Established in 2022 On the Heart of the Hi-Line​
Hi-Line Harvest Festival, the annual celebration of community culture, rural tradition and agriculture in Chester, Montana, is returning for its fifth year on September 17-19, 2026. The free, family-friendly event is bringing with it a stacked lineup of national, regional and local entertainment highlighted by The Braun Brothers — of Reckless Kelly and Micky & the Motorcars.
The festival is brought to you by Liberty County Community Development Committee & the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce along with Chester native Peyton Cole. All Hi-Line Harvest Festival proceeds go directly back to the community, benefitting the LCCDC to further develop the Chester community through events, gatherings and local resources — as well as future Hi-Line Harvest Festivals.
“We’re really trying to bring Chester and the surrounding area together to instill more culture and foster community,” Cole says of the event. “There’s nothing like small town camaraderie. They will show up for you tenfold when you need them, and we are lucky to give back with a festival of this scale, especially in rural Montana.”
The capstone of the celebration is the live music, headlined by The Braun Brothers — Idaho natives with a strong sense of the togetherness that Hi-Line Harvest aims to foster in Chester. Reckless Kelly has spent 30 years touring the world with a history of headlining iconic venues like Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and the Old Saloon in Emigrant, Montana. Sibling barnstormers Micky & the Motorcars are still riding high off the 2025 release of their eighth studio album, Micky & the Motorcars, that showcases their Idaho roots and the friends and fans they have made on the road. Joining both bands on the Hi-Line Harvest bill are Austin’s Chasen Wayne & the Honky Tonk Machine from Austin, and Conrad, Montana’s Wylie & the Wild West. Kalyn Beasley (Wyoming), Raina Wallace (Montana), and The Moondocks (Montana) will round out the musical bill.
While music is a showpiece of Hi-Line Harvest Festival, it’s far from the only attraction. Visitors of all ages can partake in an array of competitions: Bed Races; Meat Smoking (ribs, wings and tomahawks); a Cheesecake & Pie Bake Off; a Cribbage Tournament; Trivia Night; Corn Hole; and Ski Races. There’s also a community breakfast, an open mic showcase, bucket truck rides hosted by Northwestern Energy, hay rides hosted by Vintage Floral, tractor rides hosted by the CJI Track Team and live painters — plus local business and craft vendors, food vendors and an array of children’s activities to round out the fun.
Hi-Line Harvest Festival relies heavily on the support of community donations, sponsors and volunteers, and it gives back to Chester and rural Montana at every turn — with small-business grants, scholarships, food bank donations, and free vending for K-12 school and extra-curricular groups.
Fans and visitors can support Hi-Line Harvest in all manners big and small, and during the festival they will find organizers combining fundraising with good, old-fashioned community fun with events like a farm-to-table community dinner, a live auction featuring donated items, and a pie-and-cheesecake auction.
Whether attendees make a weekend out of Hi-Line Harvest or just drop by to say hello, all are welcome to experience the essence of community spirit and togetherness again this year. Visit hilineharvestfestival.com for more details, and come join in the fun in September in the heart of Montana.
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Josh Crutchmer is a journalist for The New York Times and Rolling Stone and the author of The Motel Cowboy Show, about the music from the Mountain West. Find him at backloungepublishing.com or on Instagram at @backloungepublishing.
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