The Miami-based trio Magic City Hippies made their return to Montana, playing two shows at the Elm in Bozeman and the Wilma in Missoula.

Touring with their newest album, Water Your Garden, Magic City Hippies – made up of Robby Hunter, Pat Howard and John Coughlin – are charting new territory, developing their third studio album completely remotely.

“It's the first time we have brought our own unique song production ideas to the table and kind of guru the idea from there as opposed to growing an idea from a voice memo or an acoustic idea that we all bring together and workshop,” said Hunter.

Hunter, who has currently been residing in Bozeman for the past two years, remembers the first time Magic City Hippies played in Missoula at the Top Hat. The band’s touring van had broken down, leaving them without a ride to their next gig in Seattle.

“This angel that we met in a bar decides to lend us this 1985 Dodge Ram touring van that we took all the way down to Portland and he drives our fixed touring van back and swaps it back,” Hunter said.

Magic City Hippies at the Wilma in downtown Missoula. (William Munoz/Missoula Current)
Magic City Hippies at the Wilma in downtown Missoula. (William Munoz/Missoula Current)
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Despite starting their music career in the Miami bar scene, Hunter decided to stay and live in Bozeman after stopping through Montana multiple times on their string of national tours.

“It's so different, it’s the polar opposite of what Miami is. It's kind of refreshing to live somewhere that is so different from the area I grew up. It’s creatively refreshing. It’s kind of like the calm

before you go out on tour to all these major cities.”

Hailed for their upbeat, Florida beach-inspired tracks, Magic City Hippies strive to provide audiences with an escape to a non-stop party.

“We want everyone to dance their faces off and escape the world for an hour and a half, kind of live in our Miami world that we are bringing across the country,” Hunter said. “We just want to have a party for a couple of hours on stage and have everyone come along.”

Magic City Hippies at the Wilma in downtown Missoula. (William Munoz/Missoula Current)
Magic City Hippies at the Wilma in downtown Missoula. (William Munoz/Missoula Current)
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