Got any plans this weekend?

Did you know there are two great music festivals happening in the mountains?

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE going to shows in Boise. But seeing live music while you are camping and doing mountain things is something special.

This weekend, Sawtooth Valley Festival returns to Stanley and Yellow Pine Harmonica Fest returns to Yellow Pine. Lots of great tunes in two of the best places in Idaho.

Alsooo while I was digging around, I found a handful of summer concert series happening in our nearby mountain towns. So consider this your guide to summertime music in the mountains of Southwest Idaho.

See you up the mountains! <3

Sawtooth Valley Gathering

August 5-8, 2021 in Stanley, Idaho

Mountains. Live music. Camping. Dancing. Yes please.

The Sawtooth Valley Gathering is returning to Stanley for its sixth edition this weekend, starting Thursday, August 5 and wrapping up Sunday, August 8.

Festival

Sawtooth Valley Gathering is held in two locations over four days. On Thursday and Sunday there’s two stages at Mountain Village Resort. On Friday and Saturday there’s two stages in Sawtooth Valley Pioneer Park, plus late night shows on the stages at Mountain Village Resort.

Late night shows include live music at Velvet Falls Dance Hall and a silent disco outside Mountain Village at the Salmon River Stage. (If you’ve never been to a silent disco, it’s where everyone listens to the music with wireless headphones on vs through a speaker. Usually there are multiple DJs and you can flip between sets on your headphones. It’s really fun and like, freeing or something. Highly recommend.)

Music starts each day between 10am-12pm and late night shows wrap up around 2am. Check out the full schedule here. There are lots of vendors and other activities happening within the festival during the weekend.

Lineup

What you can expect music wise, is lots of instruments, talented folks playing them, and dancin’ tunes. Sounds like a good time, yeah?

Headlining this year’s festival is Fruition, a bluegrass/folk band from Portland, OR who got their start busking on sidewalks all over America. Listen to a few tunes here and here. The other headliner is The California Honeydrops, a blues/R&B band from Oakland, CA. I got to see them in Portland a few years back and damn, they really put on a show. Listen/watch here.

Some other bands on the lineup I’m sad I’m missing: The Lil Smokies (listen), The Brothers Comatose (listen - also they playing on Sept. 2 at Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise), Polyrhythmics (listen & get funnky), Yak Attack (listen), and Boise band Blood Lemon (listen). Peep the full lineup here.

Camping & Parking:

The festival has camping for attendees at Sawtooth Valley Pioneer Park – it’s $100 bucks which does not include your ticket to the festival. Obviously this is in Stanley, so you can also camp in the mountains around town. All camping info here.

Parking is available onsite and paid – it’s not included with a camping or festival ticket. Info here.

Other things to know:

Stage 1 fire restrictions are in effect in Stanley and Sawtooth National Forest. IDK why fire restrictions are so hard to find online/so confusing, but they are. Stage 1 means you cannot have a fire anywhere except for in a designated recreation site. Honestly, I would just not have a fire if I were you. I know it’s not the same camping without a fire, but it's much better than burning the forest down.

You must sign a COVID-19 waiver if you are attending the fest. More info here.

No dogs or pets allowed.

Bring some warm clothes for nighttime. Sawtooth summer evenings are not the same as Boise summer evenings.

Yellow Pine Harmonica Fest

August 5-7, 2021 in Yellow Pine

Yellow Pine is one of the most wonderful places on planet earth. You can play a round of golf on the golf course, which is filled with Ponderosa pines. There’s one street – Main Street of course – which is where all of Yellow Pine’s businesses are. The Yellow Pine Tavern is where you’ll go to get the coldest beer of your life, but make sure you bring cash. The Corner is where you’ll go for the best french fries. The people are friendly, the air is fresh, and the The Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival is a damn good time.

Festival

Going on nearly 30 years, The Yellow Pine Harmonica Fest takes place on Main Street. It’s completely FREE and very family-friendly. Also dog-friendly. There’s one main stage on Main Street and another special events stage near the Community Hall. Usually there's a few bands playing at The Tavern too.

