Rob Quist gathers a host of local talent
Friends and families will be getting together for what is for one of the valley's longtime traditions at Rob Quist's Gathering of Friends reunion concert and dance Monday evening at the WestCoast Outlaw Hotel.
The concert draws nearly 600 people each year to celebrate the season, showcasing a variety of the region's finest musicians.
"This is the one we look forward to all year long," said Rob Quist in a recent interview. "It gives us a chance to come away from the frenetic pace we live and reconnect with one another to celebrate the year and the holidays."
Quist, a Montana native, is a celebrated musician on the national scene, dating back to the monumental Mission Mountain Wood Band of the 1970s to the Montana Band of the '80s and performances across the country with Jack Gladstone with their multi-media presentation "Odyssey West," which comes to the Flathead Tuesday night at the O'Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish.
The Gathering of Friends, now in its 24th year, will feature Quist's son and daughter, Guthrie and Halliday, both professional songwriters and musicians themselves. Guthrie, a lead guitarist for his former band Wild Stallions, plans to pursue his career in Seattle next year, while Halliday is running track for the Lady Griz at the University of Montana.
Special guest will be Abby Murray of Kalispell. A 1999 graduate of Flathead High School and Vanderbilt University in 2003, Murray is just back from Nashville, where she was a regular performer at the famous Lonnie's Western room on Printer's Alley. She has been featured in "Esquire" Magazine and on the television program "Nashville Star." A wonderful vocalist, she also plays guitar, piano and writes songs. Murray is a former Kalispell Junior Miss and the daughter of Don and Barbara Murray of Kalispell.
Just Us Girls will also add to the musical mix.
"They have such a wonderful blend and really appeal to a wide cross-section of people," said Quist.
Quist will also be joined by The Great Northern Band anchored by multi-instrumentalist Dave Griffith, classic rock bass player Brian Dumontier, the Montana Band's drummer Marc Wittman, and bass player Gary Snow, who has accompanied Quist on nearly all his recorded music but is largely occupied with his cherry farm in British Columbia.
The show will be split into two distinct parts - the first 90 minutes being a formal concert; for the second half a dance floor will be opened up to top off the evening with jamming and dancing. Several other guest musicians will drop in, including Terry Hill, Luke Conroy and Mission Mountain Band member Christian Johnson.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available for credit card purchase at 257-8605 or at the following ticket outlets:
. Main Street Arts and Crafts, Kalispell (old Army-Navy building) . Electric Avenue Books, Bigfork
. Westrends, north of Glacier International Airport on U.S 2 East
WestCoast Outlaw Hotel is also offering a "Take the Elevator Home" package for $79.95 including room, two tickets and continental breakfast.