{"id":3555,"date":"2014-08-27T10:46:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-27T16:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=3555"},"modified":"2014-08-29T17:42:55","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T23:42:55","slug":"a-bit-of-paradise-an-insiders-look-at-red-ants-pants-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2014\/08\/a-bit-of-paradise-an-insiders-look-at-red-ants-pants-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"A bit of paradise: An insider’s look at Red Ants Pants fest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Isbell\"<\/a>

Erik Petersen<\/p>

Jason Isbell plays the Red Ants Pants Music Festival on July 25.<\/p><\/div>\n

Friday, July 25, 1 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow the music.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I tell myself as I look around the campground. I\u2019ve lost my party. It was easy to find them in the daytime. They had plastic palm trees in front of their tents. Now all I can see are the stars and the wild Montana sky. The Milky Way glows, constellations are endless and the stars are glorious, almost holy.
\nIt hits me how lucky we are to be camping out here in White Sulphur Springs at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. Skies like this make me feel like I could never leave Montana. What beauty.<\/p>\n

My flashlight won\u2019t work. The battery must be dead. I can\u2019t make out faces, I can\u2019t make out distinct elements of campsites. The group I was with was loud. I should hear them. Where is the music?<\/p>\n

I hear something. Guitars, voices. \u201cPancho and Lefty\u201d? No, that\u2019s not where the Hasslers are camping. We already played that. I hear something else. More music. \u201cStuck in the Middle.\u201d Wait. Is that a stand-up bass? Yeah, that\u2019s not the Hasslers, either.<\/p>\n

A hard-hitting folk rock group from Missoula with a singer and guitar\/banjo player from Lewistown, the Hasslers are local heroes in Fergus County, where I live and write for the twice-weekly paper. Earlier today they rocked the main stage, an opportunity given to them for winning the 2013 Emerging Artist Competition last year. To win, they received more red tickets than any other group performing on the side stage.<\/p>\n

This year I\u2019m playing on the side stage with my trio: “Stove” Hughes on lead guitar, harmonica and stomp box and Chris \u201cHeadhunter\u201d on keyboards and saxophone.<\/p>\n

Headhunter was playing melodica \u2014 a small portable keyboard you can blow into like a snorkel \u2014 at the party. I imagine the sound of it would be unique enough to carry me back, but no luck yet.<\/p>\n

I am not hopeless, but it\u2019s been awhile and I have no idea how to fix this situation.
\nWandering in the dark, I look up at the sky again and ask for help with navigation. That\u2019s when I hear it: a beautiful four-harmony arrangement of Neil Young\u2019s \u201cHelpless.\u201d I stop and listen for a moment, amazed by the heavenly sound of the chorus.<\/p>\n

I might not have known where the campsite was, but I wasn\u2019t lost. I felt like I was stuck inside The Band\u2019s Pandora station at the best Americana music festival in the state \u2014 and one of the best anywhere. There were no wrong turns. All the music was excellent.
\nAs I walked, \u201cHelpless\u201d faded into Marshall Tucker\u2019s \u201cCan\u2019t You See.\u201d Was this our group?<\/p>\n

I called Headhunter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you guys playing Marshall Tucker?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the hell are you?\u201d he said. \u201cI told you not to use the port-a-potty. You should have just pissed off to the side like everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I know. What are you playing right now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing. Maybe I can get a song going with the melodica. If I play Cat Stevens, I bet you\u2019ll find us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Headhunter, 26, has spent the last year in Lewistown as a choir teacher at Fergus High School. We just started playing music together in the spring. Although heavily influenced by jazz, Headhunter has a folk edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you hear it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Headhunter starts playing his melodica. I can\u2019t tell what tune it is over the phone.
\n\u201cKeep playing,\u201d I say. \u201cI\u2019ll find you.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the campgrounds look the same, except that some campfires having stand-up basses. I keep walking and keep walking.<\/p>\n

I hear something familiar, well, sort of familiar. It sounds like Cat Stevens. \u201cPeace Train\u201d? On a melodica?<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019ve been happy lately,\u201d I sing.<\/p>\n