Music kicks off at 6:30pm on Thursday, August 5; Friday, August 6 the opening ceremony starts at noon and music is on both stages until 10:30pm; Saturday begins with community breakfast at 8-11am, then music all day 10:30am-10:30pm. In addition to music, there’s harmonica contests, harmonica workshops, fly fishing demos, activities for kids and teens, and the Great Harmonica Run. See the full schedule here.

Camping

There are a handful of developed campgrounds around town. There is free camping in the forest around town. Honestly, I doubt you will find a spot in the campgrounds at this point, so look for forest spots. There’s a ton and it’s one of my all-time favorite places to camp.

Parking

Free day parking for cars is available in town, one block from Main Street. You can’t miss it, look for the signs and it’s probably the only parking lot in town haha.

If you ride an ATV or bike into Yellow Pine, you can park in the day parking area and across the Ellison/Behne intersection.

Other things to know

Sage 1 fire restrictions are in effect in Yellow Pine and the surrounding forest. That means campfires are only allowed Forest Service approved metal fire rings in the campgrounds. NO campfires anywhere else.

Dogs are allowed at the fest.

Here’s driving directions. Siri doesn’t really know how to get to Yellow Pine and there's not much service up there. Just a few reasons why it’s the best place ever. See you in Yellow Pine!

PS - here’s a lil song that will get stuck in your head.

MORE MOUNTAIN MUSIC

If you find yourself in the mountains this summer, here's a few places to go catch some tunes!

Gold Digger Days in Idaho City | September 24-25

This two-day music festival is returning to Idaho City for the second time. It’s held at The Gold Mine, a lovely little hotel and saloon in historic Idaho City. Eight bands are on the lineup to play on Friday night and all day Saturday. Sounds like fun! Tickets & info here.

TGIF Friday Concert Series at Brundage

Every Friday night in the summer, Brundage has live music outside. If you find yourself in the area, go to a show! Here’s the schedule:

8/6: Hillfolk Noir​
8/13: Grateful​
8/27: High Pine Whiskey Yell​
9/3: Jeff Crosby & the Refugees​

Crusty’s Concert Series in McCall

McCall's beloved pizza place, Crusty's Pizza, has two music series going on this summer. One happens Tuesdays from 5-8pm at Crusty’s Pizza at Tamarack Resort. The other is Wednesdays from 6-9pm at Crusty’s Pizza in McCall. Every week is a new band and the band plays both locations. Here's the schedule:

8/33: Free Peoples​
8/10: Bottom Line Band​
8/17: TBA
8/24: Great American Trainwreck​
8/31: The Moody Jews​

Tamarack Sunset Concert Series at Tamarack Resort

Evenings concerts are happening at Tamarack Resort near Cascade. Tamarack Sunset Concert Series is happening every Thursday from 6:45pm to 8:45pm, Tam has a new band playing in The Pavilion. Here's the schedule:

8/5: Bill Coffey and His Cash Money Cousins​
8/12: Emily Tipton Band​
8/19: Audio Moonshine
8/26: Thomas Paul and Canon Fodder​
9/2: Shon Sanders Band​

Mountain Village Summer Series

In addition to be an official venue for Sawtooth Valley Gathering, Mountain Village in Stanley hosts concerts year-round in the Velvet Falls Dance Hall. This year its schedule is:

8/6-7: The Weary Times​
8/11: Ward Davis Band​
8/19: Jason Eady​
8/20: Jupiter Holiday
​8/27: Great Bait​
9/4: Eilen Jewel + Brook Faulk & Family Corvidae​
10/13-14: Reckless Kelly + Micky & the Motorcars​
​

That does it! Are you going to see any music in the mountains this weekend? Let me know! marissa@fromboise.com

Thanks for reading!

With love from Boise,

-Marissa

PS - speaking of live music, tonight is Jump, Jam & Jive at JUMP. Steve Fulton Music is headlining and Boise Hive Presents is opening, plus there will be food from Tony’s Tamales, Happy Camper Kitchen, and The STIL.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, August 4) is Live on the Lawn, a daytime disco with Poolside and Brijean. I talked about this last week but it's going to be a really good show! It's early and kid-friendly, plus there will be food trucks there for din. Tickets here. Come dance in the garden!