Trigger Reviews <!– TAGS MOVED BELOW POST Adia Victoria, Austin Tripp, Cameron Duddy, Chris Claridy, Cody Jinks, Cole Swindell, Cowboy Eddie Long, Dave Simonett, Erin Vaincourt, Evan Felker, Hannah King, Helnore Highwater Band, Hogslop String Band, Jaime Wyatt, Jeremy Ivey, Jess Carson, Lainey Wilson, Leah Blevins, Lord Huron, Luke Cutchen, Margo Price, Mark Wystrach, Michelle Rivers, Morgan Wade, Nick Shoulders, Paul Cauthen, Shakey Graves, Sierra Ferrell, Sierra Hull, The Black Pumas, Tim Helnore, Trampled by Turtles, Tre Burt, Turnpike Troubadours, Under The Big Sky Fest, Warren Zeiders, Zach Bryan –> 39 Comments
There are many festivals out there now catering to independent country and Americana all across the United States and into Europe, verifying the swelling popularity and importance of this music that is emerging from the shadow of the mainstream. But in three short seasons and amid a pandemic, Under The Big Sky Fest has quickly made the case for being the biggest and most important of all off the strength of its lineups, and the crowds it draws, despite its remote location in Whitefish, Montana mere miles from the Canadian border, and near Glacier National Park.

The festival’s third year comes after 2021 may have been a little too popular and well-attended. The massive crowds, especially on Saturday had folks fighting for ground space, and waiting in impossibly long lines for food, water, and bathroom privileges. Widening the space in front of the main stage, and moving the second stage back a bit meant more room for everyone, and limiting capacity meant less people that needed to be accommodated. It was like night and day from 2021, with water cheaper and more available, and everyone able to find a spot to enjoy the weekend in. If anything, they probably could have allowed a few hundred more people in with no problems.

The headliners all lived up to their billing. The Turnpike Troubadours took the stage Friday night and put on an excellent set, despite a little bit of drama earlier in the day trying to get frontman Evan Felker to the stage due to flight delays. If Turnpike had been forced to cancel last minute, it would have been the country music drama of the century. Instead, their set was the perfect way to start off the festival, and from a band that’s been around for a while, but just now feels like they’ve finally made it, coming out the other side of drama and adversity even stronger. (read full set review)
Saturday night headliner Lord Huron was one of the wild cards of the fest. How would they go over with a mostly country crowd as a mostly indie rock band was a big question. But their last album Long Lost was very much inspired by classic country—as are elements of previous works—and they made sure to lean heavy on that material in their set. Whether you were a diehard Lord Huron fan or just a curious country music onlooker, it was hard to not buy into what they were doing. They were also the only band on the weekend that brought their own set and lighting, with cliff face facades elevating the respective Lord Huron members on the stage, interspersed with psychedelic neon cactus plants.
Cody Jinks, who headlined Sunday, was everything you wanted and expected Cody Jinks to be. In independent country, some of the top artists have reached the pinnacle only to let their foot off the gas, cease touring regularly, to retire or even switch genres. But not Cody Jinks. He became a top dog, but is still out there pushing and staying hungry. He was the perfect guy to close out the festival.

Cody Jinks also deserves “good dude” points for bring his current opener Erin Vaincourt out for a duet, and forgoing the whole “encore” exercise so he could play more songs. The next to last song Jinks played was his Platinum-selling “Loud and Heavy,” and despite it being clear and hot all weekend, it suddenly clouded up, and it wasn’t a thunderstorm, but big random Montana-sized raindrops started falling from the sky during the song in a chill bumps moment. They stopped as soon as Cody was done with the song.
Even though Under The Big Sky builds their lineup around some of the biggest artists in independent country, it also doesn’t completely ignore the quality artists from the country mainstream. This year that meant giving the quickly-rising Lainey Wilson an opportunity on Sunday that she took full advantage of. From small town Louisiana, Wilson is a bona-fide redneck warrior princess, and one of the good apples doing what she can to keep it real in the mainstream, returning country back to country music, and women back to a genre where they’ve been sorely missing.

