"All of us out here (at the brewery) love music, and we really want to see Missoula get more great concerts," said Leathers, president of the brewery, in an interview early this month before the first concert at Big Sky Brewing.
"It's really frustrating that so many big acts come to Spokane or to (the Gorge Amphitheater, in George, Wash.), but they don't stop through Missoula."
Not only did Missoula literally swipe a concert from Spokane, but we swiped a big one: the B.B. King Blues Festival, a five-act touring mini-fest that features several of the most acclaimed blues acts on the circuit, including King himself.
The concert had originally been scheduled for Spokane's Lilac Bowl, but was moved to Missoula within days after the successful first concert at Big Sky Brewing's new amphitheater, just off Expressway Boulevard, near the Missoula International Airport.
Before anyone from Spokane gets angry at us Missoula folks, it's worth noting that the Spokane concert was on the verge of cancellation anyway.
"After two or three weeks of advertising, the ticket sales just weren't moving (in Spokane)," said Leathers early this week.
"The promoters were pretty much ready to pull the show altogether and just give B.B. (King) his guarantee, and be done with it."
Nevertheless, the coup looks like it is working, with ticket sales for the Missoula concert "going very well," according to Leathers.
"We'll probably hit 3,000 tickets, and that was our goal," said Leathers.
That's especially good news for Leathers himself, who decided to put up some of the money necessary to bring the concert to town. Typically that risk would fall to the professional show promoters who booked the concert.
Leathers chose to pony up his own cash for this concert so that the nonprofits who sell beer at the event - Brennan's Wave, and the Missoula Skatepark Association - won't have to share proceeds with the professional promoters.
And that's music to the ears of those nonprofits, which already pulled in a decent chunk of change at the first Big Sky Brewing Co. concert despite having to share with the out-of-town promoters.
"After all was said and done, including overhead and after splitting the money (with Brennan's Wave), we cleared about $2,500" through beer sales at the July 6 concert by John Fogerty and Big Head Todd & the Monsters, said Ross Peterson, secretary of the Missoula Skatepark Association.
All beer is donated to the organizations by Big Sky Brewing.
This time around, the two nonprofits will be responsible for more of the work at the concert, including funding the rental of the portable toilets and temporary fencing around the venue.
"Last time we had about 35 volunteers, and this time we hope to triple that," said Peterson. "That way, everyone gets a chance to take a break and enjoy the show while we still have enough people to handle the sales."
Leathers learned another lesson at the July 6 concert that will be applied at this weekend's concert.
At that first concert, organizers only rented about 15 portable toilets, resulting in long lines during most of the concert.
This time, Leathers isn't taking his chances.
"We'll probably have at least 40 (portable toilets) at this one," said Leathers. "We may be going too far in the other direction, but we don't want to have to learn the same lesson twice."
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