Music school hosts weekend events with musician Jack Gladstone

North Valley Music School is hosting “A Weekend with Jack Gladstone” on Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4.

Two community events will bring music education, performance, and music appreciation to Northwest Montana. An evening concert on Friday will be paired with a youth-centric matinee on Saturday.

Both events are free and open to the public thanks to a grant from the Montana Arts Council. Both events will be held at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish. The Friday concert begins at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and the workshop runs from 10-11 a.m. 

Jack Gladstone is an enrolled citizen of the Blackfeet Nation. He illustrates American Indian culture through a mosaic of music, lyric poetry, and spoken word narrative.

Gladstone grew up immersed in the rich oral tradition of the American West. A descendant of Chief Red Crow of the Blood Tribe and William Gladstone, a skilled Scottish carpenter who helped build Montana’s Ft. Benton and Alberta’s Ft. Whoop-Up, Jack discovered early both adventure and harmony within Indian and white cultures. A full-time performing and recording artist since 1988, Gladstone uses his unique songwriting skills to build bridges and link cultures. He has honed his native Blackfeet storytelling abilities with a sophisticated understanding of mythology and art that speaks to the spiritual within his audiences. 

“A Weekend with Jack Gladstone” will provide a musical performance of critically acclaimed music, lyric poetry, and spoken word narrative to Montana communities and schools that recognize the significance of the Indigenous voice and uphold the Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians.

This program is offered during National Native American Heritage Month. Every year on Nov. 1, Native American Heritage Month is celebrated to honor the remarkable Native Americans who have contributed a lot to improve the character of the nation.

In a career spanning over three decades, Jack has most recently received the 2016 Governor's Art Award and a 2016 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award from the First Peoples Fund. Jack was recognized with the 2015 Montana Governor's Humanities Award and the Art Council Innovation Award.

This program is made possible through an Artists in Schools and Community grant from the Montana Arts Council.

To learn more about Jack Gladstone, visit jackgladstone.com. For more information about the event, visit www.northvalleymusicschool.org