Lainey didn’t feel like a mainstream artist at an independent country fest as sometimes happens. Super energetic and animated, but unpretentious and endearing, she worked the stage in front of a stripped-down three-piece band who started the set off all crowded around one microphone singing Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz.” Sure, her big radio single with Cole Swindell “Never Say Never” felt a little flat. She’s doing what she can to make it through a tough industry. But most of her songs had the crowd singing along and buying into what Lainey Wilson is trying to do.
Midland is also a band ideal for crossing that mainstream/independent cultural divide, and even though Saving Country Music has made sure to correct the record about the origins of this outfit (They said from the stage Sunday to remember they’re from Austin. Spoiler alert: They’re not), it’s hard to deny that when it comes to the mainstream, they’re keeping it country, and are one of the best bands out there. Songs like “Sunrise Tells The Story” and “14 Gears” are as good as any. And though singer Mark Wystrach did the hackey “point at people in the crowd” thing that mainstream artists do (he once said he wanted to kick my ass. I thought about confronting him backstage, but I promised his mom I wouldn’t), otherwise, they didn’t feel foreign on the Under The Big Sky lineup at all. Midland turned in a really enjoyable, and truly country set.
Meanwhile, another guy who straddles the independent and mainstream, Warren Zeiders, was the one whose cockiness got in the way of his music. A lot of buzz has been made about this guy, and he’s racked up some serious numbers, apparently by appealing to people on Tik-Tok. His music sounds very mainstream, but since country radio still doesn’t know what to do with him, he’s being pushed through independent country channels.

Not even Koe Wetzel exudes the kind of haughty attitude Warren Zeiders did at Under The Big Sky. He walked out to walkout music, but then when it ended he just kind of stood there, basking in a decent amount of initial adulation, but nothing special, and then proceeded to preen himself as his band didn’t exactly know if they should start the first song. Then during the first song and in the breaks, they guy again would stop down just to soak in any adulation. It was Warren’s 26th live show he said, and though his band was tight and the performance energetic, he showed his novice status in the intangibles. The dude does have some decent songs to go along with quite a few bad ones, but he’s kind of the anti Zach Bryan, who also came up via viral moments, but unlike Zeiders, Zach displays nothing but humility and gratefulness for the opportunities he’s been bestowed.
Zach Bryan was the headliner of the 2022 Under The Big Sky Festival, even though he played at 5:00 pm in one of those festival slots where the sun blazes right in on you. Though you have to show deference to Cody Jinks, Lord Huron, the Turnpike Troubadours, and Jamey Johnson, Zach Bryan is both the biggest, and hottest thing going on in all of country music at the moment, independent or mainstream. Slotting him as a mid level act was one of the few mistakes made by the promoters/organizers of Under The Big Sky.

Compared to the last time this set of ears saw Zach Bryan about 10 months ago, the tightness of Zach Bryan and the band is night and day. This is no longer a viral songwriter with a beer league backup band of semi musician friends. This is a serious live show that still makes sure to put Zach Bryan’s songs first.
The crowd for Zach Bryan was massive, despite it being super hot, and basically in the middle of the festival day. When Margo Price took the stage next, the crowd in front was about 10% of the size. It really illustrated just how big Zach Bryan is, just how strange slotting him so early was when he’s been headlining other festivals. It was also unfortunate for Margo, who turned in a quality set that included appearances from her husband Jeremy Ivey, and Sierra Hull. Price continues to be a strong live performer, even if she’s traded her steel guitar in for a second lead guitarist these days, and is decidedly more classic rock and classic pop in style now.

Later on Sunday about half way through the headliner set of Cody Jinks, Cody said, “I think Zach Bryan stole the show. The kids are gonna be alright.”
Another artist that played a midday set and threatened to steal the show was Sierra Ferrell. Spellbinding in her performance, she overcame her bass player breaking a string during the first song, and her mandolin player exiting the stage early to put on one of the most lauded sets of the weekend. It won’t be long before Sierra will be playing her own headliner sets too. She also made a surprise appearance singing her duet with Shakey Graves, “Ready Or Not.” (read full Sierra Ferrell set review).
Jamey Johnson wasn’t officially a headliner, but he might as well have been, closing out the second stage on Saturday night in front of the biggest crowd assembled at the “Big Mountain Stage” all weekend. He played all his most recognizable songs before launching into a litany of covers, including a slowed down version of “This Land Is Your Land” that had everyone in chills, as well as a new song called “21 Guns.” (read full Jamey Johnson set review).
But one of the best, and most important parts of a festival such as Under The Big Sky is giving you something to discover, or seeing artists you’ve heard about, but haven’t had an opportunity to see live.

