From punk rockers to ballerinas, all sorts of artists took to the stage on April 5th and 6th in participation of Bozeman Night Live’s (BNL) 32nd annual production. The event, brought to you by “Bozeman Friends and Music,” has been a beloved tradition in the town ever since it started as Hawks Night Live, several decades ago. It is a great opportunity for high schoolers to showcase their artistic talents to the public, and this year they did not disappoint. 

There are a lot of moving parts and people behind the scenes, to make BNL come to life. Michelle Mauer, the choir teacher at Gallatin High School (GHS) and Creative director of BNL said that its “not just a talent show.” There is so much variety of acts and characters that go on stage, as well as a lot of preparation that gives the show a level of professionalism above the average highschool talent show. Many of the students involved have also explored their talent outside of the show on a larger level. For example, Dulcinea Johnston participated as “Clara” in the Montana Ballet Company’s production of the Nutcracker in December 2023. Her experience definitely paid off as she became one of six winners at BNL on Saturday night with her ballet performance of Gamzatti’s Wedding Variation. Mauer called the act one of “the most refined,” among the shows. Although there are students like Johnston who have had opportunities outside of BNL to perform, the show is open to artists at every level. There are plenty of students on stage each year for their first time. According to Mauer, auditions come around every year in February and performers do not have to currently or previously be enrolled in a music class. 

In fact, performers of the show don't even have to be musical at all; another way to get involved with BNL is to join the stage crew. They provide seamless transitions behind the scenes and are a part of organizing how to smoothly run the show and make it look good to the audience. Because there are a lot of moving parts and big jobs to be done, the stage crew consists of professionals and the student volenteers. Professional crew members from The Wilson (where BNL was put on) focused mostly on sound and lighting. They were tasked with designing light and sound setups personalized for every act. For example, “The Fire”, an impressive piano and vocal performance by Kiernan Anderson was accompanied by bright orange lights and backdrops, to match the flame motif in his song, and  “Stand By Me'' performed grandly by Ruby Christensen and her band was given black back lighting and twinkling lights which was cohesive with Christensen’s glittering dress. 

Like the professionals, the student stage crew, made up of nine GHS students and four Bozeman High school (BHS) students, pulled off impressive feats, like setting up stands and chairs for an entire jazz band in mere minutes. According to August Pust, the student stage manager of the show, accomplishing “quick transitions” was the most difficult task from the weekend. They were, after all, incharge of moving a variety of sets, consisting of heavy instruments, backdrops, and more with very little time. Specifically how much time the emcees, hosts of the show, could distract the crowd and present the upcoming act. 

The emcees this year were Cosmo Roots (a senior at GHS), Cooper White, and Reagan Flentie (both sophomores at BHS). The trio was in charge of distracting the crowd during act changes and taking on the role of comedic relief.  The group mainly improvised and let the jokes flow naturally, which came easily as the three had spent so much time together prior to the show and had plenty of chemistry onstage. There was a constant cracking of puns from all three emcee’s especially when it came to introducing the next act. When asked what his favorite pun was, Roots had barely noticed that there were so many. Which is unfortunate because they were consistently keeping the audience filled with laughter. He did however report that he enjoyed the pun about “The Sound of Silence”, performed by vocal group, The Secret Chord. The emcee’s started by playing Simon Says with the crowd, having them stand up, sit down, clap and other simple tasks. Finally they told the crowd to stay silent and asked them what they heard. Ending the joke with “do you hear that? That's the sound of silence.” and gesturing to the stage where the singers stood ready to perform the song. 

Another notable exchange between the emcees was a rap written and sung by Flentie and Roots, accompanied by White’s beatboxing. The emcees play an important role for the nights of BNL. They are the people who the audience relies on the most frequently for entertainment and thereby set the whole tone of the show.  Mauer, who helped cast the show, said that “The emcees are a great opportunity for non performers and musicians.” It is a way for kids with comedy and improv skills to experience the spotlight. 

Being in the spotlight and being exposed to performing for crowds is not the only benefit to participating in BNL. Each year there is one grand winner crowned as well as a smaller group of winners called finalists. All of whom are given cash prizes of at least 75 dollars. A bigger prize is awarded to the grand winner of the show. The finalists are chosen by BNL judges, and the grand winner is picked from that group. 

However, the judges do not get all the say in who wins the cash. BNL allows for the audience to vote for an act of their choosing to also walk away with some extra dough. This award is called the People's Choice Award. For Saturday night’s show this was taken home by the “Johnny Boys' ' a group who performed Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” and they were not even chosen as finalists by the judges. The group opened the show on Saturday night and despite that being a daunting task, the musicians took to the stage showing no fear. In the middle of the song, the group encouraged and was successful at getting the audience to sing along. Ryan Jessen, one of the lead singers in the group states,”we needed people to remember us if we were gonna make an impact so Jesse (one of the band’s trumpet players)  said we should try and get people to sing with us.” The band clearly won over the audience, which landed them the “People’s Choice” title and a prize at the end of the night. 

Mauer said it best, BNL is “So essential and important for music in Bozeman.”  Not only does BNL provide an opportunity for artists to put themselves out there, it also supports and helps fund music programs across the city. The money generated from ticket sales goes directly back to schools for kids in kindergarten all the way through senior year. Uniforms, instruments, and trips for highschool traveling musicians are among some of the things that “Bozeman Friends and Music” buys for schools because of BNL. The show is one great perk to living in the town of Bozeman. Support and participation help make a positive impact on our community.