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MARSHALL CATCH plays at Thursday!Fest in downtown Kalispell. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
MAHRIAS SCHULZE, left, and Samantha Schaming dance to the music of the Montana Midnight Guitar Trio during Picnic in the Park at Depot Park. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake, file)
KYMBER MANTEL dances while Ron Sanders play during Picnic in the Park at Depot Park. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
RYLAN RUSSELL-PERRY and Kymber Mantel dance during Picnic in the Park. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake, file)
MARSHALL CATCH plays at Thursday!Fest in downtown Kalispell. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
MARSHALL CATCH plays at Thursday!Fest in downtown Kalispell. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake, file)
DON CAVERLY of Mood Iguana plays drums and backs up lead singer Andre Floyd at Picnic in the Park. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake, file)
ANDRE FLOYD and Mood Iguana play at Picnic in the Park in Kalispell. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Live music returns to downtown Kalispell next week, and the tunes will keep coming all throughout the summer.
A pair of separate but complimentary outdoor concert series — Picnic in the Park and Thursday!Fest — help bring downtown Kalispell to life during the summer months and give music-lovers of all ages a chance to see a show without leaving town.
Kalispell City Parks and Recreation has been hosting Picnic in the Park for 26 years, and this year’s slate includes 14 free, all-ages concerts. Food but no alcohol is sold during the event, which was taken over by Recreation Superintendent Mark Friedline last year.
“It’s really something that the businesses and community love,” Friedline said. “Driving business to the downtown area. It’s just a great tradition.”
Picnic in the Park concerts are Tuesday evenings and Wednesday during the lunch hour. This year, Friedline scooted the Tuesday night concerts an hour earlier in response to feedback he received last year — shows this year will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday’s lunch concerts are 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Picnic in the Park season gets underway Tuesday with the Copper Mountain Band on Tuesday and has 14 different acts on the 14 different dates, covering a wide range of musical genres.
The Parks and Recreation staff is responsible for organizing everything from disc golf to adult soccer to these concerts in Kalispell, and this concert series is part of a concerted effort to give more recreation options to the city’s residents.
“Not everybody recreates in the same way,” Friedline said. “Some of the things that we’re missing are ... things like art programs and music programs.”
THURSDAY!FEST, organized by the Kalispell Downtown Organization, fills the lawn outside the Museum at Central School with music, a craft fair, food court, farmer’s market and beer garden.
Like Picnic in the Park, there is no cost to attend Thursday!Fest. The concert series begins Thursday, June 29 with Jameson and the Sordid Seeds and runs every week through Aug. 31. Concerts are from 5 to 8 p.m.
THURSDAY! FEST SCHEDULE
All concerts outside Museum at Central School
5-8 p.m.
Thursday, June 29
Jameson and the Sordid Seeds
Thursday, July 6
My True Freedom
Thursday, July 13
Comatose Posse
Thursday, July 20
Marshall Catch
Thursday, July 27
Mike Murray Band
Thursday, Aug. 3
Barnyard Riot
Thursday, Aug. 10
Andrea Harsell and Luna Roja
Thursday. Aug. 17
Kenny James Miller Band
Thursday, Aug. 24
Crown Guitar Festival All-Stars
Thursday, Aug. 31
Smart Alex
PICNIC IN THE PARK SCHEDULE
All concerts at Depot Park
Tuesday concerts 6-8 p.m.
Wednesday concerts 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 27
Copper Mountain Band
Tuesday, July 11
Jameson and the Sordid Seeds
Wednesday, July 12
John Floridis
Tuesday, July 18
Mike Murray
Wednesday, July 19
New Relm
Tuesday, July 25
The Hawthorne Roots
Wednesday, July 26
Zino and the Bel Aires
Tuesday, Aug. 1
Marshall Catch
Wednesday, Aug. 2
One Less Karen
Tuesday, Aug. 8
Luke Dowler
Wednesday, Aug. 9
Flathead V8s
Tuesday, Aug. 15
Andrea Harsell and Luna Roja
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Flathead Valley Community Band
Tuesday, Aug. 22
My True Freedom