AJJ / WHY?

Thursday, August 18 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 8 PM // $20 Comprising core members Sean Bonnette (acoustic guitar) and Ben Gallaty (upright bass), AJJ is a folk-punk outfit from Phoenix, Arizona. They formed as Andrew Jackson Jihad in 2004, when frontman Bonnette was still a teenager, and the duo quickly began writing humorously explicit music with macabre themes. In 2016, after having been referred to as AJJ by many of their fans for years, the bandmembers officially changed their name, saying they no longer wanted to be either a reminder of the former President or disrespectful (as non-Muslims). The Bible 2 arrived under the AJJ moniker that summer and landed on multiple Billboard charts, including the rock, alternative, and independent albums charts. Yoni Wolf has spent the last two decades traveling the remote sonic terrain where underground hip hop, avant-pop, and psych-rock meet. In that time he’s cultivated a unique sound, and a unique position as one of contemporary music’s most distinctive voices. Some of Yoni’s most compelling and critically-praised musical experiments have been issued under the moniker WHY?, but Yoni has been involved in various other freewheeling music projects, including Yoni & Geti, Hymie’s Basement, and the seminal cLOUDDEAD. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Wildermiss (+ Arrowleaf)

Wednesday, July 6 // Doors at 7 PM // 8 PM // $10 (Advance tix recommended) // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Wildermiss is an indie rock band. Emma Cole sings and plays synth bass, Joshua Hester plays guitar and Caleb Thoemke plays drums. They have sold out all of their hometown headlining shows since 2017 and steadily gained momentum nationwide with multiple support tours and festival spots. The band is currently working on the follow up to their quarantine singles “Supermagical” and “Italy” with plans to tour until their van dies again like it did in Michigan that one time. Official Site www.wildermiss.com Facebook www.facebook.com/wildermiss Twitter www.twitter.com/wildermiss Soundcloud www.soundcloud.com/wildermissband Instagram www.instagram.com/wildermiss Spotify https://spoti.fi/2Mw8uuQ YouTube www.youtube.com/wildermiss Arrowleaf pairs washy guitar work, humming bass, and the occasional riotous trumpet line with delicate anecdotes; dreamy conversations with wide open spaces that address stories of loss and grief on a larger scale. Featuring the introspective songwriting of Sarah Marker, the band is filled out by the thoughtful work of Brady Schwertfeger, Jake Whitecar, Peter Puczkowskyj Amanda Ceaser, and Jon Filkins. “Getting By” also features local musicians Jim Riach, Sean Burress, Bethany Joyce, Dan Weiss, Kira Bassingthwaighte, and Kaya Juda-Nelson. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
ESP + 129,600 + Dint

Thursday, May 5 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Erin Szalda-Petree is a musician from Missoula, MT. In 2020, under the name ESP, Erin created her first studio album ‘Backyard’, a collage of personal mementos from her teenage years up until the present. Other Missoula musicians, Christopher Baumann (producer), Joe Kirk, Duncan Szalda-Petree, and Noelle Huser performed on ‘Backyard’. Erin grew up listening to folk music and later found influence in pop-punk, and indie-folk songwriters. Named after a musing on the degrees in a sphere, 129,600 nods across genres with a jazzy lean. 129’s writer Jade Tcimpidis is long-steeped in Seattle DIY, having worked with iji, Mega Bog, Dozer and Sick Sad World. Bassist Kalen Walther and Jade trade instruments to form Missoula’s own Ancient Forest, now based in Seattle. Dint is salt music, loud slow, Philadelphia/Missoula, with a rotating lineup – current iteration features members of Fantasy Suite, Soft Maybe, Boys, Melon Painting. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Nightwitch + Volcanus + Perfect Blue

Friday, May 6 // Doors at 8 PM // Show at 8:30 PM // $10 For those about to rock, we salute you! Unless of course you miss this incredibly stacked lineup of Missoula riff lords featuring Nightwitch, Perfect Blue, and Volcanus. In that case, we’ll just have to shoot you a friendly nod and regale you with tales of sick mosh pits and this weird point in the night when literally everyone started playing air guitar at the same exact time. Don’t let us down. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
UM Songwriter Showcase

Sunday, May 29 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 UM students and alumni present ‘UM Songwriter Showcase’, featuring the original music and lyrics of Stephen Jay Clement, alongside recent UM graduates Arwen Grace Baxter and Diego Solan Kjelland. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Shark Buffalo + Mirror Gods

