Here’s a quick guide to some upcoming arts events happening in Missoula this week.
Flathead Lake by kayak
(Thursday, Sept. 25)
Gary W. Hawk, who taught for almost 20 years in the Davidson Honors College, has logged about the same amount of time paddling around the seemingly endless waters of the western Montana icon.
In his new book, “Into This Radiance: Kayaking Flathead Lake,” he considers the lake in a series of short essays. Hawk, who’s also a woodworker and a published poet, will give a reading followed by a discussion here in Missoula.
In a jacket blurb, Chris Johns, the former editor in chief of National Geographic magazine, said, “Gary shares the joy of exploring Flathead amidst powerful winds, treacherous waves, freezing water and unanticipated challenges. With keen observation, insight, humor and love Gary gives the gift of all that he has learned in Into This Radiance, a memoir that inspires and guides us in this journey we call life.”
Details: Shakespeare and Co., 7 p.m., free.
Improvisers on stage at ZACC
(Sunday, Sept. 28)
Hear two sharp New York improvisers in a Missoula duo set through a local connection. One of them, Devin Gray, a New York-based drummer, was voted onto the Rising Star list for drummers in the 2025 critics’ poll by DownBeat. He’s played with intimidatingly good artists like saxophonist Tim Berne and pianist Angelica Sanchez.
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Gray’s most recent album, 2023’s “Most Definitely,” is an entirely solo percussion effort with the addition of some electronics.
The other is saxophonist Loren Stillman, a Brooklynite who’s based out of Missoula when he’s not playing in larger cities and Europe. When he’s not traveling, he plays regularly with drummer John Wicks and others.
Their opening act is a Missoula band: Bill Kautz’s Golden Mean, led by the trumpeter-composer, along with bassist Steve Kalling, Aria Peters on violin, Hannah Ransom on percussion and Jake Ransom on vibraphone.
Details: ZACC Show Room, doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30, $10 or $15-$20 for artist support tickets.
Documentary on Black member of Corps of Discovery
(Sunday, Feb. 28)
The Roxy Theater is hosting a screening of a new short documentary, “Big Medicine: York Outdoors,” that focuses on York, a Black enslaved man who was a member of Lewis and Clark’s Westward journey. In the 30-minute film, a crew takes a four-day float on the Upper Missouri River Breaks and relays York’s story. The participants include Hasan Davis, a historical re-enactor who’s portrayed York around the U.S., including Montana.
The film was produced by Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and NEW Multimedia, with the screening co-hosted by Travelers’ Rest State Park.
Details: The Roxy Theater, 5 p.m. book signing with Davis, 5:30 p.m. film screening, 6:15 p.m. panel discussion. Free.
In brief
A couple replays a dramatic experience, with DJ accompaniment: Missoula resident Melissa Bangs turned a “Tell Us Something” entry into a full spoken-word show, “Playing Monopoly with God and Other True Stories.” She’s back with a different storytelling experience called “The Bangingsons: A Love Ballad” in collaboration with her husband. According to the ZACC website, it involves simultaneous cancer diagnoses, a broader family crisis and more, as her partner spins on the DJ decks. ZACC Show Room, Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 25-27. Go to zootownarts.org for tickets and more information.
Cory Walsh is the arts and entertainment reporter for the Missoulian.
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Cory Walsh
Arts and Entertainment Reporter
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