The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Red Ants Pants Music Festival is one of Montana’s largest music festivals and celebrations of the summer. It takes place in White Sulfur Springs, Montana on July 28-31, 2022 and has featured many country music and sweetgrass artists such as: Lyle Lovett, Emmy Lou Harris, Merle Haggard, Wailin’ Jennys, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Wynonna and The Big Noise, and The Bellamy Brothers throughout the years. This year they are featuring Grace Potter, JJ Grey and Mofro, Corb Lund, Allison Russell, Son Volt, Martin Sexton, Jack Ingram, Sunny Sweeney, John Craigie, Riddy Arman, The Local Honeys, Kris Delmhorst, Sera Cahoone, The Last Revel, Margo Cilker, Counting Coup, and The Dirty Shame.

The Red Ants Pants Foundation is a woman owned business founded and operated by Sarah Calhoun. Besides the music festival, they are also widely known for the help and grants they have provided to farmers and ranchers all across Montana. After the hardships many of our agricultural producers have faced this year, including the April Blizzard, and current drought we are in, the foundation has decided they would like to do something special for our agricultural heroes who refuse to give up.

This year they are offering the opportunity to win free tickets, camping passes, and beer tokens for their music festival that is taking place at the end of July. If you or someone you know is an agricultural hero that you think deserves free tickets to the biggest music festival in Montana, send an email to info@redantspantsmusicfestival.com. In the email please include: the name, phone number, email, and location of the ranch or farm.

Not a farmer or rancher, but still want the opportunity to be a part of the festival or win tickets? Each year the festival hosts other contests for Montana residents to be a part of such as their poster contest and their MontANTa photo contest. They also have applications for vendors, volunteers, and side stage applications. The poster contest is a great opportunity for young artists to showcase their talents and have their art sponsored all over Montana. This year’s winners are Emily Milligan of Reedpoint, John Sanford of Billings, Morgan Brown of Billings, Tana Gorecki of Havre, and Nolee Anderson- Hendren of Lewistown. The MontANTa Photo Contest is still ongoing until July 4th, 2022 and a winner will be announced later that week. As you are traveling through Absarokee, Broadus, Haugan, Stanford, and White Sulfur Springs keep your eyes peeled for large banners with red ants on them. If you find one, take a picture with it and post it on the Red Ants Pants website.

If you are more interested in being involved in the festival you can apply to be a volunteer, vendor, or side stage performer. Side stage performers are new artists who are looking for an opportunity to showcase their musical talents and find recognition in Montana. For more information about any of these fantastic opportunities go to their website redantspantsmusicfestival.com.

Below is an OpEd written by founder Sarah Calhoun with more information on their “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” ticket giveaway.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Sarah Calhoun

-Founder and owner of Red Ants Pants, producer of the Red Ants Pants Music Festival and executive director of the Red Ants Pants Foundation

Hay prices, blizzards, drought, grasshoppers, fuel prices, wildfires.

It’s a tough time to be an agricultural producer.

We’re reaching out to see if you know of a rancher or farmer who has had a hardship in recent months. New this year, we will be gifting free tickets to our festival in hopes that some of these producers can have something additional to look forward to. Free tickets will be randomly drawn from our pool of nominated producers.

Devastating weather events including the big April blizzard that swept the Rockies, and the ongoing drought are making it an extra tough year for agricultural producers.

While there are a number of important disaster assistance programs available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we also wanted to do our small part to thank our ag producers, let them know we care and offer what we can as a neighbor: tickets to the festival, camping passes, and beer tokens.

We invite our festival fans to nominate a deserving agricultural producer for our “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” tickets giveaway. Again, we are more than aware that this doesn’t ease the major agricultural and livestock losses experienced this year, but it is one way we as neighbors can help out.

Please send us a note with the name, hometown/location of farm or ranch, email and phone number of an agricultural producer who you think might like a little boost from the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. We’ll do our best to pitch in, You can email us at info@redantspantsmusicfestival.com.

Since we started the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, the Red Ants Pants Foundation has distributed more than $110,000 in grants that support the pillars of our mission: increasing women’s leadership, supporting working family farms and ranches, and enriching rural communities. The funds come from ticket sales to the Red Ants Pants Music Festival.

One of our guarantees will stay in mind for many years to come. It was a group of women in Jordan, Montana with the Garfield County Fiere Foundation. In 217 when some of the worst wildfires in Montana history struck their community, it was all hands on deck. Every able-bodied human was working the fire line, fueling trucks, fixing meals, looking after the neighbors’ kids… one line in their grant application still brings tears to my eyes: “Jordan, where ‘neighbors’ is a verb.”

Our friends in Jordan inspire us and I hope they inspire you as well.

Editor’s Note: The Red Ants Pants Music Festival takes place July 28-31, 2022 on the Jackson Ranch in White Sulfur Springs, Montana. Each year, with proceeds from the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, the Red Ants Pants Foundation awards grants to organizations and individuals whose projects further our mission. The Foundation has granted over $110,000 to over 90 entities across nearly every corner of Montana to date.