Mission Valley Live touts top-notch series

“Hello Mission Valley! This is Brian Campbell with Mission Valley Live!” You may have heard me say this over the airwaves on the local radio stations announcing an upcoming community concert, or seen our ad in local newspapers. But perhaps without knowing what you might be getting yourself into, you’ve never attended one of our concerts.

Mission Valley Live is a non-profit organization that – with the help of many local sponsors and grantors – brings live entertainment (mostly music and dance) from around the world to our community. We also have extensive programming to bring the artists into the valley’s schools for educational outreach and to reach others in places such as assisted living homes and libraries.

I can easily remain impartial when I say every one of our concerts is a top-notch performance, and our audiences are always happy they made the effort to attend. But that said, halfway through each performance I always have a deep feeling of regret: I regret that so many people missed out on such a great show, and consequently, I regret that I didn’t do more to get the word out.

At intermission I always present the same question to the audience, “How’s everyone doing?” It’s become a completely rhetorical question for I know the answer well in advance. It’s always an overwhelming, “Fantastic!”

On behalf of all the volunteers for Mission Valley Live, I sincerely hope you take the initiative to join in on the fun and come to one of our shows. And if you’re already one of our many patrons, we look forward to seeing you at our next concert and thank you for sharing your experience with neighbors and friends.

If you’d like some validation for my lofty claims, I’m leaving you with just a smattering of the many testimonials we’ve received in the last year alone:

“I fortunately attended Duende Libre in Polson last evening. Wow – were they amazing! Thank you for keeping the concerts affordable and bringing unique and uplifting musical experiences into our community.” J.S., Charlo, MT

“A top-notch performance with talented and passionate musicians. I loved that they spent time with the students in our community to share and teach their craft. Thanks so much for sharing these performers with us.” Andra R.

"Stringfever was great. Accomplished musicians proving that violins can be entertaining and hip. I saw younger folks dancing in the aisles." Mike F.

“Fabulous November show, as always! I cherish this concert series for the quality and the variety. What a gift for the entire community! Please keep it coming!" Rosie Strope

"You folks make a cultural contribution to our lives here in the valley that so vastly improves the quality of our lives! Keep up the good work!” Don Larson

"My wife and I went to the Nic and Desi show. It was an entertaining night with song and dance. This was our first time. We will now be attending more MVL shows in the future. So glad my wife saw the flyer." Mack

Polson resident Brian Campbell is chair of Mission Valley Live (missionvalleylive.com).