The melodica stops. I see Headhunter\u2019s silhouette, a large man\u2019s shadow blowing into a little keyboard. I\u2019d never been happier to see the guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThinking about the good things to come,\u201d he sings.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I believe it could be, something good has begun,\u201d we sing together. Others join in, but not for long, as only Headhunter knows all the words.<\/p>\n

I was in the right place. We all were. Looking around the campsite, I saw musicians and music lovers in celebration of the liberation the festival has already given them. We were free and we were united, and the party was just getting started.<\/p>\n

Saturday, July 26, 9 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cShould I wake up the boys?\u201d Stove asked his girlfriend, Theresa.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet them sleep,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Charlie\"<\/a>

Eric Petersen<\/p>

The author, Charlie Denison, makes his debut at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. It was an experience he won’t soon forget.<\/p><\/div>\n

Stove, a 65-year-old retired art teacher in Harlem, Mont., who has spent most of his life picking country and rockabilly, is rough around the edges. At first glance, he looks hardened and worn, often wearing ragged clothing and a baseball cap that\u2019s been old since the \u201990s. He is a sensitive cynic with a big heart and an original sense of humor who has a defining mustache and almost always wears a cowboy hat when he performs. He loves music, his girlfriend, his dog, coffee and attention.<\/p>\n

Stove and Theresa have attended Red Ants three of the past four years. The last two years they brought a vintage camper with them that they remade themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked like shit when we got it,\u201d Theresa said.<\/p>\n

Now it is a campground attraction. Earlier in the morning, two women came by asking if they could take a look inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on a tour of vintage campers,\u201d one of them said.<\/p>\n

Many who walked by the camper complimented us on its appearance, which pleased Stove.<\/p>\n

Climbing out of my oversized six-person tent, I greeted Stove, Theresa and Headhunter. Out of all of us, Headhunter\u00a0was in the roughest shape, but Theresa had a cure for his hangover.<\/p>\n

Former owner and cook of Lewistown\u2019s Empire Cafe, Theresa treated us with hot meals each morning of the festival. This morning she made biscuits and gravy.
\nAs she prepared the meal, Stove and I got out our guitars and Headhunter grabbed his melodica again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re gettin\u2019 friendly with that thing,\u201d Stove said. \u201cYou\u2019re not plannin\u2019 on bringin\u2019 it on stage, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if I am?\u201d Headhunter said.<\/p>\n

Stove looked at Headhunter with disgust, like he\u2019d just taken a sip from a spit cup. Headhunter smiled and blew into the melodica, again playing \u201cPeace Train.\u201d<\/p>\n

We fooled around that morning playing \u201cThe Weight,\u201d Lefty Frizzell\u2019s \u201cGone, Gone, Gone\u201d and Bill Withers\u2019 \u201cAin\u2019t No Sunshine\u201d as women wearing short shorts and cowboy boots walked on by with men in button downs with the \u201cRed Ants Pants\u201d logo patched on the back. It didn\u2019t look like their first rodeo.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people go every year,\u201d Stove said. \u201cWho can blame them?\u201d<\/p>\n

The festival, Stove said, gets larger every year.<\/p>\n

In 2013, 10,500 people attended. This year, according to staff member Erica Lighthiser, around 11,000 people attended.<\/p>\n

For the first time, Lewistown singer\/songwriter Dave Rummans was one of them. Two of his favorite contemporary performers \u2014 Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell \u2014 were scheduled on the main stage this year, and he couldn\u2019t resist. Camped near us, Rummans stopped by with his guitar for some breakfast and tunes.<\/p>\n

Excited for Carlile, Rummans belted out her song \u201cTurpentine,\u201d his engaging tenor voice inviting our neighbors to stop and stare. Relaxed and entranced, he sang the song with more enthusiasm and joy than I\u2019d heard when he\u2019d performed it in the past, and I knew why. I\u2019d never seen him this happy before, and his joy enhanced his singing. If that\u2019s true for other singers, imagine how beautiful the choir in heaven will sound.

