Montana-NYC duo to perform in Superior
Valley Press-Mineral Independent | UPDATED 2 weeks, 6 days AGO
Susan O'Dea and Nick Spear of Big Sky City Lights perform at Under the Big Sky music festival in 2021. The duo is set to return this year, taking the stage Sunday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Big Sky City Lights)
Nick Spear and Susan O’Dea live in two different worlds. She’s urban. He’s rural. She’s a kale chicken Caesar. He’s last night’s cold pizza. On paper, they probably shouldn’t work. Fortunately for music lovers, Big Sky City Lights have never lived on paper.
The musical duo lives in the imaginary town somewhere between Spear’s Montana landscapes and O’Dea’s concrete jungle of Manhattan, New York. Somewhere in that middle ground, two very different backgrounds come together in a sound that is remarkably natural as two voices, two worlds and one musical frequency.
Mineral County audiences will get a chance to hear that combination when Big Sky City Lights comes to Superior Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. for a Mineral County Performing Arts Council performance at the LDS Church, 151 Moats Lane.
Big Sky City Lights began by creatively reimagining cover songs for online audiences. The musical chemistry between Spear and O’Dea quickly attracted attention, and before long the pair began writing original music. That work eventually led to their first album, Wake Me When We Get There.
Their stripped-down, cinematic sound has carried the duo well beyond the online world. They were featured on Good Morning America, which called them "emblematic of the state of Montana." They have also earned coveted opening spots at the Sisters Folk Festival, Red Ants Pants Festival and Under The Big Sky Festival, sharing bills with artists including Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers and Emmylou Harris. More recently, Big Sky City Lights was featured on the Montana PBS program, 11th & Grant. The performance earned the duo an Emmy Award. The musical partnership may cross thousands of miles, but the two have found a way to make it work.
For MCPAC Treasurer Jim Goss, that contrast is part of what makes the upcoming performance so intriguing.
“In planning our 2026/27 program, we were having trouble latching onto an established tour of western Montana, so my thoughts went toward musicians in western Montana,” Goss said. “Nick Spear, the ‘Big Sky’ half of the duo, lives in Whitefish and was already associated with the Montana Performing Arts Consortium where we usually find our artists.”
Goss reached out to Spear and discovered that the “City Lights” half of the act lives considerably farther from Montana.
“When I reached out to him, I learned that the City Lights performer, Susan O’Dea, lives in New York City and they are accustomed to getting together whenever the opportunity arises,” Goss said. “They both bring their own personalities and background to the show, and I suspect they both are equally comfortable in each other’s musical worlds, but it will be fun to see their interaction.”
He said, “They also have a history of musical mashups, which would be a fun experience for our audience.”
MCPAC is excited to bring the duo to Mineral County for what promises to be an evening that crosses more than a few musical and geographical boundaries. “MCPAC is so happy to get them together for our Tuesday, Oct. 13 show at 7 p.m. at the LDS church in Superior at 151 Moats Lane,” Goss said.
The performance is free, with refreshments served afterward and an opportunity for audience members to meet the artists. Donations are welcome and appreciated. MCPAC is a nonprofit organization that relies on community assistance and grants to bring performers of this caliber to Mineral County. Big Sky City Lights will also conduct an outreach program at one of Mineral County’s three school systems.
The specific school will be announced later. Goss said the outreach is generally presented as a school assembly at 2:30 p.m. and is open to the public. Details will be posted on the MCPAC website at mineralcountyperformingartscouncil.org.