ABOUT THE SHOW ROOM
The ZACC Show Room is located in the heart of downtown Missoula in the beautiful, historic Studebaker Building, and can house a maximum of 150 seated and 350 standing. Adjacent to the Show Room is the Blackfoot Gallery & Lounge, which can be booked in addition to the theatre for events requiring extra, separate space.
The name of our event center harkens back to the building's original use as an automobile garage and showroom. The Studebaker Building is listed on the National Historic Registry, and served a growing automobile industry from the 1920s through the 1950s, when its owner Louis Nybo sold and repaired Studebakers here — the then vehicle of choice for Missoula's police force.
SHOW ROOM AMENITIES
Our event center boasts 150 chairs, 20 rectangular 72" banquet tables, twelve 30" round wooden-top cocktail tables (which adjust in height), an adjustable theatre lighting system, a state-of-the-art sound system, backdrop and blackout curtains, a 5,000-lumen projector and 9' by 16' mechanical screen, a removable stage, a backstage area with access to the kitchen and upstairs bathrooms, with public access bathrooms and an interactive play space just outside the entrance. The Show Room holds a beer, wine, and cider non-profit service license, and events in the Show Room serving alcohol are catered to by trained and certified ZACC bartenders.
The Show Room is available to rent for private events, for use by non-profits, and for festival events requiring passes.
Performances in the Show Room are exclusively booked by the ZACC. To inquire about booking a show in the ZACC Show Room, please go to Book a Show.
The ZACC does not stock linens. If your event requires tablecloths or other linens we recommend renting from Missoula Textile Services.
The ZACC's kitchen is not commercial, and foods served to the public must be prepared offsite (though our kitchen is perfect for discreet food service prep/set-up and for keeping foods hot or cold). For great local catering, we recommend Biga Pizza, Masala, Bravo! Catering, and Burns St. Bistro.
If you have questions, please email Gallery and Venue Director Mikyla Veis, at mikyla@zootownarts.org.
Below are some examples of room layout, but they are by no means exhaustive. We work with you to arrange the space in the way best suited to your event.
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THRUST
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THEATER IN THE ROUND
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CENTER DANCE FLOOR
The Lowest Pair w/ Dylan Running Crane
Wednesday, October 5 // Doors at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 Advance // $13 Day of Show
Opener Dylan Running Crane
To purchase tickets visit: https://showroom.zootownarts.org/event/the-lowest-pair-w-dylan-running-crane/
Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee are two kindred spirits who first met on the banks of the Mississippi while touring the Midwest festival circuit. Born and raised in Arkansas, Winter found herself drawn to the evergreens and damp air of the Pacific Northwest, as well as the boundless music scene of Olympia, Washington. She released three solo records on Olympia-based indie label, K Records, and performed in ramblin’ folk bands and anarchic punk bands before serendipitously meeting Palmer T. Lee in 2013. Lee had built his first banjo when he was 19 from pieces he inherited and began cutting his teeth fronting Minneapolis string bands before convincing Winter that they should form a banjo duo. Now, as The Lowest Pair, they have recorded and released five albums together, relentlessly toured North America, and ventured to the UK twice, playing over 500 live shows over the past five years.
After each releasing solo albums via Conor Oberst’s Team Love Records in 2018, Winter and Lee began working on The Lowest Pair’s forthcoming 10 song set, The Perfect Plan. As a songwriting team, the duo tends to see artistic sparks all around them — in poems, people, ideas, experiences – and throughout the process of writing these new songs, they felt the need to push their creative limits. They turned to producer Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes who took them to ARC Studios in Omaha, Nebraska, and set them in a soundscape backed by a slate of session players that lifts the album from simple folk into spirited Americana and beyond. Clawhammer banjo and acoustic guitar still hold the heart of The Lowest Pair, but the fleshed-out sound of The Perfect Plan leans gently into Winter’s punk past, as well as the sonic playground of her mind, to set the band down a new path on their musical journey.
“I love the stripped-down versions of these songs,” Winter admits. “I think they leave a lot to the imagination, and I trust people have enough juice to choose their own adventures in the space that the band fills out on the record. But we also can’t wait to tour with a full band and to see how that magic translates on stage. It felt really exciting in the studio, and the songs pack a much greater punch with the added instrumentation.”
Dylan Running Crane is a singer-songwriter from Browning, Montana, a place that remains the subject of most of her work. Her vibe is country meets rez-folk meets tender and silly. Check out her work with Cry Baby – https://crybabymissoula.bandcamp.com/track/missoula
For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