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n

People walking by stopped and listened. An unexpected applause erupted when we finished playing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhose song is that?\u201d an Australian man camped next to us asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrandi Carlilie,\u201d Dave said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBloody hell, I wouldn\u2019t have guessed,\u201d he said. \u201cYou sing it like you own it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Impressed, we affectionately called Rummans Brandon Carlile the rest of the weekend.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Following the breakfast and jam, Rummans, the band and I walked to the festival grounds.<\/p>\n

Here we all were: thousands of us gathered on Ron Jackson\u2019s family ranch overlooking the Big Belt Mountains, on the last weekend of July.<\/p>\n

Who would have thought?<\/p>\n

Sarah Calhoun, producer of the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, set up the festival as a way to raise money for the Red Ants Pants Foundation, whose mission is to \u201cpreserve and support working family farms and ranches and to promote rural communities.\u201d Red Ants Pants is also Calhoun\u2019s company that makes work clothes for women.<\/p>\n

The festival started as a celebration of Montana culture with a focus on working-class traditions. In addition to musical performances, there are also timber cutting, ranch roping, horseshoeing and drag horse log pulling demonstrations.<\/p>\n

There is a definite blue-collar feel all over the festival, which is another reason the music featured is in the realm of Americana. According to www.americanamusic.org, Americana is \u201ccontemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R & B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw.\u201d The essence of Americana is the focus on working-class traditions. Americana songs sometimes tell the story of hard-working Americans, or reflect on hard times and historical moments. Think of Bob Dylan\u2019s \u201cMoonshiner,\u201d The Band\u2019s \u201cThe Night They Drove Old Dixie Down\u201d or Jason Isbell\u2019s \u201cTraveling Alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

As we neared the side stage, we heard a thunderous applause. Hippies, hipsters, baby boomers and all other kinds of campers were gathered by the stage. Girls were dancing, men with straw hats were moving their heads back and forth. The Last Revel, a trans-stomp folk group from Minneapolis with a rock edge, had their attention. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands, and they were loving every minute of it.<\/p>\n

Lead vocalist Lee Henke was smiling uncontrollably between songs, as were his bandmates, especially banjo player Ryan Acker. Henke led the group with soulful singing while holding down rhythm guitar, keeping a beat with a kick drum and adding some harmonica. His counterparts blended in the banjo, fiddle and had a friendly, front-porch Appalachian-style three-part harmony. They were reminiscent of Mumford and Sons but had more of a punk edge. I couldn\u2019t help but feel like Henke had been through the ringer, especially when he sang painful, fist-clenching, adrenaline-packed versions of \u201cMoonshiner\u201d and Leadbelly\u2019s \u201cIn the Pines (Where Did You Sleep Last Night?).\u201d<\/p>\n

My God. People were screaming. Their merchandise guy was shrouded by hands reaching for CDs. They nailed it, and they knew it, but they couldn\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you so much,\u201d Acker said. \u201cThis is without a doubt the highlight of our summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Last Revel didn\u2019t want to stop, but they had no choice. Baskery, three Swedish sisters who play pop\/roots\/Americana, were about to start on the main stage. The sound man was looking at the band, practically apologizing to them for having to end their set. The hippies in the front were yelling, \u201cOne more! One more!\u201d It was a few screams away from being chaos.<\/p>\n

It was close enough to stir up Stove.<\/p>\n

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted him creeping up to me from the shaded beer and wine booth, walking slowly, hunching his back and shrugging his shoulders . Based on his deer-in-the-headlights look, he was either shocked or amazed, or both.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got work to do,\u201d he said. He didn\u2019t blink, he just stared, impressed and as close to blown away as I\u2019d seen him.<\/p>\n

I patted him on the shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, man, we\u2019re going to have a lot of fun up there tomorrow. Enjoy yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the biggest differences between me and Stove has to do with a competitive nature: he has it, I don\u2019t. He is the son of a football coach. He can\u2019t help it; it was ingrained in him at an early age.<\/p>\n

