For the last two decades, Glacier Jazz Stampede has been filling downtown Kalispell with the sounds of jazz.

From its inception in 1994, the festival has drawn musicians and music lovers to the Flathead Valley to celebrate an original American art form — live, loud jazz music.

“We blew the walls out last night!” festival co-founder Ray Garner told the Inter Lake after the first Glacier Jazz Stampede’s opening concert at the Kalispell Elks Lodge.

“I don’t think there have ever been so many people crammed into the Elks. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

In recent years, the festival has moved to the Eagles Club and the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell. But the event’s focus on celebrating great jazz music has remained unchanged.

The festival features musicians who play a variety of jazz genres, from cool jazz to swing. But from the start, Glacier Jazz Stampede’s primary focus has been traditional jazz — also known as Dixieland or hot jazz — the genre’s earliest form, said Karla West, the event’s other co-founder.

That type of music isn’t often played anymore, she added.

“The only place to hear bands like this is at festivals like this one,” she said.

There are still plenty of bands that play traditional jazz, and they welcome opportunities such as Glacier Jazz Stampede to celebrate the music they love, West said.

“There are no shortages of bands that want to come,” she said.

West, a jazz pianist, met many of the musicians who will perform at the stampede decades ago when she played at festivals around the country. They have maintained a tight camaraderie, bound by their mutual love for the music, and West always has plenty of musicians to choose from to perform at the Flathead festival.

“We try to pick bands that best exemplify the style we’re trying to portray, the traditional jazz,” she said.

Some bands, such as Seattle-based Uptown Lowdown, have performed at the Glacier Jazz Stampede every year. While the event features many groups from across the country, several Flathead musicians participate as well.

“We try to feature every local band that wants to be involved,” West said.

The jazz stampede hasn’t always enjoyed huge crowds and wild success, West said. It struggled along with the economic downturn, and West said there have been times she has worried no one will be able to attend.

“Every year, what with gas prices, I think we’ll be quite lucky if anybody comes at all,” she said.

But every year, West’s concerns about empty rooms prove unfounded.

“We get to that first night and the place is packed,” she said.

Many attendees are locals, but the festival also draws jazz fans from across the country.

“People follow their bands,” West said. “People who love these bands will be there. That’s how dedicated they are to the style.”

That dedication has helped keep the festival going.

“It’s amazing that a little town like Kalispell could have festival like this for 20 years,” West said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.