Performances of the decade: Missoula establishes itself as cultural capital of the Northern Rockies

Few things reflect the character and aspirations of a community more eloquently than its artistic events. In that sense, the first decade of this new millennium firmly established Missoula as the cultural capital of the Northern Rockies.

What other town in Montana, after all, can boast of having hosted sell-out concerts by likes of the Rolling Stones, Elton John (twice in a year), Pearl Jam, Sting, R.E.M., 50 Cent, and Bob Dylan? Where else could one find a thriving, nationally recognized touring theater company (Montana Rep); an original, homegrown theatrical production that earned acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic ("I’m Sorry and I’m Sorry," by the Candidatos); and a summer choral festival that brought singers from around the world – not once, not twice, but four times in the decade? And what town five times our size can say that it birthed two new professional theater companies and a new professional opera company at the same time that the rest of America suffered its most catastrophic economic downturn in several generations?

By JOE NICKELL of the Missoulian

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