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Organizers launch Mission Valley music nights with open-mic format at Rabbit Tree Inn and Folk Shop
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Summary
Community organizers described a new series of music nights intended to give local musicians performance space in Mission Valley, with a regular open-mic format and scheduled performers at venues in Ronan and Polson. Organizers asked the public to suggest a name for the project and to contact local hosts for participation.
Commenter 1, a community member involved with the Folk Shop, said the Folk Shop has run concerts for five years and is partnering with local venues to start a new music series that will give local performers a regular place to play.
“It's been an evolution that we were ready to try something else to build on the taste we saw in the valley,” Commenter 1 said, adding the initiative grew from conversations after Folk Shop concerts. “We could work together on this idea of bringing music in a different level to the Mission Valley.”
Organizers said the series will emphasize informal performance opportunities for local musicians rather than presenting only name performers. Commenter 3, speaking from experience with coffee-house–style nights in other cities, said that format encourages musicians who can play one or two songs to perform alongside headline acts and that the atmosphere is intended to be welcoming and low pressure.
“We just encourage that and especially encourage people playing with other groups … keep it pretty loose, pretty easy, no big pressure and that's exactly, that's the best thing about a local coffee house,” Commenter 2 said.
Program format and schedule details were described by Commenter 2: the series will run a warm-up act, a scheduled performer for roughly 30–40 minutes, additional walk-up acts, and an open-mic at the end of the night. Commenter 2 said the Ronan event will be on fourth Saturdays at the Rabbit Tree Inn, running about 08:00 to 11:00. The same format will be offered in Polson at the Folk Shop on a second night; the transcript uses the phrase “second Bridal” for that night, which is unclear in the record and not specified further.
“We're going to pick a name reasonably soon,” Commenter 2 said, and invited people to call Chaz at the coffee house or bring name suggestions to events. Commenter 1 noted the first event in the series occurred in January and was “well received.”
Speakers emphasized community-building goals: giving local, sometimes long-unused musicians a chance to return to performing, encouraging collaboration, and providing a safe, social evening for music. Commenter 3 contrasted the new series with larger concert formats that have limited opportunities for local, less-established performers, saying the shift left some musicians without a venue in other cities.
Practical details mentioned in the discussion include the Rabbit Tree Inn in Ronan as a host site and the Folk Shop in Polson as a partner; organizers asked potential performers to contact event hosts to participate. No formal actions, votes, or funding sources were discussed in the transcript.
