Doors at 6:00 pm | Show at 7:00 pm • Seated Show • $20 General Admission | All Ages
There’s something special about artists who grow up making music in public spaces learning how to listen, observe, and connect in real time. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, The Montvales spent their formative years busking on Market Square, surrounded by Elvis impersonators, street performers, and the beautiful chaos of everyday life. That early immersion shaped their sound: bold, lived-in harmonies and songs that feel deeply human.
Fifteen years later, the duo is still studying the world around them touring nationally with textured, descriptive songs that live on what they lovingly call the “feral outskirts of country music.” Their lyrics move freely between heartbreak, gentrification, abortion rights, and personal reckoning, carried by harmonies so intuitive they feel nearly telepathic.
Their debut album Heartbreak Summer Camp was recorded in a living room in 2020 stripped down, DIY folk songs tracing their lives from teenage years into their mid-twenties. They followed it with Born Strangers, recorded at Tractor Shed Studio in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and produced by Mike Eli LoPinto (Chris Stapleton, Emily Nenni). The album earned a devoted cult following and praise from outlets including American Songwriter, Holler, and Twangville. In 2025, The Montvales signed with Free Dirt Records and released the single “Loud and Clear,” signaling even more new music on the horizon.
Sharing the bill is Chapel Hill based Blue Cactus, a band that began in the honky-tonk circuit and has since expanded into a sound that blends folk, alt-country, and psychedelic-tinged rock with ease. Over their eight-year run, Blue Cactus has supported artists like The War & Treaty, American Aquarium, and Town Mountain, earning a reputation for both compelling studio work and powerful live performances.
Released in April 2025 via Sleepy Cat Records, their latest album Believer landed on Bandcamp’s Best New Country list and led to appearances at SXSW, Hopscotch Fest’s main stage, and PBS’ Shaped By Sound. Produced by Whit Wright (Thomas Rhett) and Saman Khoujinian (Sylvan Esso), the record features contributions from Erin Rae, Brit Taylor, Rich Ruth, Ryan Connors (Hozier), Joe Westerlund, and Russ Pahl.
Written over a challenging two-year period, Believer blooms with cracked-open honesty and emotional depth. Stewart’s lyricism evokes the spacious storytelling of Emmylou Harris and the quiet Southern melancholy of Gillian Welch, while Arnez’s layered arrangements give each song room to breathe. The result is an album that feels delicate, resilient, and alive like wildflowers pushing through dry ground.
