Festivals In Focus: Q&A With Zootown’s Scott Osburn

Live music festivals continue to grow in popularity and diversity as the landscape shifts and responds to trends and technological changes. JamBase’s ongoing interview series with promoters of music festivals looks for insights into the challenges and rewards of hosting memorable events. This installment presents a Q&A with Zootown's Scott Osburn.

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The new Zootown Music Festival will make its debut July 4 – 5 at the Missoula Fairgrounds in Missoula, Montana. Produced by Always On, Knitting Factory Presents and Shore Sound Entertainment, in partnership with Destination Missoula and the University Of Montana Entertainment Management program, Zootown 2025 will launch with headliners Kacey Musgraves and Hozier.

Zootown 2025 will also feature performances by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Mt. Joy, Lake Street Dive, Modest Mouse, Julien Baker & TORRES, LA LOM and many others. The jam scene will be represented by Dogs In A Pile, Eggy and Stolen Gin.

Outside the music, festivalgoers can enjoy offerings from local restaurants, brewers and other vendors. Attendees can also purchase half-day and full-day excursions on the days surrounding the festival via GuideTime including, biking, fishing, whitewater rafting, river tubing, trail rides, guided hiking and scenic walking tours and more.

Zootown tickets are on sale now. For an inside look at launching Missoula’s first-ever major music festival, below is a Q&A with Zootown partner Scott Osburn. Read on for insights into what it takes to start a new music festival in 2025 and much more.

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What inspired you to launch Zootown Festival?

Missoula, Montana holds a special place in my heart. As an avid outdoorsman, I’ve always been drawn to its natural beauty and the unique environment it provides for hosting a festival. I graduated from the University Of Montana in 2010 with a vision of creating a large-scale music festival in Missoula, but the timing wasn’t right back then. After building, producing, and successfully selling my first festival, Lights All Night, I knew the time had finally come to bring that vision to life. I’m a firm believer that magic is made when music and mountains meet, and there’s no better place for that than here.

Did you have a mentor or a background in the festival industry?

My first major project out of college was Lights All Night in Dallas, which launched in 2010 and has been going strong ever since. As Texas’ longest-running EDM festival and one of the top New Year’s Eve events in the country, LAN was an incredible learning experience. The 13 years I spent building and growing that festival truly prepared me for Zootown.

Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to have incredible mentors – ranging from executives at major companies to highly respected independent producers and everything in between. One of my biggest supporters from the very beginning has been my former professor at the University of Montana, Tom Webster. As the adjunct professor for the University’s Entertainment Management Program and the Director of the Dennison Theatre, Tom has been a constant source of encouragement. He’s someone I’ve always been able to rely on through both the highs and the challenges.

Once you decided to produce this festival, what were the first couple of steps you took?

Initially, I met with stakeholders from the City Of Missoula government to identify a suitable location for the festival. We reviewed nearly every private and public parcel in town and conducted multiple feasibility analyses before finalizing the Missoula Fairgrounds as the host venue. Once that agreement was secured, I established a partnership with Knitting Factory and Shore Sound Entertainment to co-produce the festival.

Knitting Factory was a natural choice given its strong history in the Missoula market and headquarters in Boise. Jordan Wolowitz of Shore Sound Entertainment had long been on my shortlist of people I wanted to collaborate with. His reputation speaks for itself, having co-founded Governor’s Ball and Soundside (formerly Sound on Sound).

What do you wish you knew when starting out that you know now?

I don’t claim to have anticipated every challenge, pitfall, or answer when it comes to producing a major festival in a town of 80,000. Missoula presents unique hurdles – whether it’s infrastructure, labor, or the general availability of resources that you take for granted in a market like Dallas. But what I do know is that my passion for this town, this community, and the one-of-a-kind experience this festival will bring has kept me pushing forward through every tough moment.

I’ve told many people, both in Missoula and beyond, that we’re putting everything on the line, hiring and working with the best in the business, and doing all that we can to make Year One feel like anything but a first-year festival. At the same time, we’re not naïve – we know there will be growing pains, just as there are with any event. However, our goal is clear: to deliver a top tier music festival, right here in Missoula.

What are three things you wish concertgoers knew about hosting an independent festival like Zootown?

One of the biggest challenges for independent promoters and major players in this industry is communicating the rising costs we all face. This is especially true for a Year One festival, where expenses are often at their highest, and there aren’t many favors on the cost side. That’s why having a clear vision, solid game plan, and long-term strategy is critical.

As independent event producers, we don’t expect to turn a profit for several years, and while ticket prices may feel steep, they’re simply what it takes to get these events off the ground. Lights All Night took years to become sustainable and profitable, and Zootown will require the same level of patience and dedication.

More than anything, I want fans to understand how much independent producers genuinely care about their experience – before, during and after the event. These are the things that keep us up at night. And finally, we can’t thank them enough for taking a chance on us, especially when we’re introducing something brand new to a market. Their support is what keeps the dream alive, and we hope they know just how much we appreciate them.

What’s your favorite part about building Zootown Festival?

My favorite part of building Zootown, and any festival for that matter, is having boots on the ground and engaging with every stakeholder involved in bringing the event to life. It’s incredibly important to me to personally connect with everyone contributing to this event. I want to share the vision, passion, and risk behind it all and earn their buy-in.

It truly takes a village, and while it may not always be visible to fans, the hourly workers and crew on the ground are the ones who make these events happen successfully. They’ll only give their best effort if they feel informed, respected, and equipped with the right resources – and that’s something I take seriously.

Beyond operations, I also love the branding, marketing, and vision-building process. We’re not just creating a festival; we’re selling the dream of a summer music experience in Montana, along with everything that makes it special. Being part of that storytelling is incredibly rewarding, especially because it’s something I’m deeply passionate about.

