To provide world-class writers an escape to one of the most inspiring and quintessentially Western destinations: Whitefish, MT and the wild around it.
To celebrate the creation of words and music in big sky country.
To do good while doing it: Big Sky Troubadours gives back to the local community through its support of various Flathead Valley non-profits in addition to its presentation of unique events.
After fifteen years, three record deals, and a lot of music business ups-and-downs, Jo Smith did what no one serious about a career in Nashville ever does: she left. “I realized that I was trying to write about a life I wasn’t truly living on the two small streets of Music Row.” So she packed her car, all the dues paid, and drove away from the proverbial box. Years later, settled in a cabin on a mountainside in rural Montana with her husband and son, Jo realized that decision had been the best one she’d ever made.
In a writing appointment with award-winning songwriter of George Strait’s classic “Troubadour”Leslie Satcher in 2023, that decision was a topic of discussion and inspiration. And it led to the idea that what was good for one, would probably be good for others. Satcher—who’d spent her honeymoon in the same part of Montana where Jo was now living—agreed there was something special and inspiring about the place. The more Jo reconnected with old songwriting friends, the more the stories of burnout and yearning for the simpler things in the craft resonated.
In 2024, Big Sky Troubadours was born. Co-founded by Jo and native Montanan event producer Cari Klepper, the organization invites writers to Whitefish, MT to retreat from the things that steal their inspiration, and reconnect with what drove them to pursue dreams to create in the first place. It’s like the song says…
Sometimes I feel like Jesse James,
Still trying to make a name.
Knowing nothings gonna change what I am.
I was a young troubadour,
When I rode in on a song.
And I'll be an old troubadour,
When I'm gone.
Troubadour lyrics © Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Reservoir 416, Richardson Zuleger Publishing Company, Ash Street Publishing, Songs Of The Llano, Angel Music Co, Cherry Blend Music
Jo Smith—named one of Rolling Stone’s 10 New Artists You Need to Know in 2017 and CMT’s Next Women of Country 2018— is a country singer/songwriter originally from south Georgia.
After high school, Smith moved to Nashville, and spent the next sixteen years prioritizing songwriting in pursuit of her dreams of being a signed recording artist. As a staff songwriter at various publishing houses, she wrote songs for other artists (Billy Ray Cyrus, Taylor Hicks, Cody Johnson), as well as for her own artist endeavors. In 2009, she signed with “the label of her heroes,” RCA, and starting touring as the opening act on several major tours: Blake Shelton’s
All About Tonight tour, Chris Young and Thomas Rhett’s Liquid Neon tour, and Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley’s Locked and Reloaded tour. Old School Groove, from Smith’s Introducing Jo Smith EP was featured as a Highway Find on Sirius XM’s The Highway and became a fan favorite in the summer of 2017.
In February 2021, Smith’s first independent release, “Wyoming”—featuring Vince Gill—debuted on all major streaming platforms and was playlisted on Spotify’s popular New Boots, Wild Country, Next from Nashville, and Fresh Finds: Country. Apple Music featured Jo on Country Risers, New from Nashville, and she held the leading spot on the new Speakin’ Easy playlist in March of that year.
Jo consistently continues to release new music from her new home in Whitefish, Montana that appears on popular DSP editorial playlists. In the spring of 2024, Jo kicks off a new show series called JO + FRIENDS: Songwriter Series, where she brings a favorite collaborator from Nashville to feature in a show introducing the local audience to the camaraderie and stories behind the songs.
Cari is the owner of The Chinook Group, LLC a corporate events company that she started in 1993. Cari brings 40+ years of public relations, marketing, and event planning to Big Sky Troubadours. Cari’ company has key clients such as Microsoft, Capgemini, Plantronics and many more. She is also the former executive producer & cofounder of the Whitefish Songwriter Festival, an annual music event that showcases the art of songwriting. Before starting her own events business, she co-founded Big Sky Music, a musical advertising company that created "jingles" for businesses across the Northwestern US. Prior to that she worked as a political appointee for the US Small Business Administration, the White House and was the Executive Director of a special interest group that fought for shareholder rights - the United Shareholders Association, working closely with famous Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens.
Cari is a Montana native and was raised in a Montana ranching family. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Montana. Cari spent most of her early adult life living and working in Washington, DC, New York City and Seattle, however she returned to her home state of Montana in 2006 and now lives in Whitefish with her husband, Kevin and two children, Christian and Kellie.
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