The very nature of Big Sky City Lights’ name hints at their origins: a performer from New York City meets a musician from Montana. Combining their unique harmonies has set the tone for a new chapter of their lives.

Susan O’Dea spends her time between New York and Montana, writing long-distance and traveling for tours with her bandmate Nick Spear, who has been a musician in Whitefish for many years. The two met when O’Dea decided to take a role in the punk rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” with Alpine Theatre Project in 2012. 

“That was my first job here in Whitefish. I've never been to Montana before, and Nick was one of the first people I met here, he directed me,” O’Dea said. 

“And since then, it's the opposite,” Spear laughed. 

Like many musicians who stopped performing live shows during the pandemic, O’Dea saw it as an opportunity to collaborate with her long-time friend through other formats. Even though he lived across the country, the two began singing cover songs that they posted to social media. They covered songs like “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel and “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty.  

It wasn’t long before they collaborated on an original song “Silver Strings."  

Spear said people still mention how much they loved their pandemic-era covers. 

“I think that when things kind of blow up you have to find a new avenue. A lot of artists at that particular time, as well as everyone else, went online. So, for us to be able to work together at such a great distance, that never seemed possible before. And after Covid, it just kind of became our lives,” Spear said.  

O’Dea made the move to Whitefish for a year and a half to work on their first album. With the help of sound engineer Brett Allen and producer Benedict Braxton Smith, “Wake Me When We Get There” was recorded at SnowGhost Studios and released in 2021. By then, they had already gained a lot of traction with local fans. The band went on to open for acts like Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell and Emmylou Harris and perform multiple times at the Under the Big Sky festival in Whitefish.  

After her stint in Montana, O’Dea returned to New York, but didn’t want to put the project to the side. Since then, they’ve been writing and recording long-distance, with her flying in to perform and tour.  

She said this takes a lot of determination — working furiously and then spending time apart. 

“I think there's something really beautiful to it, in the sense that creativity has time on its side. You're really getting two distinct cultures, generations and viewpoints that are coming together to create this music,” O’Dea said.  

Spear agrees. The secret sauce as a band has a lot to do with their unique way of working together.  

The duo said it’s hard to remember exactly when they realized that their voices complimented each other. Spear said even though they’ve sang in concerts or stage productions many times, they were never paired together because those familiar with their voices never considered it could work. 

He said that’s interesting to look back on, because once they started the band, they realized they had something special.  

“You know, his voice sounds like a reed, mine sounds like a cello, and they intersect in this beautiful way,” O’Dea said.  

The two have been working on a new EP called “A Mountain To Go” set to be released in October.  

“I think that first album sounds very magical and sparkly, but it sounds very insular, which I think is indicative of just the lockdown,” Spear said. “This one feels a little more expansive, there is more of a bloom to it and it’s a little more upbeat, for sure.”  

O’Dea said it’s like many other sophomore projects from bands, compared to their first album, they have had more time to home in on what they want this album to sound like. Because the past few years have been such a whirlwind, and they are a duo, they said there’s a focus on love in their new songs. Spear said this isn’t limited to romantic love, but all the kinds of love that make up a person’s life.  

The title of the album is inspired by lyrics from one of its leading songs, recently released as a single called “The Road.”  

“That's kind of our anthem about what it's like to have a bunch of doors close and open a window, to have another road or a journey to go down. I think that’s how we feel — we have a mountain to go, but we're on the journey,” O’Dea said.  

Watch Spear and O’Dea on Sept. 13 for Press Play, a lunchtime concert series held by the Daily Inter Lake. Subscribers can join for a unique music listening experience at the Daily Inter Lake by donating to the Newspapers in Education initiative. Concertgoers can bring lunch or purchase lunch from The House of S&M. 

Tickets are available at FlatheadTickets.com or by calling 406-758-4436. The performance will be live streamed on the Daily Inter Lake Facebook and Instagram pages  

Big Sky City Light’s music can be found on streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. More information about their band can be found on their website bigskycitylights.com as well as their Instagram and Facebook pages.  

Watch and Listen to all our Press Play concerts on our You Tube Channel or on your favorite podcast app.

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.

Editor's Note: The Press Play concert originally scheduled for Sept. 6 has been moved to Sept. 13.