Kick Off Your Holiday Weekend Early at This Massive Billings Block Party

Walk down Montana Avenue around five o'clock, and you can feel the brick still holding the day's heat. Then a bass line cracks through it from the direction of the Rex Hotel parking lot, and that's the tip-off. Thursday means Alive After 5, and with half of Billings taking tomorrow off to begin the 4th of July festivities early, there's a good chance tonight's crowd will show up early and stay late.

Alive After 5 Hits the Halfway Mark at the Rainbow Bar on July 2

Tonight is the midpoint of the summer concert series, and the block lot at 2401 Montana Avenue fills up from 5 to 8 p.m. The Rainbow Bar is running the show this week, and getting in costs nothing. A wristband for drinks runs three dollars, and if you'd rather sit in the shade with a decent view of the stage, the VIP section is ten.

Crazy Fool Brings Reggae Rock to Montana Avenue

The band tonight is Crazy Fool: Rich Feeley on bass, Tim Chamberlain on turntables, Dan Taylor on vocals and guitar, and Adam Rutt on drums. They play reggae rock with roots leaning toward Sublime, Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and the Grateful Dead.

The Bow Turns Ninety-One

There's an extra reason to raise a glass tonight. The Rainbow Bar, known around town as "the Bow," opened in 1925 and is celebrating its 91st anniversary in business. It's still run by the same family that started it, tucked in the shadow of the Rex Hotel, which means the birthday party tonight is really a toast to nine decades.

Wristband Money Goes Back Into Downtown

The three dollars you spend on a wristband doesn't just buy you a drink. It goes to the downtown Business Improvement District, the group responsible for the flower planters, the public art, and the winter events that keep the block lively when it's twenty below. Buy a wristband tonight, and you're paying for next December's lights too.

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Free Water and Ice Cream Keep the Heat at Bay

Seed of Life Labs is handing out free bottled water at the purple tents around the lot, so grab one before you're thirsty. Big Dipper Ice Cream will have its bike rolling through the crowd for anyone with a sweet tooth. Western Security Bank and a long list of local sponsors are the reason this whole thing is free week after week. Grab a scoop, find a spot in the shade, and let the music carry you into the holiday weekend.