There is nobody screaming for discovery more than Nick Shoulders, who received his first real opportunity on a national stage at Under The Big Sky. The singing, yodeling, whistling, mustachioed and mulleted weirdo freak is a “day one” guy at Saving Country Music. He was first profiled here back in 2018 releasing DIY recordings to Bandcamp. Now he has multiple viral videos out there, and he drew an impressive crowd to his early Sunday set. Nick Shoulders performing at Under The Big Sky felt like that moment an artist had “made it” both to the audience, and to Nick, who shared his gratefulness throughout the performance.
And one of the coolest things about Under The Big Sky Fest is how they open their stages to local and regional acts from Montana, giving these artists big opportunities they may not otherwise receive so close to home.

Michelle Rivers from Eureka, Montana just released a new album called Chasing Somewhere, and her single “Gone” is currently in the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist. I first discovered her sitting in with Montana fiddle player/songwriter turned Nashville recording artist Hannah King at last year’s Under The Big Sky Fest. Hannah also performed again this year, including her new single “26.” Tim Helnore of the Helnore Highwater Band was another local standout who played Saturday morning.
And along with supporting local acts, there are two artists that are almost becoming synonymous with Under The Big Sky. The first is the super fun Hogslop String Band, who always bring the party. The other is Paul Cauthen, who not only played setup for the Turnpike Troubadours Friday night, also took over the set of The Black Pumas on Saturday, who were forced to cancel. Adia Victoria was also on the early lineup for the festival, but backed out.

I said my peace about Paul Cauthen in last year’s Under The Big Sky recap, and since then, Cauthen has doubled down on getting away from the sincere and heartfelt songwriting of his early career, and instead—like many mainstream country acts—just reacts to whatever the crowds want live, and leans into that even more. Cauthen codified this with his new album Country Coming Down, and the single “Country As *uck.”

But you can’t gloss over that the dude is clearly entertaining, and the crowds go wild for him. This is the reason he was given a second slot after the Black Pumas cancellation, and an art installation in one of the beer barns had been erected in his honor. For many, if not most of the folks that attended the 2022 Under The Big Sky Fest, they will tell you Paul Cauthen was their favorite act, or at least one of them. That can’t be denied, or discounted.
Under The Big Sky Fest is still a bit of an arduous festival. It’s difficult and expensive to get to and stay at. The trek between the two stages is laborious, yet you’re compelled to make that trek due to the strength of the lineup. Even though Montana can be cool and overcast in the summer—like it was the day after the festival in Whitefish—if the sun is out, it can be a swelter, which it was once again in 2022.

But Under The Big Sky Fest feels like one of the top, if not the top festival that takes the best of independent country, Americana, and even a bit of the mainstream, and putsd it all in one place. The pictures don’t do justice to the crowds. An estimated 20,000 total people attended each day in 2022 according to the fest. Under The Big Sky truly represents the greatest that “country” music has to offer each year.
All photos Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos

