John Butler

Le Vent du Nord captures the energy and mirth of a Saturday night kitchen party, infusing old Québec with a cosmopolitan breath of fresh air. Accordion, foot-tapping, hurdy gurdy and jaw harp characterize the sound of this engaging French-Canadian band.

(Broadcast: Musicians' Spotlight, 5/6/14 & 8/12/14)

They're a group of Missoula guys who started a country and western band primarily so they could sing while wearing cowboy hats. In their songs, The Best Westerns "walk the line" between their appreciation for Western mythology, and their slice-of-life portrayals of modern life.

Bozeman composer and jazz pianist Eric Funk’s work has been featured on the syndicated public radio programs Morning Edition and Performance Today. Funk also hosts the Montana PBS television series, 11th and Grant.

(Broadcast: Musicians' Spotlight, 4/29/14 & 7/29/14)

For the past decade, the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops have been highlighting the African-American place in American stringband music. Singer Rhiannon Giddens and multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins reflect on the band’s ascending career and how it fits into the history of the genre.

(Broadcast: Musicians' Spotlight, 7/22/14)

4/15/14 and 7/15/14: This week on "Musician's Spotlight:" Grammy award-winning trumpeter Chris Botti tells John Floridis about his intensive jazz training, and how it led him to collaborations with Paul Simon, Andrea Bocelli, Sting, Steven Tyler, Gladys Night and Yo-Yo Ma, among others. 

3/25/14: This week on "Musicians' Spotlight:" The youngest of the Neville brothers and a member of the influential group The Meters, percussionist and singer Cyril Neville makes his first visit to Musician's Spotlight.

7/1/14: This week on "Musician's Spotlight:" Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn discusses her most recent recording, "In 27 Pieces," which is the culmination of a multi-year project.

3/18/14: This week on "Musician's Spotlight:" Longtime Montana favorites, The Hooligans, waited for over twenty years to release their first recording, "Beggars and Thieves.” Along the way, they picked up an album producer and  part-time band member, Little Feat's Bill Payne. Just as they're hitting their stride, the veteran band is entering a new, exciting phase.

3/4/14: This week on "Musician's Spotlight:" English guitarist Mike Dawes took a look at Gotye’s hit song, "Somebody That I Used To Know,” and turned it into a finger-style guitar masterpiece. Two million YouTube hits later, the world is finding out more about this disciple of the two-handed, fret-tapping, percussive style of acoustic guitar.

2/25/14: This week on "Musician's Spotlight:" Girls can't play drums? Soft spoken Californians can't sing the blues? Think again. Front man Anthony "Tone" Catalano and drummer Celeste "C.C." Spina found each other on Craigslist and formed the "dirty blues" band Little Hurricane. Within a year they’ve found a home at major festivals and on nationwide tours.

6/3/14: This week on "Musician's Spotlight:" "Dismiss labels. Forget trying to fit into a scene. Be true and play your songs." It’s an accurate self-description by the Grammy-nominated bluegrass expansionists, The Infamous Stringdusters. Comfortable as they are in their own collective skin, the title of the group's new album, "Let It Go," works equally well as their slogan.

2/18/14 and 5/27/14: This week on "Musician's Spotlight:"  Gold Medalist of the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition, Spencer Myer is garnering audience and critical acclaim from around the world. His stellar playing is rapidly establishing him as a leading concert pianist of his generation.

"Musician's Spotlight," January 28th, 2014: U2's Bono calls Hothouse Flowers singer Liam Ó Maonlaí "the best white soul singer in the world." As the rock and soul group approaches its fourth decade of trailblazing, Ó Maonlaí’s grounding in Irish language and traditional Irish music allows him to move with ease between the worlds of pop and traditional music.