Zootown Music Festival a hit in Missoula with 30,000 attendees | Missoula News

MISSOULA, Mont. – The inaugural Zootown Music Festival over July 4 and 5 drew in a crowd of around 30,000 people, making it a significant success for Western Montana. Attendees came from across the country, contributing to the local economy.

Scott Osburn, a University of Montana graduate and the festival’s co-founder and director, shared his vision for the event. Initially proposed in 2023as a two-day festival at Playfair Park, the festival found its home at the Missoula Fairgrounds in 2025.

Osburn noted the positive reception from the local community, saying, “There was a couple neighbors that were literally at our front gate on day one that asked to speak with me and, and had thanked me for what we were doing for the community, and that they thought that us doing the show at the fairgrounds was great.”

The festival’s attendance surpassed the average crowd of a University of Montana Griz football game by a slight margin, but of course local businesses, including hotels, bars, restaurants, and shops, all benefit greatly from these types of events.

Osburn emphasized the economic impact, stating, “because we utilize hotel rooms and lodging throughout, we’re able to get a pulse on what their occupancy looked like, from a patrons perspective and from what we’re hearing. everyone’s been just really happy, and it’s been a really good boom for business this last week.”

The festival’s success has paved the way for future events. Osburn expressed his excitement, saying, “the last thing that we want to do is come into a city and in a community and do something that people don’t want. So now kind of hearing that everyone had such a great time and they want us to come back is is a wonderful feeling.”

According to Osburn, the Zootown Music Festival will return in 2026 and continue every summer through 2029 as part of their current agreement. Keep an eye out for announcements on which artists will be performing in Big Sky Country next year.