Dave Matthews and Lukas Nelson to Headline Wildlands Music Festival 2025

Photo Credit: Bill Kelly

On Wednesday, Jan. 8, Wildlands Music Festival announced the headliners for its summer 2025 celebration. For its sixth annual presentation at Big Sky, Mont.’s Big Sky Events Arena, set for Aug. 2, the renowned charitable music experience will center a performance from Dave Matthews, with support from Lukas Nelson. No other acts have been released just yet, but the artist announcement promises surprise collaborations. 

The renowned Wildlands event will adopt a single-day format for its forthcoming staging, featuring Matthews and Nelson in what’s been described as “a once-in-a-lifetime show.” According to the announcement, this will be Matthews’ first public performance in Montana in over 30 years. Nelson, however, will return after a remarkable engagement during last year’s showcase; his set in 2024 was highlighted by an emotional treatment of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s song “Shallow” from 2018’s A Star Is Born, the soundtrack for which earned Nelson a Grammy.

Wildlands supports nonprofit organizations aligned with its mission to protect and preserve the environment each year. This year’s beneficiaries include American Rivers, a national leader in river conservation for over 50 years, and the Bozeman-based Center for Large Landscape Conservation. In 2024, Wildlands raised $303,000 to support preserving wild and scenic areas with its lineup that featured Maren Morris, Dierks Bently, and Wyatt Flores alongside Nelson. The festival also announced plans to host “a day of charity-focused community events and a fundraising dinner for our nonprofit beneficiaries” on Friday, Aug. 1. 

Tickets for the festival will be available to the public on Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. MT. Tickets and more information can be found here.