What’s a favorite festival you’ve attended or worked on, and why?

Most of the Lights All Night festivals were my favorite to work on. Since I wore many hats – from CEO to talent buyer and everything in between – I have countless memories spanning every aspect of the festival. It was an exhausting and completely unsustainable position to be in, but looking back, I’m incredibly proud of what we built in Dallas.

Beyond LAN, a few other festivals have really stood out to me. Day for Night in Houston was an eye-opening experience from a production and artistic standpoint. Sound on Sound in Connecticut, co-founded by my partner Jordan Wolowitz, really resonated with me from a fan experience perspective. And, of course, I’ve been fortunate to attend some incredible Dead & Company shows in Mexico, Santa Clara, and beyond – those will always be among my most memorable concert experiences.

How do you prefer to engage with brands or sponsors interested in partnering with Zootown?

In a perfect world, we’re partnering with brands and sponsors that align with both our festival and their own audience. In a Year One format, it can be challenging to fully realize the immersive brand experiences we envision for years three to five, but our long-term goal is to create bespoke activations that foster meaningful connections with our ticket buyers.

Ultimately, both we and our brand partners share the same objective: ensuring that every aspect of the event feels tailored to the fans’ lifestyle. Thoughtful partnerships play a crucial role in making that vision a reality, seamlessly integrating brands into the festival experience in a way that enhances, rather than interrupts, the magic of the event.

What qualities do you look for when working with artists to curate a festival lineup?

When booking a Year One lineup, our first priority is to gain buy-in from agencies, managers, and artists by clearly communicating our mission and vision. From there, we typically work top-down, identifying an act that fits the ethos of our festival and is excited to be part of something new. In Montana, we aimed to book artists who had never played Missoula or the state alongside acts with a strong local following, ensuring a mix of fresh experiences and fan favorites.

Our goal is always to curate a lineup that speaks to a core audience, while also standing out from other festivals, both regionally and nationally. It’s not always easy to strike that balance, but we’re committed to creating a unique and compelling combination of talent that makes Zootown Festival a truly distinct and memorable experience.

How has the independent festival landscape changed post-pandemic?

At a high level, the short-term shift in the festival landscape seems to be driven by changing tastes and behaviors. In the first 20 years of the U.S. festival boom, events were designed to appeal to broad audiences, with programming that offered a little bit of everything for everyone. Now, we’re entering a new cycle where fans are seeking experiences that are purposefully and meaningfully aligned with their tastes and lifestyles.

I believe the future of festivals lies in secondary and tertiary markets, unique venues, and one-of-a-kind experiences that can’t be replicated elsewhere. Fans are no longer just looking for a stacked lineup, they want a setting and an atmosphere that truly resonates with them, making the festival as much about the environment as it is about the music.

Do you think the effects of the pandemic are over for independent music festivals?

In my opinion, the biggest impact on festivals has been the rising costs, the growing dominance of major promoters, and the challenges independent festivals face in surviving and thriving. More than any other factor, dynamic pricing, high demand for live shows, and the touring market’s shift have contributed to a model that, in many ways, feels unsustainable for festivals.

From a pricing perspective, festivals can no longer compete with the massive grosses generated by arena, amphitheater, and stadium tours. In the past, festivals could offer a premium over traditional hard-ticket shows to attract talent, but that’s no longer always the case. Meanwhile, infrastructure costs – staging, freight, labor, and overall operations – continue to rise, making festival production increasingly expensive. And at this point, I don’t see an end in sight when it comes to these costs.

This reality forces independent festival producers to rethink their approach, as well as explore alternative formats, venues, and strategies that acknowledge these financial pressures. While the opportunities for launching new, long-term sustainable festivals are fewer and farther between than ever, I believe this shift will lead to a new wave of boutique events in underserved markets with great cost-effective venues. These types of festivals will have the potential to serve local, regional, and even national audiences in a way that large-scale festivals often cannot.

Are there any trends you see shaping the festival world over the next couple of years?

The festival industry isn’t dying, but the old models are breaking down. The future belongs to well-curated, experience-driven, and financially sustainable events that focus on long-term brand building and deep community integration.

To thrive in this new landscape, festivals will need to embrace bespoke and destination-driven experiences, build strong brand partnerships that go beyond traditional sponsorships, and explore new revenue streams beyond ticket sales. Sustainability and regional focus will also play a bigger role, as fans gravitate toward events that feel authentic and can’t be replicated elsewhere.

What’s the best advice for someone attending Zootown Festival in 2025?

My perfect day at Zootown would go something like this: Wake up in a downtown Missoula hotel, take a morning stroll across Beartracks Bridge over the Clark Fork River, and stop by La Petit for a coffee and a pastry. After an hour of cruising downtown, I’d head to the Clark Fork Yacht Club off Higgins to start my morning float down the river.

Once I’m done, I’d hop out, head back to the hotel for a quick shower and reset, then fuel up at Charlie B’s Dinosaur Café with a Blackfoot IPA and a plate of rice & beans with andouille sausage – because let’s be real, I’ll need the energy for the night ahead. Then, I’d hop on my bike and make the two-mile ride to the festival grounds, ready to kick off the main event.

After the show, I’d make my way back downtown for a nightcap at The Rhino Bar or Missoula Club before calling it a night. As for Day Two? Who knows! I could float the river again, hit the trails for a hike up the M, or maybe even visit an alpaca farm with the kiddo. The options are endless – but whatever it is, I’m making the most of it. It’s summer in Montana and this is what it’s all about!

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Buy Zootown 2025 Tickets

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The JamBase Festival Guide is consistently growing with the addition of new music fests happening globally.

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[JamBase is a media partner of Zootown.]