Oct 2, 2026 · Willson Auditorium, Bozeman MT
Jeff Bridges’ Black Ram Guitar was hand-built from a fallen 315-year-old Engelmann spruce, salvaged from the Yaak Valley’s oldest forest. It will be played live, all night, by a rotating stage of Montana’s finest musicians.
Following the inaugural Climate Aid concert in Portland, Maine and a sold-out Missoula debut, the festival returns for its Bozeman evening — a benefit to help protect the old-growth forest at the center of the proposed Black Ram timber sale, and designate the Yaak Valley as the nation’s first Climate Refuge.
A night of stories, speakers, and live sessions on the Black Ram Guitar. Exact run of show may shift — here’s the shape of the evening.
Seating, exhibition by flyfisherman/painter Ben Miller, and a first look at the guitar.
Opening remarks and land acknowledgment, hosted by The Montana Project.
The tree, the guitar, and the fight to protect the Yaak.
Leslie Caye, Corwin Clairmont, and J.J. Amaworo Wilson on land, culture, and climate.
Ruth Moody and the festival’s featured performers, each taking a turn on the guitar.
Eric Funk, Nora Spielman, and Liz Schmidt.
Closing remarks from the evening’s emcee, and a final word on the Climate Refuge campaign.
Author, environmental advocate, founder of Third Act and 350.org.
Singer-songwriter, of the multi-Platinum, Juno Award–winning roots trio The Wailin’ Jennys.
Iconic Montana author and Yaak Valley Forest Council co-founder.
Director, INDIGENOUS LED.
Featured performers:
Pico Alt · Jack Barksdale · Rob Quist · Jack Gladstone · Caroline Keys · Nate Biehl · Gibson Hartwell · Siri Sæteren · Steve Farmer
Speakers:
Leslie Caye · Corwin Clairmont · J.J. Amaworo Wilson
Also featuring:
Composer Eric Funk · classical guitarist Nora Spielman · French horn player Liz Schmidt · exhibition by flyfisherman/painter Ben Miller
Prices are kept low so this stays accessible. If you can’t make it to Bozeman, a donation to The Montana Project goes directly toward the fight to stop the Black Ram sale and protect the Yaak.
Proud partners with Forest Refuge Alliance, Whitefish Review, and Green Curtain Roadshow.
The Montana Project acknowledges that our cause, work, and artists receive our inspiration from the ancestral lands of Montana’s Indigenous communities, including the Salish/Sélish, Pend d’Oreille/Ql̯ispé, Kootenai/Ksanka, Blackfeet/Niitsitapi (Pikuni), Chippewa (Ojibwe)/Anishinaabe, Plains Cree, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Sioux/Lakota and Dakota, Northern Cheyenne, Crow/Apsáalooke, and Little Shell Chippewa and Métis.