Friday, May 27 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Who the hell is Shark Buffalo, that mysterious übergroup from a long-forgotten Missoula music scene of yore? More importantly, what the hell IS a shark buffalo? Do you picture a buffalo’s body with a shark’s head, like some kind of aquatic centaur? Or do you prefer to envision an elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton fused with the head and torso of a bearded bovinae? I digress. Shark Buffalo is comprised of a holy musical trinity: Keys, Drums, and Trumpet, with Cove Jasmin, Emmet Ore, and Nathan Crawford. Mirror Gods is a powerful quartet comprised of Jesse The Ocelot on vox/guitar/loops, Joshua Chai on drums/percussion, Sean Howard Burress on bass/gadgets, and Emmet Ore on guitar/keys. Mirror Gods create the perfect mix of organic and electronic music. Jesse’s ethereal vocals sore over Sean and Josh’s intricate rhythmic bass lines, while Emmet dazzles in with magical lead guitar. They are a full on rock band with atmospheric loops and layers. Making sure to let the music speak for itself and lead the way, they try to create something different every time, with about half of their songs being dialed-in performances and the other half being all about the feels and improv. You never know what’s going to happen at a Mirror Gods show. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
The Jazz Cats from Sussex School

Tuesday, May 10 // Doors at 6:30 PM // Show at 7 PM // $10 We are an ensemble called the Jazz Cats from Sussex School, an independent progressive school here in Missoula. We are a group of eight members in grades third, seventh, and eighth on bass, guitar, drums, vocals, and keys. We have been working together for seven months now. We are performing seven songs during our performance at the ZACC, with a large variety of song types ranging from arrangements of pop to rock – from slow, to upbeat, to fast. This show will be our culminating performance for all of the work we have done this year. We really hope to see you there! Watch out because the Jazz Cats are about to get jazzy! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Jacob Rountree w/ Special Guest Chloé Little

Thursday, May 26 // Doors at 7 // Show at 7:30 // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Jacob Roundtree is passionate, hypnotic, multi-dimensional, and poetic. Jacob Rountree (and supporting artists) are an alternative folk/indie rock group offering a dynamic sound. They have been best described as a passionate and relatable, multi-dimensional act with poetically introspective lyrics, a unique finger picking style, perfectly placed percussive hits, haunting harmonies, and dream-like effects. Chloé Little has lived in Montana for several years but is a California native. Chloe formed several Bay Area bands, but musically her heart lies in writing songs. For close to 15 years, she has used songwriting as a form of mental release and creative expression. She uses the outdoors, love, soul-searching, and self-discovery as inspiration. Through her songs, she aspires to spark connection with the audience – or at least plant a seed of thought. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Catnyp w/ SenterLine

Wednesday, May 25 // Doors at 7:30 PM // Show at 8 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Formed in Missoula, MT after front man/composer/producer/bassist/multiinstrumentalist Henderson K Shatner (HKS) returned to the US after 18 years of overseas adventures, Catnyp released “The Black Cat Trilogy” of albums sequentially in 2018, 2019, 2020. Shatner founded Brand Violet, a seminal UK surf-goth act signed to legendary Some Bizarre records in the early 2000s. Catnyp has drawn recent comparison to Pixies, Daniel Ash, David Bowie, and even Led Zeppelin — largely based on the fearless vocal experimentation Shatner employs on Catnyp IIII, channeling his favorite vocalists for different tracks. Melodic, agile bass parts invoke Beatles-era McCartney while surf guitar and clean overdriven tones provide a nod to California punk and Britpop. SenterLine is a new three-piece rock band based in Missoula, MT. It consists of Marcus Knight on drums, Matt Miller on bass/vocals, and Stanley Kipp on guitar/vocals. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
A Benefit for Girls on Shred – featuring VTO, Trans Future, & Girls Rock Camp

Thursday, May 12 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 A gnarly Girls on Shred fundraiser to benefit rad noncompetitive snowboard and skateboard events for female and non-binary folks in and around Montana. Come hang out with Missoula fun punks VTO, New Wave Rock-and-Soulers Trans Future, plus the awesome Girls Rock Camp bands (Cat Water & Top Banana Dog!). Check out some alley-way skateboard shredding demos from Girls on Shred and friends. Enter a raffle and buy some merch. 70% of proceeds go to Girls on Shred! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.