The Montana Folk Festival is one of the largest outdoor music festivals in the northwest region of the state. The festival has played a key role over the years in bringing together some of the finest and most diverse line-ups of home-grown and international talent in the state under the folk festival banner.
The Folk Festival is a three-day celebration currently held in Butte although its mission and purpose are to reach more communities.
The festival has attracted as many as 175,000 visitors on some occasions and generated huge revenue across the state since its inception. This has been helped in no small part by the fact that Butte is home to the nation’s largest National Historic Landmark District.
These days the festival features performances and exhibits by the nation’s finest musicians, dancers, and craftspeople. This occurs across six stages in all and there is a pavilion with various themed areas where more than 20 groups perform a diversity of musical and cultural traditions.
Along with the music, the virtually endless array of food options, artist marketplaces, and family areas make this a must-see event for anyone in the region when it occurs around July.
Butte is located between Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks at the connection of the I-15 and I-90, which makes for easy access to the Montana Folk Festival by road.
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- A recent guestYour Guide to the Montana Folk Festival In Butte
This is a whole weekend affair! We love a free festival, but we especially love a family-friendly event that supports the entire community. And with their First Peoples’ Market, the Montana Folk Festival does just that, so you’ll want to bring a few extra coins to keep the support loop going.
Event Details
- Dates: Second full weekend of July, Friday-Sunday
- 443 N Main St, Butte, MT
- (406) 497-6464
- Admission: Free
- Website
- Contact: Montana Folk Festival
The History Behind the Festival
The Montana Folk Festival originally started out in the form of the National Folk Festival, which had a lineage stretching back to 1934 in St. Louis. This was the oldest and longest-running—not to mention the most diverse festival in the region–and it featured the traditional music and arts of a variety of cultures.
This folk festival was the first national one of its kind to combine a combination of music and featured various styles like blues, Cajun, polka, Tex-Mex, a harp ensemble, or even a Peking opera. Eleanor Roosevelt was apparently one of the first champions of the festival, which helped raise its profile and bring in even more visitors to each event.
The National Folk Festival stands today as one of the first events of its kind to feature the music, crafts, and arts of many other nations, races, and languages, all on the same bill. It was organized by the National Council for the Traditional Arts and was first hosted in Butte from 2008 to 2010.
This initial hosting helped generate huge revenue in the region, and thus when it looked as if the festival was coming to the end of the line, the opportunity to extend its life was seized upon by various parties who decided to re-package it as the Montana Folk Festival.
The Original Stage is still used and adds something of a panoramic view of Butte’s historic buildings. Backed up by the scenic surrounding mountains this only adds to the effect of the wide-open musical landscape.
The stage is located on the site of the town’s historic original mine yard, with its dramatic and imposing-looking headframe that harks back to Butte’s early days as something of an underground copper mining hub.
The Montana Folk Festival today attracts many out-of-Montana residents and out-of-state visitors to the Butte-Silver Bow County area. This attendance makes important economic contributions to the Butte-Silver Bow County area every year and has thus become something of a mainstay.
As many as 175,000 attendees have been counted before, with usually not less than 150,000 making the event.
Main Attractions
The festival is set up in what is known as the Victorian ‘Uptown’ Business District of Butte. This is the section of the former mining town containing some well-preserved historical architecture which can easily be seen by anyone attending the music festival.
For those visitors not so familiar with Butte, this is the part of the city built on a “hill” that is reportedly still chock-full of precious metals. This earned it the moniker ‘the Richest Hill on Earth.’
Six stages hosting more than 20 music performers is the usual procedure for the event. Aside from that visitors can enjoy traditional artists and craft vendors in the festival’s two marketplaces: the Montana Traditional Arts Market and the nearby First Peoples’ Market featuring Native American arts and crafts.
On top of that, the event features as many as 30 foods and beverage vendors serving ethnic and other festival food related to natives and immigrants.
At assigned booths, festival-goers can purchase festival merchandise including music and other items related to the artists.
There are also several themed festival areas, namely: the Montana Folklife Area, the Family Area, two Festival Marketplaces, and the Festival Food Courts.
The Artists and Acts at the Festival
Obviously, the line-up changes with each year but to give you some idea, the main acts from this year’s event included music from the likes of Jontavious Willis and Andrew Alli, Cedric Watson and the Bijou Creole, Chuck Mead, Jeff Little Trio, Sugaray Rayford, and the Hot Club of Cowtown.
On Saturday night one of the main attractions is always likely to be the Montana Folklife Stage which features some of Montana’s own musicians. This year in 2022 it played host to the Celtic Quintet, The Montana International Folk Dancers, and The Tiernan Irish Dancers.
