan is a singer and songwriter writing about belonging, identity, growth, and loss. Her lyrics are filled with natural imagery with a surreal twist. She will accompany herself with finger style guitar. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
