Report

2026 Fire In The Mountains – Part One

This four-part Road Report on Fire in the Mountains will be a bit different than others on Metal Underground. Instead of just having a focus on the bands and performances, expect a bit of a travelogue, what to expect if you want to attend in future years, and suggestions for possible improvements. Of course, there will still be loads of photos from the event and some discussion of the bands.

Fire in the Mountains is not an ordinary metal festival. Beyond the music, there is much to be had in the location, Firekeeper Alliance, Blackfeet Nation, and morning/early afternoon workshops.

Let’s begin.

We drove about 1,000 miles, over two days, to get to Browning, Montana on Wednesday. We met several people at the festival who had driven much farther. We spent Wednesday night at the Glacier Peaks Hotel because of its location and because it was the only place near East Glacier with an EV charging station.

We looked up the highest-rated place to eat in Browning on Google (there are only about four places to choose from), and that turned out to be Billie-Jo's Home Of The Bigfoot, which we assumed was a regular restaurant. Our education about “Rez Life” was about to begin.

Billie-Jo’s was an indigenous (although we were soon to find out they still use “Indian” instead of “Native”, etc.) woman’s home. While Billie-Jo was cooking us up some dinner, her young son came in to show us the worms he had just dug up. She apologized for the disruption, but we were thoroughly enjoying the experience.

This education in Browning before the festival was key to our understanding later when we met or heard from Blackfeet people daily during the festival. We could picture what their lives were really like—something that most festival attendees probably just had vague guesses of.

GA camping opened on Thursday at 10 a.m. As nothing was on the festival schedule until 3 p.m., we opted for a hike in Glacier National Park instead. We drove to the South Shore Trailhead at Two Medicine Lake to walk to Aster Falls, Paradise Point, and a few spurs for a bit over 4 miles of lovely strolling. About a fifth of the hikers were going to the festival. Flashing the horns to fellow travelers and seeing smiles, reciprocated horns, and t-shirt comments is a great way to enjoy our national parks.

The views were stunning, despite some wildfire smoke and an AQI approaching triple digits. We then headed to Red Eagle Campground to check in and set up camp.

GA camping isn’t exactly in the regular Red Eagle Campground. I think the regular sites were used for VIP or glamping. Instead, we were in a cow-trodden meadow with no flat ground to speak of. Our campsite included at least two large cow pies, fortunately old enough to not be a big deal. Every step was a potential twisted ankle or fall, especially after dark. I’ve experienced similar campsites at other festivals, so this wasn’t unexpected.

The views were nice, but the porta-potties were far away—maybe 200 yards, so not fun getting there on uneven terrain in the middle of the night or even in the day. I think there were enough honey buckets at the festival (I only had to wait in line for one a couple of times for under a minute or two), but they were in only two places. One suggestion is to have them in four or five places, including some near the smaller stage and some out in the middle of GA camping.

I’m not sure if these are even legal in the USA, but the urinal stations found all over festival grounds in Europe are awesome. For males anyway, you never have to walk far to pee at those festivals. The women probably appreciate the less-used honeypots in such scenarios, even if they can’t use the urinals.

Back to the program.

Three local high school bands got things started. We were still setting up camp, so we missed the first two. We are very glad to have not missed the third one, John Doe, as they created one of the most touching events of the festival.

The members of John Doe gave anti-suicide speeches, thanking their teachers, Firekeeper Alliance, and their families. The drummer said it was the best day of his life, before saying how much he loved his mother for all of her love and support. His mother was standing next to me, and she burst into tears. I followed suit for the first of many times during the festival.

A young audience member was enjoying their show so much that they pulled the fan onto the stage for the last song. Headbanging ensued, everyone enjoyed the enthusiasm, and the magic of the festival had officially begun.

We decided to check out Lower Two Medicine Lake, which is a short walk from the stages. This lake is fed from Two Medicine Lake, which we had visited earlier in the day. After the festival was over, we hiked to Upper Two Medicine Lake, which drains into Two Medicine Lake. Lower Two Medicine Lake proved to be our go-to spot for relief from the heat. We spent far more awake hours here than we did at our campsite.

The opening ceremony and powwow came next. We didn’t arrive early enough for a good view, and the heat was getting to us. We watched and listened from afar, in the shade, until the end when we moved in closer for the audience participation portion.

Our path back to GA camping included a stellar view of the artist tents.

Three bands with roots in Browning (Radiation Cradle, Ponoka, and Senterline) rounded out the night.

Ponoka’s drummer, Robert Hall, is a new hero of mine.

Stay tuned for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

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