Red Ants Pants Emerging Artist Announced
Every year, festival goers vote to select one small time artist to perform on big stage the next year.
The Red Ants Pants Music Festival concluded on Sunday, July 30th. The annual music fest was a hit as per usual. The festival attracts many out of town visitors to Meagher County. The event provides more entertainment than just music on the main stage. Vendors for food, clothes, and other goods are featured, as well as a demonstration area. There is also a side stage that showcases music from smaller names than the headliners included on the main music festival line up. At the side stage, visitors are encouraged to vote for which band or artist from the competition they would like to see on the main roster for next year. Previously, the Emerging Artist Competition has been a huge hit. One of White Sulphur Spring’s own local bands, Smith River Young, won the competition and was featured on the large stage in 2021. The winner of the 2023 Emerging Artist Competition is Abby Webster of Livingston, Montana. She is a stand-out singer and songwriter that attracted a large crowd at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival’s side stage. She is a multi-instrumental artist that makes emotion evoking music. Her songs often talk of love, loss, and other colorful parts of life. Abby Webster has three EPS’s out currently: Drunk & Pretty (2010), Put a Box to Your Ear; Listen to the Ocean (2016), and Reverie (2017). The young artist has also put out several successful singles, these include: Sick (2020), Tall Boy (2017), and Alone (2022). Although Abby is listed as a solo artist, she had a dynamic band along side her on the side stage. The runner up for the competition was Wild Horses, a band from Northern Minnesota. The second runner up listed was Small Town Strings, a brother and sister duo, from a rural area in Northeast Washington. Fourth place was Tanner Laws, a western singer, from Missoula, Montana. The side stage was a big attraction at the 2023 Red Ants Pants Music Festival, and will continue to be a part of the event in years to follow. Photo via Red Ants Pants Music Festival on Instagram, taken by Schyler Allyn.