Over the years, many of my favorite Missoula musical memories have been shaped not by big-name touring acts, but by fun, strange and decidedly unpretentious performances from homegrown artists, often in unconventional spaces. Anyone who has attended — or inadvertently wandered past — the cacophonous Friday night maelstrom at the north end of Higgins Avenue known as Noise Complaint, for instance, can attest to its exuberant and inclusive spirit. The joys of Rock Lotto, or DIY festivals like Microfest, I think, come primarily from the sense of community that those events bolster.
Yet the monthly series FreeSessions embodies an egalitarian spirit all its own. At each installment of the monthly events, musicians of all skill levels are welcome to first enjoy a performance from a selected curator, and then break out into small groups to jam and experiment on their own.
This year brings exciting developments for the series. Starting this month, on Jan. 26, FreeSessions will move from the public library to the similarly community-minded venue Free Cycles. In an effort to bring in a bigger crowd, it will also shift from Mondays to the final Sunday evening of each month. The year kicks off with an innovative and imaginative curator — the multidisciplinary artist Kate Lloyd, who will perform with an array of homemade gear including a harp-like instrument constructed from a piece of driftwood and a fish-shaped washboard connected to a synthesizer and played with a kitchen whisk.
“You don’t need to carry a tune, keep a beat, or understand music theory to be part of this world.”
“Being asked to curate a FreeSessions show is a huge honor. It feels like I’m officially being welcomed into Missoula’s ‘punk rock’ art scene,” Lloyd told The Pulp. “Stage fright is very real. But my new ‘artist voice’ is all about encouraging others to experiment with music, sound, and noise. You don’t need to carry a tune, keep a beat, or understand music theory to be part of this world.”
While 2025 marks a new venue for FreeSessions, the series has been running for close to a decade. Local musical mainstays Naomi Moon-Siegel and Bill Kautz launched FreeSessions at the Imagine Nation classroom in 2017. Since then, it has proven nomadic. After a stint at the Westside Theater, it moved online for COVID (in collaboration with Seattle’s Racer Sessions), and then took up residence in the library.
The multidisciplinary artist, University of Montana professor and blacksmith-about-town Jesse Blumenthal currently organizes FreeSessions in collaboration with scenester promoters Colin Merrick and Dónal Lakatua of Daisy Chain Presents. Blumenthal explained that he’s particularly enthused about the move to Free Cycles.
“Free Cycles staff has done a really good job of providing space in this community that feels safe and open and is available to everyone. That’s a really big thing that we’re trying to reinforce with FreeSessions,” he said
While the performances themselves can vary, Blumenthal explains that the run of show generally stays the same: Doors open at 5, to offer ample time to schmooze and set up gear. Then at 6, the month’s curator opens the evening by performing a piece of their own. Past curators include artists from a range of genres including drummer John Wicks performing as a jazz trio with Loren Stillman and Tommy Sciple, founder and trombonist Naomi Moon-Siegel, and Andy Erickson and Coco Amarotico of the rock band The Spills. “[The curator’s performance] is meant to set the tone for the session,” Bluemnthal says.
Afterwards, attendees — typically between 20 and 30 — will break off into trios and quartets to play some music of their own. If time allows, at the end of each session, the group comes back together for one big jam. (Blumenthal notes that while FreeSessions has amps and drums on hand, the policy is otherwise BYOInstrument.)
January’s FreeSessions promises a singular vibe. Lloyd, the curator, who is currently a graduate student and instructor in Media Arts at the University of Montana, noted that she has rarely played in public since the COVID pandemic. Her performance will feature pieces of her thesis project, titled “The Art of Repair,” which she will debut at Free Cycles.
Lloyd explained that her performance will include an element of audience participation, too. The plan, to some degree, is to let the music run wild. “My approach is inspired by John Cage’s concept of ‘chance operations.’ In other words, nothing ever sounds the same twice, leaving plenty of room for technical surprises, human error, or those wonderful ‘happy accidents’ that can make a performance truly unique,” she said.
Blumenthal stressed that any and all are welcome to enjoy the music, even if they don’t want to play. But, he adds, they might end up joining anyway. “We hope you’ll be inspired to come up and play around and be you, but you’re certainly not required to,” he said.
Lloyd agreed. “Getting back on stage feels vulnerable, but doing so with FreeSessions feels safe,” she said. “I know that no matter what happens — technically or creatively — I’ll be supported. For the love of noise!”
January’s FreeSessions takes place Sun, Jan. 26, with doors at 5 PM and show at 6 PM.
