Rosin up the bow, the Sawtooths are set to vibrate with the sweet sounds of the best-kept music festival secret in one of the greatest live music towns in the country. It’s time for the Sawtooth Valley Gathering in Stanley, Idaho. This beloved event boasts four days and nights of Folk Rock, Roots, Americana, Bluegrass, and more, and if you’re a fan of Pixie and the Party Grass Boys, then, “We’ll be singing, my friend, howlin’ to the moon ‘til the end - stand on a mountain top with me, dance, dance, darlin,’ just be free!”
“The 9th annual Sawtooth Valley Gathering is poised to be our best festival to date, with 30-plus live performances from some of the most accomplished songwriters and musicians performing around the country,” says founder James Fowler. In addition to Pioneer Park’s outdoor stages, late-night shows press on at the legendary Mountain Village Resort’s Velvet Falls Dance Hall and the Kasino Club. Sawtooth is an authentic musical experience like no other. It’s walkable, affordable, and family friendly. The festival kicks off this year on Wednesday, June 19, with a pre-party at 9pm at Kasino Club, followed by Thursday, June 20, and Sunday, June 23, at Mountain Village Resort, and Stanley Pioneer Park on Friday, June 21, and Saturday, June 22. In addition, local and regional vendors are on-site and in Stanley providing beverage, food, arts and crafts, workshops ranging from songwriting to line-dancing, and more, to create this celebrated summer experience.
New this year, Thursday late-nights are free to all attendees with a Festival Pass. Friday and Saturday late nights are a combined ticket for both Mountain Village Resort and Kasino Club.
Says Fowler, “We will be featuring brunch sets on Friday and Saturday from 11am-3pm at both of the late-night venues, and starting at 3pm at Pioneer Park.”
Friday headliners, The California Honeydrops, return from 2021. This retro-soul outfit has become a mainstay at festivals and toured with B.B. King, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, and Allen Toussaint. They have perfected the art of improvisation – a skill so finely honed that they have completely abandoned the use of set lists and no two shows are ever the same.
In addition, and a Festival favorite, SVG could not be more pleased for the seventh appearance of Free Peoples. Tim Sawyer has graced the Sawtooths with his musical stylings for nearly 20 years. It would not be a festival without him.
Arguably, the biggest band in Montana right now, the Kitchen Dwellers, will play two sets on Thursday. They weave bluegrass, folk, and rock through a treasure of homegrown stories to captivating tunes that’ll have you up dancing. Donovan Frankenreiter graces Thursday’s lineup and brings his unique blend of laid-back grooves, and for the third appearance at SVG, Pixie and the Partygrass Boys are guaranteed to bring the most fun possible with their high velocity instrumental and song-writing excellence, and sing-along anthems.
Saturday night’s headliner features Andy Frasco and the U.N., whose performances have been described as a “boisterous blend of harmonic funk and jazzy influences, all topped with boundless energy.” Frasco is the consummate showman, on the backs of reckless abandonment and a disregard for the rules, with witty lyrics to back it all up. Shows are highly improvisational and promise to be a rollicking ride of fabulous feel-good music.
An epic Sunday closeout features two bands, ALO and Free Peoples. The laid-back California group ALO call their music “jam-pop,” and the description is apt – meticulously-crafted, accessibly hooked compositions laced with improvisational departures. Free Peoples plays a separately ticketed late-night show at Mountain Village Resort. They’ve been playing Stanley for 20 years and are as good as it gets - downhome rustic charm kicking a high kind of energy with great grooves and impeccable musicianship.
Other notables performing at SVG - the ‘one-man jam-band,’ Keller Williams, makes his debut this year. His talent can’t be overstated and the lively fun he brings out of a guitar is next level. The critically acclaimed international folk-singer, Steve Poltz, returns. Steve co-wrote “You Were Meant for Me” for Jewel, and has quietly emerged as the kind of live phenomenon celebrated passionately by a diehard fanbase and renowned as a festival favorite everywhere.
The late-night schedule split between Kasino Club and Mountain Village Resort features Free Creatures, Free Peoples, Floating Witch's Head, Jupiter Holiday, Watkins Glen, The Live Oaks, David Henry Sather-Smith, Aniana, and Marshall House Project. All late-night shows are +21. Says Fowler, “There’s a lot of incredible music and unforgettable performances coming to Stanley. One of our partners, Sawtooth Brewery, is debuting a special Pilsner dedicated to the SVG, and Go-Go Squeeze Active Yogurt sponsors our kids tent this year, which will be expanded.”
“This event wouldn’t happen without the hundreds of volunteers from around the northwest and beyond,” says Fowler. “Additionally, it’s the City of Stanley, the locals, and business owners who are very welcoming. We love this community and are very privileged to work up here.” For every SVG pass purchased, and every single day ticket sale, $1 is donated to four Sawtooth Valley non-profits. Camping is available at Sawtooth Valley Pioneer Park, and Mountain Village Resort’s properties. Festival attendees must have a SVG festival pass to camp at any of the SVG designated campsites. Ticketing is online and at the box office in Stanley. Summer evenings in June can be chilly, so come prepared with extra warm clothes and blankets.
About Sawtooth Valley Gathering
Stanley, Idaho, is the gateway to the Sawtooth Mountains with abundant outdoor recreation, including hiking, biking, rafting, fishing and exploring, including the world-famous Redfish Lake. Throw in an eclectic mix of live music, a plethora of camping options, local and regional vendors, workshops and a like-minded crowd of music-loving folks and you have the Sawtooth Valley Gathering.
For more information, visit sawtoothvalleygathering.com.
