Boukman Eksperyans/Haiti to Butte

A prophet pointed to the light

in the spirit of Bob Marley and other timeless spirits,

as Boukman Eksperyans,  from Haiti, set the place afire to climax the folk festival in Butte on Sunday, July 10, 2011. Officially, this was the Montana Folk Festival,and this tent was the Montana Tourism Dance Pavilion.

They were the reason I wanted to go to this shindig in the first place, because I saw them twice on Santa Monica Pier many years ago. They knocked me out then, and I figured they would again. Figured right.
This was my Sunday church meeting, a knock your socks off tent revival with spirited hymns of redemption and freedom.

Butte hosted the National Folk Festival for three years, learned how to run the thing well, and figured why not continue the tradition for the state. It worked well with good crowds, numerous shuttles, a wide range of food, and some stunning music.

There are more images of this group on my flickr archive, as well as thousands more of mostly local Missoula performers making music. Coming soon: the Skurfs CD release, a report on July's First Friday a reformed version of Reverend Slanky, and more.

Skurfs @ the Hat, July 1, 2011

El 3-oh on Higgins for First Friday in July

More fun-seekers prowling downtown on First Friday