The Last Revel band members started leaving the side stage and were immediately bombarded by fans \u2014 new and old. A single file line formed next to them.
\nThat\u2019s how it\u2019s done. The Last Revel gave the people what they wanted.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Later on that afternoon, my girlfriend, Kari, and her 25-year-old niece, Cherrell, joined us on the campgrounds.<\/p>\n

There are few things Kari loves more than music, and a big part of our relationship is sharing it together. We first met when I was playing at an open mic in Lewistown. Our eyes locked and \u2014 when I gathered up the courage to ask her out \u2014 we became inseparable, traveling together, sharing music together and complementing each other. Playful and energetic, Kari practically skipped over to me when she arrived, fully ready to embrace the festival she\u2019d heard so many remarkable things about the last three years.<\/p>\n

Wearing a straw hat over her long blond hair and a black sleeveless shirt, Kari\u2019s beauty was radiant under the bright, hot sun.<\/p>\n

We held hands as we walked through the main gates, passing the artist merchandise tables and checking out the many vendors selling coffee, Montana draft beer, canned beer, kettle corn, mountain fresh ice, Thai noodles, chicken on a stick, lemonade. Craft vendors were selling art, vintage guitars, cutting boards and culinary implements.<\/p>\n

Cherrell, attending her first music festival, was giddy, exploring every aspect of the three-day event, dancing her way around with grace and childlike wonder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing my Red Ants Pants dance,\u201d she said excitedly, and often.<\/p>\n

Her enthusiasm was contagious, making those around her \u2014 especially those in our camp \u2014 a little more joyful.<\/p>\n

Cherrell, who is half-black, poked fun at the lack of diversity of the audience. Whenever she would see a black person, which wasn\u2019t very often, she\u2019d say, \u201cHey, look, it\u2019s my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considering that Charley Pride, one of the few black country singers, was headlining the show, this led to a lot of jokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my grandpa,\u201d she said as he performed, screaming it with such fervor it probably struck some as sincere.<\/p>\n

Saturday, 7 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only one person outmatched Cherrell\u2019s enthusiasm: Josh Ritter.<\/p>\n

A poor man\u2019s Bruce Springsteen, Ritter took the stage with a bang and a force of energy that shakes you up, wakes you up and commands you to stand.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s do the Red Ants Pants dance,\u201d Cherrell said cheerfully, getting up from the blanket she was sharing with Kari. \u201cCome on, guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Headhunter, Stove and I got out of our lawn chairs and followed the girls to the stage. As we got closer, Ritter\u2019s smile became more noticeable. He was beaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiving a dream\u201d is a cliche too often thrown around, but seeing Josh Ritter perform that day, I knew that\u2019s exactly what he was doing. It was impossible picturing him any happier.<\/p>\n

In fact, for some, his enthusiasm was hard to take.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s too happy,\u201d Stove said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

But I see his enthusiasm as part of his performance, and a big part of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the other girls here are stars, you are the Northern lights,\u201d Ritter sang, kicking off his song \u201cKathleen,\u201d one of his earliest hits. I held Kari and sang the line along with Ritter.<\/p>\n

I think what people got most from Ritter\u2019s performance was a genuine appreciation for being alive. The women adored him and the men \u2014 well, most of us \u2014 admired him.<\/p>\n

Saturday, 9:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the sun began to set and the big sky above began to darken, Brandi Carlile and twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth took the stage and jumped into \u201cHard Way Home,\u201d an upbeat, catchy folk and country song that got a number of fans singing along.<\/p>\n

Carlile and the Twins brought a commanding sound to the stage with Brandi\u2019s guitar and stomp box, Tim\u2019s lead guitar licks, Phil\u2019s bass and Josh Neumann\u2019s spell-binding cello.<\/p>\n

Although Carlile\u2019s originals such as \u201cKeep Your Heart Young\u201d and \u201cRaise Hell\u201d sparked much applause, it was her covers that blew people away. Early in her set, she played Dolly Parton\u2019s \u201cJolene,\u201d wowing the already-elated festival-goers.<\/p>\n

