History & Related Bands
From Mission Mountain Wood Band To The Montana Band
The Montana Band grew directly out of Mission Mountain Wood Band personnel changes, carrying several familiar musicians into a more contemporary country direction during the 1980s.
A New Name And A New Chapter
After the original M2WB era ended, Rob Quist, Terry Robinson, Greg Reichenberg and Kurt Bergeron continued together in a group called Montana, commonly known as the Montana Band. The lineup expanded with additional musicians and developed a base that included Reno and Lake Tahoe.
The change was more than cosmetic. The new group leaned further toward the modern country sound of the early 1980s while retaining musicians who had already spent years developing chemistry on the road.
Change In The Weather
The Montana Band released Change in the Weather in 1981. Billboard coverage from the period treated the group as a credible contemporary country act, and the single “Shoe’s on the Other Foot Tonight,” written by Quist, received industry attention.
Further releases followed as the personnel continued to change. The project therefore became its own musical story rather than simply a renamed final phase of M2WB.
Connections To The Original Band
Terry Robinson and Greg Reichenberg carried direct original-lineup connections into the Montana Band, while Kurt Bergeron had already replaced Christian Johnson during the later M2WB years. Quist eventually left the Montana Band in 1984 and pursued solo work.
For listeners tracing the musicians rather than only the band names, the transition shows how the M2WB network continued into the 1980s country scene.
The 1987 Plane Crash
The Montana Band’s story ended tragically on July 4, 1987, when a plane carrying members and associates crashed near Lakeside, Montana following a performance. Terry Robinson, Kurt Bergeron and other members of the band were among those killed.
The loss had a lasting effect on surviving M2WB members, families and fans. Later Mission Mountain Wood Band reunions inevitably carried the memory of musicians who could no longer return to the stage.
Why The Montana Band Belongs In The M2WB Story
Understanding the Montana Band clarifies what happened between Mission Mountain Wood Band’s classic touring era and the reunion years that began in the 1990s. It also shows that the musicians did not simply stop creating when the original lineup changed.
The two names represent different musical chapters, but the personnel, songs and Montana identity make them closely linked parts of the same broader history.
Listening Across The Name Change
Exploring both groups side by side makes the personnel continuity easier to hear. M2WB’s roots-oriented eclecticism gives way to a more deliberate contemporary-country direction, but familiar voices and musicianship remain part of the foundation.
The transition also explains why later M2WB reunions carried emotional weight. They were not simply restarting a band that had gone quiet; they were reconnecting surviving musicians after an intervening project had experienced profound loss. That history gives the reunion period a depth that is easy to miss without understanding the Montana Band chapter.
