Longstaff House: An intimate venue for live music

SIERRA CISTONE for the Missoulian

On a recent Sunday, bright jazz music floats from an unassuming building tucked away in Missoula’s Slant Street district.

The music is followed by cheerful applause indicating a live performance, but the building looks a bit too small to be a music venue. And technically, it’s not. It’s the Longstaff House, an old renovated church and the private residence of John Parker, a local musician and owner of the building.

While the bottom half is Parker’s home, the top floor is entirely dedicated to house concerts open to the public. The Longstaff House specializes in a certain kind of house show, the intimate kind where the music is truly heard and experienced.

“It’s quiet. You can hear everything. The musicians can hear everything,” Parker said. “It’s the perfect way to play to a fairly big but totally attentive audience.”

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