Out of this world: MooshFest — an intergalactic 'cosmic country' festival — coming to Boulder

The jagged silhouettes of the Elkhorns tower around you like ancient witnesses to all that came before and all that remains.

Stars — vaster than sand on the seashore — sprinkle across the darkening summer sky.

The land, the sky, the silence, the scale: Montana is a place where cosmic contemplation and curiosity is unavoidable.

This August, step into a living threshold between Earth and the universe beyond at a summer festival that is out of this world — MooshFest. Held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds on Friday, Aug. 14, and Saturday, Aug. 15, the two-day festival will blend live music, immersive art, mind-expanding experiences and alien-human connections to create an experience overflowing with wonderment and imagination.

“The universe is huge … the possibilities are huge … and human potential is huge,” said Ryan Rebo, the festival director and musician behind MooshFest. “We’re hoping that people will look beyond what’s right in front of them and bring something otherworldly to them.”

MooshFest, the creative concoction of Rebo, is the continuation of a creative journey he started years earlier.

Originally from Seattle, Rebo developed a love for music from an early age.

“We had a guitar from Costco back when I was young and I would always just kind of strum it as a kid,” said Rebo.

Once his dad taught him to play a few actual chords, he was hooked and there was no going back.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool; you can create songs,’” recalled Rebo.

Throughout high school and his early 20s, Rebo continued to dabble in music, playing in various bands. Eventually, he paired his musical fascination with another curiosity — aliens.

“I used to draw little comics of other worlds that were from other galaxies and things,” shared Rebo. “I’ve just always been fascinated — not just of aliens — but cosmic themes, the universe, and what’s out there.”

One day while driving through an open field on his way to Wyoming with his wife, an idea struck Rebo.

“I said, ‘You know what would be cool is if there was a band where the concept is there’s a guy from this part of the world — kind of the middle of nowhere — and he gets abducted by aliens,’” said Rebo. “They force him to play in a country band because they’re trying to connect with humanity and they realize the best way to do that is through music.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized it sounded a bit strange. His wife, however, was immediately intrigued and encouraged him to pursue it.

“It was just kind of born right there,” said Rebo.

As soon as he hit Wyoming, Rebo started reaching out to musician friends, and before long, the band Ty Walker and the Humanoids was born.

Formed with humanoid extraterrestrials Glork, Gary, Thumper, Glarzak and Silver Lining (they have other, less-interesting human names that they choose not to disclose) their goal is to connect the earthly dimension to the great Moosh, a galactic energy that binds the universe together. The full story can be found on the MooshFest website.

“It’s very costume heavy … very theatrical,” explained Rebo.

Playing an eclectic blend of “cosmic country” music sometimes compared to The Flaming Lips and Gram Parsons, the band released its debut album in 2022. In the years since, they have toured the United States, from Seattle and Portland to Nashville and Chicago.

The upcoming MooshFest has been a long time in the making and is grounded in the lore of Ty Walker and the Humanoids.

“It’s funny because we’ve been thinking about doing a festival pretty much since the band started,” admitted Rebo.

“Because we were trying to create this world, we always thought if we did a festival we could spend more time, more intention creating that world,” said Rebo. "Instead of being in a small club where maybe 300 people could fit, we could do it in a big open field and invite people to create intergalactic art installations and invite multimedia artists.”

Roughly a year ago, Rebo and his team began planning MooshFest and set a self-imposed deadline of late August to find a venue. On the last day before their deadline, a friend recommended the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Rebo drove from Helena and knew almost immediately that they’d found their place.

“It really just happened sort of naturally, but it happened very last-minute,” said Rebo.

With the dream venue secured, Rebo has spent the past year working hard to craft a one-of-a-kind event for Montana audiences.

“For the first year, I’m pretty proud of who we’ve gotten involved with this,” said Rebo.

Spread across the 20 acres of the fairgrounds property, there will be something for everyone.

In addition to Ty Walker and the Humanoids will be 20 additional bands performing — both from Montana and as far away as California, Texas and Colorado. Headlining Friday night is Blitzen Trapper, a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country/folk/rock band. There will also be Susan Dietrich, known as The Space Lady, a singer and musician in the genres of space music, synth pop and psychedelic pop.

“She’s an underground legend,” said Rebo of The Space Lady. “She started in the 1960s in San Francisco as a street musician and has built a massive cult following around the world.”

Attendees can participate in several different healing arts activities including yoga, guided sound bath meditation, and a frequency barn where you can pop on a pair of headphones and drift away to frequency-based music meant to calm your nervous system.

There will be a makers' market featuring more than 25 vendors from around Montana and beyond. From clothing and vintage resellers to jewelry designers, painters and printmakers, there will be a little bit of everything.

“It’s just a bunch of talented people,” said Rebo.

In trying to ignite people’s curiosity, there will be interactive cosmic art installations scattered about, and the featured speaker at the event is Joan Bird, Montana-based author and UFO investigator, who will share accounts of historical unexplained events in the state.

Designed to be a family-friendly festival, Rebo stressed that there will also be several fun activities for kids to participate in, from alien face painting and cardboard camp to craft stations where kids can make tin hats, costumes and mini-UFOs.

“We wanted to create a lot of elements that would stoke kids’ creativity,” said Rebo.

And in between all of the festivities, attendees can re-energize at one of the food and beverage vendors before settling in for the night at a campsite if they choose to stay on the property and make a full weekend out of it.

Rooted in music, art, community, camping and strange encounters, MooshFest is the kind of transcendent experience you didn’t realize you needed in your life.

“This is a gathering with a purpose,” said Rebo. “We’re hoping that people feel like they get a break from the craziness of modern life.”

“There’s an underlying goal of trying to get people to look beyond a little bit and get excited about what’s out there,” added Rebo.