Admission, Arts, & More
The Montana Folk Festival has deep roots in culture and the arts, as you’ve already learned, but it goes even further than platitudes.
This free summertime festival focuses on folklife from Montana, as well as numerous cultures, including the Montana International Folk Dancers that bridge recreational and ceremonial dancing from different times and places.
Offering dance classes and workshops, they strive to share dances and rich cultural heritage as they have been passed down generationally.
And speaking of generational art, you’ll also find two art markets at Montana Folk Festival: the First Peoples’ Marketplace and the Montana Traditions Arts Market.
Here’s the scoop: the First Peoples’ Marketplace shines a light on traditional arts as well as modern expressions of traditional art, from antler carving to art prints to beadwork to Native American flutes.
While the festival is free, you’ll absolutely want to bring some money to support these fantastic artisans.
But we love this marketplace for its exemplary fashion show, an incredibly unique display of contemporary fashion merging with proud cultural designs.
You can find numerous tribe members at the folk festival, each with their own details, images, and items for sale.
But don’t forget about the Montana Traditions Art Market, which widens its scope to a Big Sky Country aesthetic. You’ll find pottery, bags, upcycled clothing, sculptures, woodworks, and more here.
We love that the entire festival has an opening ceremony on Friday evening, one that accentuates Montana’s rich culture and history.
Food, Camping, & More
Yum, food! You can find traditional and regional foods to go along with delicious ethnic and festival-style treats here.
In the past, the Montana Folk Festival has seen a whole lot of BBQ, hydrating teas and sweet ice creams, zingy teriyaki, soba noodles, and – the best of all – huckleberry smoothies (Try these!).
Since many ethnic groups and immigrants have made a home in beautiful Butte, you can expect to see a diversity of choices, from savory to sweet and everything in between.
Now that we’re hungry, let’s get camping. Camping on festival grounds isn’t allowed – including tipi camping – but we do recommend reserving space in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
The Beaverdam Campground and Lowland Campground provide safe, natural spaces to unwind after a day’s worth of exploration, but we also recommend specific city parks below (Accommodation) that are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Miscellaneous
While we wish pets were allowed at the Montana Folk Festival, the reality is that it’s just a bit too loud and busy for organizers to make such a concession.
Please keep them at home or somewhere they can be appreciated and loved with plenty of treats and water. Don’t worry – you’ll have plenty of trinkets to bring home to your furry loved ones!
Also, be aware that larger high-backed chairs are not allowed, ensuring that the more vertically challenged or those in the beautiful ADA crowd have a chance to appreciate the festivities.
Focusing on these larger crowds, let’s talk about parking. Please take advantage of the copious amounts of festival parking lots and buses, as well as the Festival Parking facilities at the Civic Center. We strongly recommend ride-sharing or biking over to keep the parking lot cleared for rescue workers and to support your own personal environmental impact.
The organizers also strongly appreciate their volunteers – here’s a page to sign up! – and know that volunteers keep the festival thriving.
Just as importantly, they encourage a donation of $20 to $30 per family (or more!) to keep the festival going for the next seven generations.
Accommodation
Although camping isn’t allowed on festival grounds, we’ve already given you a few options for roughing it out near the Pintler mountain range – and we’ll provide a few more.
But if your idea of a good night’s sleep involves hot springs or a warm, comfortable bed before jumping back into the festival mode, we’ve got some great suggestions for you, as well.
Starting with the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, which is about as far from the festival as you can get (Just call it rejuvenation!). We love it for its unlimited access to natural spring waters, numerous specials, and rooms with gorgeous views.
If you’re more interested in a historic downtown stay, we recommend The Miner’s Hotel, a converted bank building that provides a boutique experience and has its own speakeasy.
For an incredibly unusual and luxurious experience, check out the Copper Mansion, which offers its own tours and operates as something of a B&B – it’s utterly fascinating (And Butte loves its mansion/B&B hybrids: also check out the Hodgens Ryan Mansion!).
Although you’d think otherwise, neither of these accommodations is too pricey – but you may be looking for something a little more quaint or rustic.
Look into the Ramada by Wyndham. And while we recommend camping in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, you may enjoy pitching a tent in a city park like Copper Mountain Park, McGruff Park, or Foreman’s Park.
All of these are first-come, first-serve, as we discussed earlier, but the sooner you get to Butte to enjoy its beautiful scenery, the sooner you can set up camp! See you at the festival!
- Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
- The Miner’s Hotel
- Copper Mansion
- Hodgens Ryan Mansion
- Hotel Finlen
- Ramada by Wyndham
- Days Inn by Wyndham
- Super 8 by Wyndham
- Best Western Plus: Butte Plaza Inn
- Beaverdam Campground
- Lowland Campground
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