Apologies to artists not mentioned or pictured. With two stages and three days, you just can’t cover everything.
Adia Victoria, Austin Tripp, Cameron Duddy, Chris Claridy, Cody Jinks, Cole Swindell, Cowboy Eddie Long, Dave Simonett, Erin Vaincourt, Evan Felker, Hannah King, Helnore Highwater Band, Hogslop String Band, Jaime Wyatt, Jeremy Ivey, Jess Carson, Lainey Wilson, Leah Blevins, Lord Huron, Luke Cutchen, Margo Price, Mark Wystrach, Michelle Rivers, Morgan Wade, Nick Shoulders, Paul Cauthen, Shakey Graves, Sierra Ferrell, Sierra Hull, The Black Pumas, Tim Helnore, Trampled by Turtles, Tre Burt, Turnpike Troubadours, Under The Big Sky Fest, Warren Zeiders, Zach Bryan
Derrick
July 20, 2022 @ 9:26 am
Nick Shoulders killed it. I came in vaguely familiar with Snakes and Waterfalls, but his music was great and his crowd work was better. I was also impressed with Stephen Wilson Jr. He ran a very musically strong set (playing all of the lead guitar parts himself on acoustic). He has a pretty unique grunge-influenced sound – I’m not sure it’s up my alley but it’s country and interesting. Curious what his debut album will show.
On Warren Zeiders and Paul Cauthen – I’m not a particularly large fan of either’s recorded music (especially the newest Cauthen album), but it’s hard to deny that they got the crowd going. Paul Cauthen is maybe the first “country” show I’ve ever been to that I would drag friends who don’t like country along for.
Incredible festival overall. A lot of the issues I heard about last year (lack of water, crowding, difficulty entering) were very well-addressed.
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Greg Fields
July 20, 2022 @ 9:41 am
UTBS is a great festival and we loved it last year. The lineup last year blew this year away and it wasn’t even close. Too many artists to mention but the closers each night last year were Billy Strings, JI and 400 Unit and lastly Tyler Childers. I like a lot of this year’s artist but not enough to make the trip from Florida
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Koozie
July 20, 2022 @ 5:20 pm
I went last year and honestly, it set an unfair standard for every other lineup I’ll ever see. This definitely seemed like a more Texan-oriented lineup. Plenty of talented artists, but fewer I would call “stars” in the way that a lineup of Billy Strings, Tyler Childers, Charley Crockett, Colter Wall, Jason Isbell, DBT, Ryan Bingham and so many others represented the very best of a wave that brought real music back to a massive audience. (Though, definitely sad I missed Turnpike!)
Also – y’all go see Hogslop String Band. They’re the mf best.
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Greg Fields
July 21, 2022 @ 9:29 am
Loved Hogslop…one of the highlights of last year outside the mainstream. Emmylou Harris was surprisingly uninspiring
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Trigger
July 20, 2022 @ 6:53 pm
The 2021 lineup was especially juiced because the promoters wanted to say “thank you” to ticket holders who basically kept their money in limbo after 2020 got canceled. Then they upsold Friday to everybody with Dwight Yoakam, Ryan Bingham, Billy Strings, and others. I’m not sure they’ll be able to justify that stacked of a Friday lineup again, but we can hope.
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Di Harris
July 20, 2022 @ 10:15 am
Great pics!
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JB- Chicago
July 20, 2022 @ 10:31 am
Yeah Trig great recap and stellar pics!!! I was jealous all weekend…..lol I’ll have to get by this week with drinking well with others namely Sunny tonight and Cody & Ward on Friday…..I’ll have a nice day in August with Zach, Turnpike, and Willie I’m looking forward to.
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WD
July 20, 2022 @ 12:33 pm
Will be coming up from Texas for that show. Any must see Chicago attractions we should put on our itinerary?
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JB-Chicago
July 21, 2022 @ 8:28 am
There’s literally a million things to see in Chicago if you Google them but I’m not sure what anyone would consider a “must see” attraction. To be honest I rarely go into the city anymore now that I’m older and it’s a show I have to see like this one. I actually live and work very close to O’hare airport about 20 miles out of the city. I’m lucky in that many artists that come here actually play the outlying venues.
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ronnie
July 21, 2022 @ 8:49 am
What are you into/looking for?
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WD
July 21, 2022 @ 9:09 am
Food, dive bars, live music, places that maybe aren’t on the top ten things to visit sites. Thanks.
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ronnie
July 21, 2022 @ 9:35 am
So here is a list of small and fun venues that host country or country adjacent music regularly:
Sleeping Village, Reggies, Lincoln Hall, Schubas, Fitzgeralds (farther out from downtown but is great) Thalia Hall. If any artist catches your eye while you are here you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Dive bars: Assuming you are staying downtown or near: Rossi’s is fantastic. Grab a beer from the cooler but let the bartender open it for you. Everyone should experience Richard’s at least once. It is a very smoky throwback bar with surly bartenders in aprons and a very eclectic crowd.
Food: If you do go to Richard’s it is right next to a restaurant/bar/brewery row (Randolph and Halsted) with dozens of good options.
I wont give a pizza recommendation but wherever you are staying try to find the nearest and highest rated thin crust pizza place.
If you want just a straight tourist thing the architecture boat tour is fantastic, even as a local.