Along with the gorgeous three-part harmonies, the high, controlled, passionate cries of Carlile soared the sky as a remarkably orange sunset came and went like part of her set. The setting of Red Ants Pants Music Festival is one of the biggest draws of the weekend, especially once the stars start shining over the stage.<\/p>\n

The stars shined for Carlile. The darker it got, the more they shimmered, and the better her show became.<\/p>\n

Leaving the stage after her set, people knew she wasn\u2019t done, but they didn\u2019t know what to expect. Before she came back up with the Twins, Neumann played a stirring cello intro. As the intro built, Tim came in with dobro and the song started to sound familiar.<\/p>\n

Carlile and the Twins jumped into Fleetwood Mac\u2019s \u201cThe Chain,\u201d singing, \u201cListen to wind blow, watch the sun rise.\u201d Many hollered.<\/p>\n

Carlile was putting on a clinic, captivating every last one of us. \u201cThe Chain\u201d was followed by the biggest ovation of the evening. Courageously, Carlile followed it with a new and unknown song from her next album, which featured an enchanting melody and mesmerizing harmonies.<\/p>\n

Rummans, the biggest Carlile fan I know, said it was his favorite song she did that evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave me chills,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Carlile left the stage again, but she wasn\u2019t done. Like Ritter, she too was grateful and enthused. She didn\u2019t want to stop. The rest of the group called it a night, but the Seattle singer came out with her acoustic and went spiritual on us, playing Leonard Cohen\u2019s \u201cHallelujah.\u201d Perhaps it was the Montana sky that inspired her. God\u2019s country can have that effect on people.<\/p>\n

Screams were one thing, chills were another, but as Carlile reached the climax of Cohen\u2019s classic, she brought tears to our eyes.<\/p>\n

Gazing at the stars as she sang \u201cit\u2019s not a cry that you hear at night, it\u2019s not somebody who\u2019s seen the light, it\u2019s a cold and it\u2019s a broken hallelujah,\u201d I saw a star shoot over her, over all of us. I was in the right place. We all were. We were free and united by the beauty, the power and the magic that music brings.<\/p>\n

Was it heaven?<\/p>\n

No, it was the Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulphur Springs, and it felt close enough.<\/p>\n

Charlie Denison<\/strong><\/em>
\n Lewistown, Montana<\/strong><\/em>
\n Professional full-time singer, who plays over a dozen instruments frequently (actually 28 total), 3-5 at most gigs, 2-3 at a time, with a nearly 1000-song repertoire. Appearances have included numerous concerts, 2 seasons of a TV show, radio (including once as a guest dj), a major motion picture, and recorded by MTV productions for a VH-1 special (that never aired), formerly in a band with Billy Currington and in another band with a member of the 70’s group Gallery.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the bio my editor Deb Hill received at the Lewistown News-Argus as part of a press release from the Red Ants Pants Music Festival with information on all the side stage talent about two weeks before the festival began.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow! You are famous,\u201d she wrote to me in an email with the press release attached. \u201cMajor motion picture?\u201d<\/p>\n

I had no idea where any of this came from.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually 28 instruments total?\u201d Headhunter joked after reading it. \u201cNo false modesty there.\u201d<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t me.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust who the hell are you?\u201d one co-worker joked.<\/p>\n

How did this happen, I thought?<\/p>\n

And then it came to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould we just use your \u2018Reverb Nation\u2019 site as your webpage?\u201d The Red Ants PR girl\u00a0asked in an email.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d I said, assuming there wasn\u2019t another Charlie Denison out there that they would think was me.<\/p>\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n

Charlie Denison in Savannah, Ga., comes up when you type in reverbnation.com\/charliedenison. You can find his remarkable bio in the bottom right corner of his page.<\/p>\n

The Red Ants Pants staff was sincerely apologetic. They were even kind enough to send me a free ticket for my girlfriend.<\/p>\n

And, fortunately, the wrong bio did not end up in the Red Ants Pants program. If I hadn\u2019t worked at a paper, however, I probably wouldn\u2019t have known to have it corrected.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry we suck,\u201d Erica Lighthiser wrote on the back of a postcard that came with the additional ticket, camping voucher and drink tickets.<\/p>\n

