Recently named the 2018 Event of the Year by the Montana Office of Tourism, the Red Ants Pants Music Festival takes place July 26 through 29 in White Sulphur Springs, MT.
In this Under the Big Sky bonus video we chat with Red Ants Pants Founder and Owner, Sarah Calhoun and go behind-the-scenes of the festival and to discover how it all started.
This year’s lineup features 21-time nominated, multiple GRAMMY Award winner, Dwight Yoakam. Yoakam has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide and has 12 gold albums and 9 platinum or multi-platinum albums, with five of those albums topping Billboard’s Country Albums chart and another 14 landing in the Top 10. Nearly 40 of Yoakam’s singles have charted on Billboard, with 14 peaking in the Top 10.
Country superstars Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan also are bringing their highly successful Grits and Glamour Tour to the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. Combined, Tillis and Morgan have recorded 28 top 10 hits, more than 18 million records sold, and 12 number one songs.
This year’s lineup will also include Shovels and Rope, which Rolling Stone Magazine included in their top country albums of the year; the Steep Canyon Rangers, Junior Brown, Jim Lauderdale, Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers Band, The Secret Sisters, HONEYHONEY, Lindi Ortega AND MORE!
In all, the festival includes a free street dance on Thursday July 26th along with 16 main stage and 14 side stage performances. With a reputation for paring Grammy award-winning superstars with festival producer Sarah Calhoun’s hand-picked rising stars – the festival has grown from 6,000 attendees in its first year to 16,500 last year.
“We’re absolutely thrilled with this year’s lineup and are certain that everyone who joins us will know many of the songs by heart while also finding their next favorite band. We take great pride in making sure the stars feel like locals and the locals feel like stars. As our festival has grown, we’ve been blessed to have strong support from the Meagher County community, hundreds of volunteers and supporters around the world who see great value in connecting with good folks and celebrating rural Montana,” said Sarah Calhoun, Red Ants Pants Music Festival founder and producer.
