2016 marks the 8th year of one of the Western Region's most unique, most celebrated, and least known-about annual events. The Pirate Party is an annual three-day music and arts festival that has gained a cult following among music fans all across the Northwest. With a hard-hitting lineup of electronic music and its trademark pirate-themed charm, this year’s Pirate Party promises to be bigger, better, and more of a swashbuckling-good-time than ever before.
Originating as an annual renegade dance party in the mountains outside Bozeman, The Pirate Party has moved and evolved into a tried-and-true music festival boasting a full three-day lineup of 130 musical performances including national headliners Liquid Stranger, TroyBoi, Phutureprimitive, Bluetech, Random Rab, Thriftworks, and many more. While electronic dance music predominates the musical headliners, the festival draws fans of all types and features live music in genres like reggae, funk, hip-hop, and jam bands. This stellar lineup will be treated with this year’s addition of a Funktion 1 soundsystem and accompanied by live fire dancers, performance artists, live painters, and the inevitable sea of scantily clad pirate costume enthusiasts.
For a full three days, attendees will enjoy not only the music and nighttime shenanigans, but also a full programming schedule of yoga classes, workshops in arts and crafts, incredible hiking trails, a 22-hole disc golf course, and daytime pool parties. The festival’s picturesque venue of Lolo Hot Springs Resort sits on an ancient mineral spring on the Mud Creek (which isn’t at all muddy) 45 miles south of Missoula in the Lolo National Forest. (MAP)
Montana’s vibrant cultural scene is thriving due to events like The Pirate Party. National music and arts communities have taken notice of the creativity and energy that emerges out of this unique area. This July young people, music fans, tastemakers, and people of all walks of life will set sail from all across the Western U.S., dawn their most pirate-y garb and show the world why The Pirate Party is an event that must be experienced.