WD
July 21, 2022 @ 11:32 am
Awesome. Thanks a lot!

Jim
July 21, 2022 @ 8:23 pm
Only been to Chicago once, but favorite thing was going to see a show at 2nd City where SNL stars get their start and we saw Aidy Bryant. Also liked walking around city and kayaking in the river.

JB-Chicago
July 27, 2022 @ 2:59 pm
WD if you’re staying the whole weekend The Local Honey’s will be playing a small intimate venue called The Golden Dagger on Friday the 5th and Arlo McKinley will be at Fitzgeralds Saturday the 6th. Then of course we have Moonpies & Flatland Cavalry back at the Smokeout on Sunday……….so anyone that wants to make a weekend out of it there’s plenty going on for the independent Country fan that lives within driving distance too. Tickets still available for all shows as of now.
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JB-Chicago
July 27, 2022 @ 3:13 pm
Oops sorry my bad Arlo McKinley is this Saturday the 30th not Aug. 6 There’s so many shows coming and so many albums coming out I’m getting confused!!!
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WD
July 27, 2022 @ 4:16 pm
Damn! Got my hopes up really want to see Arlo. Will probably go to that Friday show. Digging their new album. Thank you.
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Jim Bones
July 20, 2022 @ 11:50 am
Trig i can tell how much fun you had from this review. Also love the midland jabs, people forget about the legendary Midland-SCM beef. Also if you told me in 2020 that 1) cody jinks and zach bryan are headlining a 20k person festival and 2) cody jinks gave zach bryan a shoutout during said festival and 3) zach bryan was the biggest draw of said festival, i would have said you must have recently ingested some goddamn crack cocaine!!
Everyone knows what this festival was missing, a certain man who released an album in october 2021, who is rumored to rip really hard, and incredibly consistently, and whose name rhymes with faremy trinnell
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wayne
July 20, 2022 @ 11:51 am
“If Turnpike had been forced to cancel last minute, it would have been the country music drama of the century.”
A bit of hyperbole don’t ya’ think?
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Trigger
July 20, 2022 @ 12:21 pm
Well sure, there’s probably a little hyperbole there. But if they were forced to cancel, and the headline was, “Turnpike Troubadours Cancel Fest Appearance Due To Evan Felker No Show,” it would have been lit the country music internet on fire due to the history of canceled shows from this band. The circumstances would be different this time, but most would not believe it. It would have also screwed Under The Big Sky. Paul Cauthen also played on Friday, but basically Friday was a Turnpike Troubadours show. You have 20,000 folks there in the field who’ve traveled sometimes thousands of miles to be there, and you have to tell them, “Sorry.” It would have been pretty disastrous.
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OneBySea
July 20, 2022 @ 12:46 pm
I wonder if they could have pulled off an unplanned “Kyle Nix and the 38s” show. Much better that Evan made it of course, but that would have been kind of a cool fallback.
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Rebecca Gavin
July 20, 2022 @ 2:40 pm
It looks amazing. My age/disability and eventual mortality mean I probably won’t ever get to go.
On a slightly different note, did Tumbleweed Festival give up?
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Trigger
July 20, 2022 @ 2:53 pm
Tumbleweed sort of morphed into the Whiskey Myers-curated Firewater Festival. Really good Southern rock-oriented lineup that will be in its 2nd year in 2022.
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Rebecca Gavin
July 20, 2022 @ 3:48 pm
I kind of figured that. But there doesn’t seem like there’s any acknowledgement. KC is my hometown. But with the Westport Saloon having closed, I don’t know how the independent country scene is doing there.
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cm
July 20, 2022 @ 4:02 pm
Knuckleheads seems to be booking the smaller independent country acts on a fairly regular basis.
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Rebecca Gavin
July 20, 2022 @ 5:42 pm
True. I look at their schedule and sometimes wish I was still there.
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Dan D
July 20, 2022 @ 10:00 pm
Glad to hear the oversell of 2021 was corrected. Still had a great time but staying for headliners last year and getting back to camping was a nightmare. I said then that all the problems I saw could be fixed by less tickets and a dedicated shuttle route so, hopefully they will get better. Couldn’t make it this year but sounds like it was a better experience.
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Gracie
July 20, 2022 @ 11:20 pm
