The picnic was the brain-child of James "Doc"Allison of Livingston, MT more than 45 years ago and was originally organized as pot luck for fiddlers to get together and play the music they loved. Doc hosted the event the last weekend in July/ first weekend in August at his farm in Livingston. The picnic's popularity grew over the years until is was simply know as "Doc's'' and became the highlight of the summer for fiddler's and lovers of Americana music.
Doc hosted his last fiddler's picnic the summer of 2005 when it was decided the event would be moved to it's present location on the Mercier Ranch south of Livingston and would be hosted by David and Candace Payne.
The 2019 Montana State Fiddler's Picnic was the 14th edition at the Mercier Ranch and, as it turned out, the last we've had for a while. Sadly, we lost Doc Allison in January of 2020 and as it turned out, the world changed for a spell due to COVID-19. Enthusiasm for this summer's event is as high as ever, and we're looking forward to starting up again!
As always the general public is cordially invited. Admission and parking is free although cash donations to help defray the event costs are graciously accepted.
