Lincolnstock Returns

For the past two years, the Lincolnstock music festival has been absent from Lincoln's calendar of events, but this weekend organizer Gary Zadick is bringing it back to town once again as a free, standalone event.

In 2017, Zadick took a break from organizing the festival to travel and spend time with his family. Lincolnstock as its own event was put on hold, but Zadick kept it alive in a slightly different form by handing it off to the Lincoln Arts Council and helping them fund musical performances for the Lincoln Arts Festival in 2017 and 2018.

This year the event is back, with its original emphasis on Montana-based country, folk and bluegrass acts, headlined by Wylie and the Wild West.

Zadick said the group, led by world famous yodeler Wylie Gustafson of Conrad, has been a part of every Lincolnstock since it began.

"He's an amazing talent. He plays music that a lot of Lincoln folks like to dance to," he said. "It seems to me the young and old in Lincoln know how to dance to country music. When you've got the little kids up dancing and the elderly up dancing, I like that."

This year's line-up also features Libby's Back Adit Band and the Halladay Quist Trio.

The Back Adit Band has been a recurring act at past Lincolnstock as well, and they are returning to Lincoln just three weeks after kicking off the Sculpture in the Wild Summer Concert Series on July 4th.

Quist, a singer, songwriter and musician with an affinity for bluegrass rock and country blues, returns to Lincoln after three years. She last performed here in March 2016, joining her father Rob Quist for a concert in the Lincoln Community Hall to thank the volunteers who helped establish Sculpture in the Wild in 2015.

Zadick started the small music festival in 2012 as part of a family reunion.

"At our age, when does your family get together?" Zadick asked. "Well, when somebody dies, or at weddings. I said, 'hey, let's have a family reunion in Lincoln, I'll put on some music.' We have fun and its free for the town and friends."

A Great Falls-based lawyer, Zadick has had a connection to Lincoln since the 1950's.

"My uncle had a cabin there since 1959, so summers and being at Lincoln to fish, was special to me. I love the area," He said. "We have a cabin there now ourselves. That was always the dream."

For Zadick the family reunion has also become a way to give a little something back to the town he and his family enjoy.

"It's fun for the town. Everybody can enjoy it. That's part of why I do it." He said. There was another motive also he mentioned: "I get to pick the music and I have the most fun."

Lincolnstock has also served as an informal, freewill fundraising event for local organizations.

Sometimes we pass the bucket. One year we passed the bucket for the Ambulance crew, one year we passed the bucket for the (Community) Garden, one year we passed the bucket for the Community Hall.

Zadick hasn't ruled out another impromptu fundraiser, this year, but said he doesn't have anything specific in mind yet.

Although Lincolnstock falls on the same weekend as the Rev Mountain Car and Bike show, which also features three concerts Saturday Night, Zadick doesn't see it as some sort of rival event, since they're probably drawing two distinctly different audiences.

For those who are interested in attending Zadick's pitch is simple. "Bring a lawn chair and what you like to drink, and have fun."