If Zach Bryan didn’t have a show tonight, I swear I saw him at Stop and Shop. With his mother. The resemblance was uncanny and I tried to be discreet, but the guy started looking at me.
A little embarrassing, especially when you live in a small town up North. Zach and his mom.🤦
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Eric (Waitin’ in the Weeds)
July 21, 2022 @ 4:54 am
For the sake of equality they should have fenced in Zach Bryan’s fans immediately after his set and forced them to enjoy Margo Price.
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Matthew
July 21, 2022 @ 7:18 am
I want to hear more of Luke Bryant,F&G Line and Morgan Wallace rapping about how much they love rap with their pants around their ankles…Freaking loooooooosers
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JT
July 21, 2022 @ 8:37 am
lol at the Margo Price crowd. Unlikable person and a voice to match. Not shocking at all that nobody wants to watch her.
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Trigger
July 21, 2022 @ 9:10 am
It was quite shocking how few people were at the front of the stage to see the Margo Price performance. Sierra Hull, who played before Zach Bryan, had a 3 to 4-times bigger crowd than Margo did, so it isn’t just about how big Zach Bryan is, or that “live audiences don’t support women” or something. Sierra Ferrell also had a bigger crowd.
Again, I don’t want to bag on Margo, because I thought she had a good performance. It was better than Warren Zeiders who had way more people to see him on the 2nd stage. But she insists on being handled like a headliner, when her popularity and numbers just don’t bear that out and never have. It is the media that has embellished her stature. It wouldn’t be our business how “big” Margo Price is, but with so many people on the day saying Zach Bryan should have been given a better slot, it puts a spotlight on the situation.
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Skutt
July 21, 2022 @ 10:08 am
Great festival. Wonderful experience. Pricey, but fun. Turnpike, Paul Cauthen, Both of the Sierras, Nick Shoulders, all wonderful. Food good, drinks strong, water plentiful. Checked all the boxes for me…
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I have a few questions for other attendees: The shuttles in the first night after turnpike were a mess. Pushing and shoving in the dark, no lines or staff there. Did they ever get a better system? We elected to drive for Saturday and Sunday.
Also: did anyone see Mynxx? What was that? I know dozens of better local musicians. I can’t be the only person who felt that it was a very weird choice to book whatever that was on Sunday afternoon on the main stage.
Not sure if it’s a fest I’ll blindly buy tickets for, but I’ll be back if the lineup is as good as it was this past year. 🙂
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Trigger
July 21, 2022 @ 10:19 am
I showed up right after Mynxx on Sunday. I’d prescreened them and knew it was not for me, and knew I would possibly collapse before getting to Cody Jinks if I was on site for 12 hours again like I was on Saturday. Not really sure what the thought process was with that band. That’s why I focused on covering the local acts on Saturday.
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Skutt
July 21, 2022 @ 11:15 am
That band was amateurish. Not just the wrong kind of music, but not musically ready for that kind of gig. I was surprised to see they’ve played around the flathead a bit. Would have loved to see one of the many tight honkeytonk bands that pack the Missoula Union Club get that spot instead of Mynxx. There’s a fun Americana scene around here,
The other local acts were all very impressive. Especially Hannah King! Mynxx was my only musical complaint of the whole scene. Everything else was smooth and fun.
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Hombros
July 22, 2022 @ 12:45 pm
All observations and critiques spot on IMHO. Are you going to Hinterland in Des Moines?
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Trigger
July 22, 2022 @ 1:08 pm
I definitely want to get out there at some point, but I’ll probably be covering KOKEfest back in Texas that weekend this year.
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DJ
July 23, 2022 @ 1:42 pm
Trigger, seriously, when are you goin to take up journalism as a means of communicating? LOL- dang, son- knocked this report out of the park, with your own pictures to boot!
That out of the way, though I would never go where there are that many people, for anything, I have to wonder where Colter Wall was-
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Trigger
July 23, 2022 @ 2:31 pm
Colter played last year, and I’m sure he’ll play again in the future. This festival is custom made for him.
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