VIEWS. - Summer 2021

A summer of emergence Every Thursday evening during the summer months for the past 13 years, the Arts Council of Big Sky has hosted the beloved Music in the Mountains free concert series. Families and friends, visitors and locale alike gather on lawn chairs, blankets and the grassy dance floor to take in the smells of local food trucks, brews and live music under the big sky.

Last year, summer was quashed by the pandemic and the Music in the Mountains stage was left vacant, leaving a gaping hole in the community.

This year in early June, Tips Up in Big Sky Town Center was a boisterous scene, with eager fans gathered in anticipation of the Arts Council’s Music in the Mountains lineup release. The crowd was rowdy, the bar full, beer taps working at breakneck speed and Dead Sky was warming up on the new venue’s stage. For many, the return of Music in the Mountains—and live music in general—felt like the mark of the return of normalcy from a trying year.

It’s a summer of emergence. We’ll experience new growth, new lessons and possibly a better understanding of who we are and our role in the community. As we greet our friends at this summer’s gatherings—whether Music in the Mountains, the Big Sky Farmers Market, Big Sky PBR or other muchanticipated summer events around town—we’ll do so with wider smiles, louder laughs and hopefully a better appreciation for what we missed over the last year.

We hope this issue of VIEWS. highlights those values: of personal growth and nourishment; appreciation of our local businesses, producers and of our community. We’ve brought these stories, photos and experiences together in triumph, as a celebration of the dawn of the summer of emergence.

Mira Brody Managing Editor, VIEWS. Big Sky