Whitefish Songwriter Festival (WFSF)
WHITEFISH, MONTANA
SEPTEMBER 17-19, 2020
The Whitefish Songwriter Festival will feature hit songwriters from Nashville and rising stars from across North America including Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Alberta and Nashville. Many downtown venues will host music during the weekend including the O’Shaughnessy Center, Casey’s, Great Northern Bar & Grill, Remington Bar and Fleur Bakery among others.
More than twenty songwriters will perform in thirty plus shows filling the Whitefish theaters, restaurants, coffee shops and bars with some of the most talented artists in the music industry. Each show will feature two or three songwriters telling stories, trading songs and showcasing their creativity. The music begins in the morning with live songwriter interviews and ends in the late hours of the evening with songwriters and their bands at venues such as the Remington Bar, Great Northern Bar & Grill and Casey’s.
Local organizer and board member Cari Klepper will produce the festival for the Whitefish community and the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals Inc. “It will take a village effort to make this festival a reality in 2020. Whitefish is a musically savvy community and this festival will be the perfect complement to the abundance of talent and entertainment in the Flathead Valley,” Klepper says.
The festival has the support of the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau and Glacier Country Tourism. “This Whitefish Songwriter Festival has the potential to be a real asset to our community,” said Chamber Executive Director Kevin Gartland. “The unique, club-oriented format works perfectly with our existing businesses, it’ll be a nice boost to the local economy during the shoulder season, and the proceeds will benefit our town’s music education programs. That’s a win-win-win!”
The WFSF is a product of the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals Inc. The Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals Inc. (RMSF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to promoting music education in local communities and universities. The RMSF’s original festival is the Red Lodge Songwriter Festival now in its fifth year. Over the past four years the Red Lodge Songwriter Festival has gifted over $40,000 to the Red Lodge Public Schools Music Department, Operation Second Chance and Montana State University-Billings. “We are excited to bring this unique music festival to the Whitefish community and invest in music education in the Valley,'' says Klepper.
The Red Lodge Songwriter Festival is held annually in mid-June. This festival has hosted Hall of Fame Songwriters Even Stevens, Hugh Prestwood, Kostas and other hit songwriters such as Tony Lane, Brett Jones, Rob Crosby, Helen Darling, Jon Pierce, Brice Long, Wynn Varble, Will Robinson, Anthony Smith, James Dean Hicks and Karen Staley. In addition to hit songwriters, dozens of Rising Stars from Montana to Tennessee have graced the stage with their creativity and talent.
“We are excited to see the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals taking their talents to Whitefish. I am confident your community will realize similar economic benefits in mid-September that we have in June.” Sherry Weimer, Executive Director, Red Lodge Chamber of Commerce.
For more information contact Cari Klepper at 206-713-3000 or [email protected] whitefishsongwriterfestival.org
