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At this school, students learn rudiments of rock ‘n’ roll

Singer

Earlier this week, at a group lesson for students in the Free Spirit Rock School, Sharon Mulvehill was sitting in on bass guitar. She normally plays a regular guitar, and she wasn’t all that familiar with the bass line for the first song of the night, Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.” Bill Dickman, the school’s guitar teacher and musical director, who happened to be sitting in on drums, stopped the song and briefly, a little impatiently, told Mulvehill what she should be playing. (more…) Continue Reading →

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Historian takes close look at ‘dirty time’ in Billings’ history

Schwanz

Just shy of 100 years ago, unpatriotic “slackers” in Billings were put on notice. It was reported in the Oct. 26, 1917, edition of the Billings Evening Journal that residents who refused to buy war bonds — and those who seemed to have “undersubscribed,” given their incomes and assets — would soon be punished. (more…) Continue Reading →

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Festival donations will help music students, veterans

Even

Thanks to the success of this summer’s second annual Red Lodge Songwriter Festival, organizers of the festival recently donated $8,500 to the Red Lodge Public Schools Music Department. Festival co-founder and director Mike Booth said in a press release that the directors of the festival also donated $1,500 to Operation Second Chance, which helps heal wounded veterans through outdoor recreation.  (more…) Continue Reading →

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Voting already at record level for Magic City Music Awards

Henge

Voting is underway for the 17th annual Magic City Music Awards. It’s not just underway, it’s going gang-busters. Between the opening of voting, which was announced Tuesday morning on the MCMA Facebook page, and Friday morning, more than 1,700 people had already voted. That’s well ahead of the 1,318 votes cast last year, which was itself a record, and this year’s voting doesn’t close until Sept. 25. Continue Reading →

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Red Lodge writer sees more fires in our future

Chelan

In this summer of brutal heat, smoke and ash, in the midst of what Gov. Steve Bullock has called an “unprecedented fire season,” Gary Ferguson’s new book couldn’t be more timely. In “Land on Fire: The New Reality of Wildfire in the West,” Ferguson deftly summarizes the grim situation we are all confronting. He explains the science of fires, the complicated mechanics of fighting them and what happens to the land in their wake.  (more…) Continue Reading →

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Richard Dreyfest V a big hit, plans laid for next year

Bacha

Organizers of Richard Dreyfest V are calling the event a big success, and they are already laying plans for Dreyfest VI. “All in all, we were really stoked about how it turned out,” said musician and writer Phillip Griffin, one of the main organizers of the punk-inspired music and arts festival. “The event got off without any major hitches, which was something of a surprise because no one in this year’s organizational core had done it before.” (more…) Continue Reading →

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Montanan’s 45-rpm record collection finds worthy home

Bill

Bill Reichert has been collecting 45-rpm records for just shy of 60 years, carefully curating and tending a collection that has grown to nearly 20,000 of the little vinyl discs. At the age of 73, he said, “I’m at the point now with my collection—there’s no way I could sit down and listen to all these in my lifetime.” (more…) Continue Reading →

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