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.
Leslie Caye and CSKT singers open the night, followed by a short film from director RA Beattie and welcoming remarks from emcee Bill McKibben.
The tree, the guitar, and the fight to protect the Yaak — the evening’s centerpiece.
Jack Barksdale, Eric Funk, Nora Spielman, and Liz Schmidt, then a full-ensemble performance with Pico Alt, Siri Sæteren, Nate Biehl, Caroline Keys, Gibson Hartwell, and Ruth Moody, closing with J.J. Amaworo Wilson.
A short break before the second set.
Jack Gladstone, Rob Quist, Corwin Clairmont, and Pico Alt & Eric Funk, plus a special video appearance from YoYo Ma.
Land, culture, and the case for a Climate Refuge in the Yaak.
A full set from Ruth Moody, joined by the ensemble for a closing performance, with final words from emcee Bill McKibben.
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
Special video appearance:
YoYo Ma
Also featuring:
A short film by director RA Beattie · 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.
Mira Brody talks with Rick Bass about the guitar built from a 315-year-old Engelmann spruce, and the push to make the Yaak Valley the nation’s first Climate Refuge.
A look inside the fight to protect the Black Ram old-growth forest from the logging project threatening it.
Rick Bass on how art, science, and one salvaged guitar are converging to protect the Yaak’s ancient forest.
How a guitar carved from an ancient Montana spruce is bringing musicians and conservationists together.
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.