Apology accepted, Erica. The mixup brought more laughter than anything else. And when it is all said and done, my identity remains intact. The correct bio, featuring Stove and Headhunter, filled people in on what to expect on the side stage Sunday.<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 27, Noon<\/strong><\/p>\n

A tribute to the late Ben Bullington, a beloved songwriter who lived much of his life in White Sulphur Springs as a family doctor, took place on the main stage. Bullington, one of the men who helped get the Red Ants Pants Music Festival going, played on the main stage every year. He recorded in Nashville and was respected and befriended by Americana greats such as Rodney Crowell and Guy Clark. A group of White Sulphur Springs High School students sang Bullington\u2019s \u201cWhite Sulphur Springs\u201d as Stove, Headhunter and I finished our soundcheck.<\/p>\n

Looking out from the side stage, I could hear the young baritone sing \u201cThere\u2019s trout streams, the air is clean and money don\u2019t mean everything, in a place called White Sulphur Springs.\u201d The wind blew the song our direction, and I took a moment to think about the opportunity we had to perform at this festival.<\/p>\n

Here we were, grateful, humbled, honored and ready to go.<\/p>\n

Bullington worked hard to make the festival a reality, along with Calhoun, Joanne Gardner, the Ron Jackson family and countless others. Ron also passed away last year. He too was honored during the tribute, which was followed immediately by up-and-coming folk and bluegrass trio Red Molly.<\/p>\n

Red Molly\u2019s cross-genre style was reminiscent of both the Dixie Chicks and Lucinda Williams. They were cute girls who switched from tender love songs to angry, bitter\u00a0rockers.<\/p>\n

Immediately following Red Molly\u2019s last song, we jumped into our own version of Johnny Bond\u2019s \u201cSick, Sober and Sorry,\u201d speeding it up and having fun with it, belting out the words soulfully and ad-libbing some hoots and hollers. Stove was on fire, playfully throwing juicy fills onto the verses and playing solos that had intensity and flare. Headhunter was holding down the bass on the keys with his left hand, wearing his shades and taking it easy. He was the most relaxed of the three of us, especially on the songs he only played bass on.<\/p>\n

Stove was nervous, but his nervousness worked for him and not against him. He was hyper-focused and on the ball. After his second solo on \u201cSick, Sober and Sorry,\u201d he gave me a look of confidence, saying \u201cWe got this\u201d with his eyes. I liked seeing that cockiness from Stove. Without it, he can doubt his abilities, which is something that should never happen.<\/p>\n

The crowd was small at first, but people continued to gather. As the song built and I started singing more emphatically, I saw members of the Hasslers nodding in approval. There were others from Friday night\u2019s party and I recognized people from Lewistown that I didn\u2019t know were coming out to the festival. There were others, too, many others whom I had never seen before, stopping to see what we were all about.<\/p>\n

By the climax of Randy Travis\u2019 \u201cDiggin\u2019 Up Bones,\u201d we had many stopping to stand, drinking their beers and taking it in. I looked over at Kari and \u2014 although we were both wearing shades \u2014 we shared a moment and a smile, we shared a glance of admiration and adoration, a glance of love and companionship that lifted me.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I get a hallelujah,\u201d I said to the crowd, reaching a heightened state of elation.
\n\u201cHallelujah!\u201d many screamed back.<\/p>\n

There is nothing quite like that feeling, no matter what scale it\u2019s on. When you are pouring your heart out doing what you love and people respond positively you get a charge, a buzz that\u2019s as intoxicating as any drug. And it never goes away, no matter how many times you\u2019ve performed or how many different venues you\u2019ve played. I had never performed at a music festival before, and I loved the openness of it. I loved having the opportunity to captivate those passing by, to hook them and keep them around. I also loved the camaraderie: we were all in it together, and we were here to share our appreciation for music, whether it was ours or someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n

