One of Missoula’s Favorite Festivals Will Return this Summer!

Boy howdy were we stoked to get this news, River City Roots 2021 is a GO!! The Missoula Downtown Association's celebration of music, food, art, and community is always one of the biggest and most loved events of the year, we are so excited for it's return after a rough year of cancelations.

I think what I love most about River City Roots is that it brings Montanans of all walks of life together in once space. College students, ranchers, families, metal heads, foodies, artistic painters, performers, dancers and all varieties of community members seem to be able to find things they love about the festival. It's a perfect place to run into friends you haven't seen in a while, which will be especially true this year.

“It was hard to imagine another year without Roots Fest,” said committee chair Ellen Buchanan. “The staff and the committee had many lengthy discussions over the course of the winter on how we could bring this event back to the Heart of Missoula, even if it had to be in a modified format. It became clear about a month ago that with COVID cases declining and vaccination numbers increasing by the end of August we could make Roots Fest happen.”

This year's festival will be on August 27th and 28th throughout the streets of downtown Missoula. Local and national bands will play the Main Street stage, those acts have yet to be announced, and local eats and drinks can be found in the food court.

And there's more good news from the MDA, Out to Lunch and Downtown ToNight will kick off on June 2nd and 3rd! A full line-up of local food vendors will be at Caras, as well as live music, although you should expect to see solo acts or duos for the first month, with larger bands being added to the schedule in July and August.