Zootown Festival Review: Enjoyable Experience In Missoula

Going into the first-ever Zootown Festival, I was skeptical of how it would play out.

I've been to many music festivals and concerts in the past that were not well-equipped with concessions or enough port-o-potties.

But all things considered, I thought Zootown was a smashing success.

The Good

Good #1) I was blown away by how many beer/liquor stands there were. The entire ice rink was lined with bars. The longest I waited for a drink was, maybe, 5 minutes.

Even outside the main bar area, there were Tito's and White Claw stands.

The Zootown organizers did not slight us on beer, and I appreciate the hell out of that.

Day 2 with Mt. Joy. Credit: Ace Sauerwein

Good #2) The same goes for food availability. There were multiple food trucks, a substantial line of tents offering a variety of food (corn dogs, mac 'n' cheese, pizza, etc), and the Missoula County Fairground food building was operational behind the Grandstand.

Plenty of options, and not a ton of long wait times either.

Good #3) If you didn't want to drink, there were plenty of water stations. You could bring your empty water bottle in and fill up with practically no wait time. Thanks for keeping us healthy, Zootown.

Good #4) THERE WERE SO MANY PORT-O-POTTIES. YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE (I didn't at least). THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Good #5) I didn't think it was wildly overcrowded. I could see the stage and easily escape the mosh pit.

Good #6) The lineup was stellar and an impressive feat for the first Zootown Festival. Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, Mt. Joy, Jason Isbell, Modest Mouse and the rest of the lineup were an awesome way to kick off the event.

Good #7) All the nice hippies in the crowd. The energy brought by the music-loving, probably drug-induced hippy crowd this weekend was so much fun.

Oh, and shout out to the EMTs who helped the incredibly drunk people who passed out in the middle of the crowd.

The Bad...

I loved Zootown, but there are definitely some improvements to be had.

Bad #1) It starts with the prices. This goes for every single concert and sporting event in America, but in no way is a double vodka soda worth $22. It is laughable.

Bad #2) Hozier was the main event for night #1. This is no shot at Hozier, but the sound quality was muffled, or quiet, or something.

I didn't notice it for any of the previous acts like Isbell or Lake Street Dive. We were a little off to the right side, but I thought we were in a reasonable spot for it to sound so quiet.

I saw a couple of other reviews from the Missoula subreddit page that criticized the security and behind-the-scenes operations, but I can't attest to those areas.

I am solely writing to you as a concert-goer.

What did you think of the inaugural Zootown Festival? Let us know in the comments or on our mobile app.