Summer Forest Concert: House of Songs Presents Bonnie Montgomery

A creative nomad wielding classical arias and country barnburners with a revolutionary spirit.

Presented in partnership with House of Songs, enjoy the genre-defying sounds of singer-songwriter Bonnie Montgomery and Jude Brothers!

Bonnie Montgomery is a creative nomad, lauded as enthusiastically for her polished parlor songs as she is for her lawless country barnburners — or for the classical opera arias she’s penned at the piano.

With roots in White County, Arkansas and a firm foothold on forward-thinking audiences in Texas and around the world, Montgomery is armed with a poet’s phrasing, a soprano’s crystalline timbre and a revolutionary’s spirit, and her repertoire ranges wherever it damn well pleases — from high romantic ballads swaddled in violins to fiery anthems of dissent to spaghetti western-inspired vignettes.

Dale Watson called her “a sophisticated badass who was born to sing.” Counterpunch Magazine hailed her operatic compositions as “white trash arias, soaked in alcohol and sex.”

Her 2016 short-length opera about Bill Clinton’s youth in Hot Springs has earned accolades from The New Yorker and Huffington Post, and her second full-length album Forever drew praise from Paste magazine for its “timeless songwriting.”

Montgomery secured the title of 2020 Entertainer of the Year with the Arkansas Country Music Awards, ACMA 2019 Americana/Roots Artist of the Year, the title of Outlaw Female at the 2016 Ameripolitan Awards and the titles of Best Americana Artist and Best Female Vocalist at the 2018 Arkansas Country Music Awards.

Jude Brothers is an Arkansan folk derived singer-songwriter with a penchant for whimsy and tender heartedness. Brothers’ distinct writing style is marked by congenial contrasts: passionate and playful, calculated and relaxed, approachable and quirky.

Their lyrics communicate a simultaneous existential dread and intoxicating thrill of living and loving, a practice in raw and shameless vulnerability shared through song. All of this is transmitted through nimble vocal frolicking—a shapeshifter voice crawling, leaping, pirouetting through a mystical landscape of their own creation.

Let’s say you are in a forest, and you don’t know how you got there. A strong voice lilts from an autumnal quiet to a riveting loud stream to sing you the spell of their story. Is it a mockingbird? The spirit of an ash tree? A mischievous, but benevolent forest sprite?

Nay! Tis but your new friend, Jud. Or Jude. Or Judith. With harp, guitar, and sometimes tenor banjo in tow, this freaky little Ozark bard comes bearing gifts- songs from somewhere between the real and the ethereal landscapes of their life.

Tickets are $20 ($16 for members, $6 for SNAP participants, Free for youth ages 18/under*), reserve your spot online or with Guest Services at (479) 657-2335 today.

* Please Note: Though tickets for youth ages 18 and under are free, a ticket is required for entry. Reserve these tickets online or with Guest Services.

About House of Songs

House of Songs is a world leader in providing songwriters and musicians with the ability to create, collaborate, and showcase in an innovative and supportive environment. With locations in Bentonville, Arkansas, Austin, Texas, and NYC, The House of Songs brings in songwriters from across the globe and has an amazing track record of nurturing artists and allowing them to expand their worldview while honing their skills with other goal-oriented musicians.

About Forest Concerts

Set outdoors in the museum’s beautiful North Forest, this family-friendly concert series features national and local artists surrounded by art and nature. Grab your lawn chair or blanket, kick back with friends, and enjoy live music under the trees all summer long. A food truck and cash bar will be available throughout the night, as well as kid-friendly artmaking activities.