This was the case late at night, too, in the campgrounds. Saturday night\u2019s jam session in the wigwam by the purple flag, where Rummans, Headhunter and I sat in with Daniel Hallock of Daniel and the Blonde and his stand-up bass player Tony Lehman. We backed Hallock on some of his clever, witty folk songs and Rummans played one of his own, followed by another sweet Brandon Carlile moment. However, it was Headhunter\u2019s epic melodica solo during Prince\u2019s \u201cPurple Rain\u201d that blew us all away.<\/p>\n

But Headhunter left the melodica at the campsite for our side stage performance, just as Stove had requested.<\/p>\n

When we jumped into \u201cFolsom Prison Blues,\u201d Stove showed off the trifecta of harmonica, lead guitar and stomp box. Headhunter shined with his sax playing on \u201cThe Man For You,\u201d one of two originals we did in our six-song set. He always surprises me on the sax. I know he\u2019s good, but he\u2019ll go places during a performance he never goes in practice, and this particular show he really stepped up.<\/p>\n

As a performer, I certainly felt the spirit of the festival, which made it hard to stop. We finished with my song, \u201cSing You Along,\u201d which is as close to gospel as anything I play, and that was fitting. The climax at the end of the song requires me to really belt out the words and elevate the emotion. That came naturally at Red Ants Pants. I knew midway through the song that the ending was going to be there, that we were going to take the song somewhere we\u2019d never taken it.<\/p>\n

Like The Last Revel, our side stage performance was the highlight of our summer, and like so many of the performers, we didn\u2019t want to moment to end. We can\u2019t expect our future shows to have the same spirit, but we will never forget the feeling we had up there and we will always be grateful to have played at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival.<\/p>\n

Sunday, 4:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, our performance was just one small part of the festival, and the main event was about to begin: Charley Pride.<\/p>\n

We were all looking forward to seeing Pride, a living legend with 36 No. 1 hits under his belt. Although originally from Mississippi, Pride has Montana ties. In the early \u201960s, he moved to Helena to play baseball for the East Helena Smelterites. He came into his own while in the Treasure State, singing all over Helena and Great Falls. It wasn\u2019t long after that he went to Nashville and recorded his first hit, \u201cThe Snakes Crawl at Night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pride looked at home when he performed, and the crowd treated him like one of our own. He could do no wrong up there, even when he lost his place while bantering between songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get back to that later. Right now let\u2019s sing another song,\u201d he said after pausing in the middle of a story.<\/p>\n

Pride was joyful and loose. A few times he did a little dance, shaking his hips slightly and shrugging his shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can still get down,\u201d Cherrell said.<\/p>\n

During his performance, Pride was full of laughter, joking with the band and the audience.<\/p>\n

Many people in the crowd were baby boomers or older, but some of the younger crowd stuck around for the legend as well. As he sang recognizable hits such as \u201cKiss an Angel Good Morning\u201d and \u201cIs Anybody Going to San Antone?\u201c most of the people near the stage sang along.<\/p>\n

Doing her Red Ants Pants dance, Cherrell \u2014 who was unfamiliar with Pride\u2019s songs \u2014 continued to call him kin throughout the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, grandpa,\u201d she yelled as she danced. We all grooved\u00a0along with Pride until his last number.<\/p>\n

In keeping with tradition, Sarah Calhoun stepped up to the mic to officially wrap up a sensational event, thanking us and telling us she\u2019d see us next year.<\/p>\n

She knew she would, and she was right. I just wish it\u2019d come sooner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday, July 25, 1 a.m. Follow the music. That\u2019s what I tell myself as I look around the campground. I\u2019ve lost my party. It was easy to find them in the daytime. They had plastic palm trees in front of their tents. Now all I can see are the stars and the wild Montana sky. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":3556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,16],"tags":[1254,1029,1256,1255,1253,1257,674],"class_list":["post-3555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-montana","tag-brandi-carlilie","tag-charley-pride","tag-jasob-isbell","tag-josh-ritter","tag-red-ants-pants-music-festival","tag-sarah-calhoun","tag-white-sulphur-springs","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}