Photo credit: Rachel Deeb
PM: Let’s start at the beginning. What was it like to grow up in Bozeman?
SQ: My parents split up when I was young, so I’d ride my bike when I was in town with my dad and ride my horse on the farm when I was with my mom. It was just so simple! I look at it now and it’s grown so much, but in a lot of good ways, especially access to live music. I think one of the first country concerts I saw was at the Wilson, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but we just didn’t have the access like we do now. It’s been crazy to see how many of my friends in the industry are performing in my hometown. Growing up, it was always like, “Yeah, that tour’s not coming here.” To watch the live music scene explode throughout the state, and to watch my music friends experience what I’ve gotten to live, that’s really cool.
PM: How did living in Montana shape you as an artist?
SQ: I think about that often. It’s influenced my life in so many ways, from my entrepreneurial father to—on my mom’s side—growing up on a farm that never sleeps. The musical spark was inside of me, and then I had the upbringing of learning that work ethic. That’s not something you’re born with. That’s learned behavior, seeing the results of hard work, the payoff. For me, it was, “You get to ride your horse when you’re done cleaning the chicken coop.” It was grounding. I know where I came from, I know who I am, and I know where I’m headed. If I need to put myself in check, I just jump on the back of my horse or go shovel some manure!
Photo credit: Erika Rock
PM: And where is your home now?
SQ: I have a place in Nashville and a farm in North Carolina, but when people ask, “Where is home for you?”, it’s always Montana. Wherever I go in the world, Montana will always be my heart and my home. My family is there. It’s where I fell in love with my husband; we got married at our home in Paradise Valley. I’m such an advocate for Montana and the Montana lifestyle. If you’re moving to Montana from another place, really let Montana recalibrate you. Let it show you the way. Really appreciate it, and let’s take care of it so we have it for future generations.
PM: Can you tell us a little about your home here?
SQ: Growing up in Montana, we spent more time outdoors than indoors. What our home has is the ability to experience the outdoors from all the different viewsheds—there are views out every single side of our house, so you don’t feel like you’re losing the wildness of the outside when you’re inside. To be able to see those views, open the windows and hear the creek or the wind or the birds, to have that indoor-outdoor experience is everything. Even in the coldest of the cold, you’re still seeing the outdoors from the inside.
Photo credit for the feature image and above: Erika Rock
Read the full interview in PureWest Christie’s 2022 Pure Montana magazine.
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