Skye Berns

Skye Robert Berns came into this world on June 26, 1978 in Missoula, Montana and fittingly left on September 2, 2024 in Missoula, Montana. His birth was uneventful, other than a cute, calm, big blue-eyed baby. Skye made up for that and had a most extraordinary life! He was raised in eastern Montana, Williston and Bismarck, North Dakota. Skye was named for his Grandpa Bob and a blue-roan horse called Sky High!

As a child, Skye’s curiosity centered around nature. He could be found mostly outside as a boy building teepees, hunting rabbits and squirrels with his bow, trying to trap muskrats in the creek and casting a fishing line into any body of water with fish or no fish. While most of us were upstairs watching television, Skye was downstairs reading in a desultory fashion. He was interested in taxonomy and was an ace at identifying birds, mammals and especially fish. He focused his time on the Boy Scouts and archery club meetings.  

He was a voracious reader in his teens and early twenties. In his hands you’d see westerns, the Beats, Steinbeck, and all the Great American Writers. His interest in nature and in the West culminated in his absolute love for Montana, the state he was born in and the state he died in.  

Another powerful influence for Skye was his great grandfather Dalton Brown, a true figure of the West -  a legitimate cowboy who was kind-hearted, patient and generous - a hero to many.  

After Skye graduated from Bismarck High School in 1996, the mountains and streams of Montana beckoned his return for fishing and hiking. At that point, he developed a strong passion for music and the music community.

Skye, a self-taught harmonica player, toured the USA with various artists including: Black Rose Band, New Old Future, Bangers And Hash, Sista Otis, Moonshine Mountain. At the time of his passing he was a harmonica player for Tyler Stuckey, KMA and Mars Daniels. 

He also enjoyed sitting in with dozens of other musicians and bands such as Lost Ox, from Miami to Bellingham, Detroit to San Diego, filet mignon to pb&j in the same week to touring as a merch/roady (and just starting to play harmonica) for Ashbury Park (Portland), Bump (Detroit), Brotherhood of Groove (New Orleans).

Skye’s 20+ year migration pattern included traveling down to Jazz Fest in New Orleans to experience his blues heroes including Allen Toussaint, BB King, Bo Diddley, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Papa Mali, Smokey Robinson, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, The Meters, Coco Robicheaux, Aaron Neville, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Etta James, Nicholas Payton, Dirty Dozen, Rebirth, Fats Domino, The Radiaters, Walter Wolfman Washington, Blind Brian Lee, Sarah McCoy, and hundreds of other heroes new and old. 

Skye’s other passion was that of a music promoter as he booked shows for musicians, bands and festivals. Skye was a founder of four music festivals: Love Your Mother Earth Festival, Missoula ZooGrass, Blackfoot River Rendevoux and Grass Bash.  He booked artists such as Trampled By Turtles, Greensky Bluegrass, Dark Star Orchestra, Galactic, Railroad Earth, Guy Davis, David Grisman, Taarka, Elephant Revival, Whitewater Ramble, Todd Snider, Ted Ness & The Rusty Nails,The Lil’ Smokies, Kitchen Dwellers, KVD, Kenny James Miller Band, Letter B, Voodoo Horseshoes, Sugarcane String Band, Equaleyes, Yamn, Shook Twins, Fox Street Allstars, among others. His echo will always be heard - GO SEE LIVE MUSIC! 

Skye’s memory for every bar/brewery locale and their amenities, as well as the geography of the United States is impressive! Very handy skills to have when scheduling shows and trying to keep the daily travel from show to show to a minimum.

Skye was a political activist and worked on the following campaigns: Ralph Nader/Wynonna LaDuke (2000), Legalize Medical Cannabis (2004), registering voters (2006, 2008, 2012), re-legalize medical cannabis (2012), Green Party on ballot (2016), Fight against Citizens United (2018), Legalize Cannabis (2020), and was a MT Democratic Party door canvasser (2020).

He loved the outdoors as hiking Montana’s mountains and parks was on his list of usual activities. His favorites include the Rattlesnake Wilderness area, Jewel Basin, Red Eagle Lake, Otokomi Lake, Lava Lake, Crescent/Heart Lake in the Mission Mountain Wilderness, Homer Youngs Peak area near Jackson, MT (upper Miner Lake, Upper Rock Island Lake), and good ol’ Mount Sentinel. He absolutely adored fishing with this father, Ted Berns, whenever logistically possible. 

Skye is survived by his parents Ted and Barbara Berns, brother MacDalton and sister-in-law Shar Berns, his brother Benjamin Berns; his nephews and nieces – Adrien Berns, Olivia Missel, Augustus Berns, Hardy Skye Berns, Anais Berns, Ezra Berns, Hazel Berns, bonus nephew Tristen Edwards and bonus sis Sandie Edwards; his Godparents uncle P.A. and aunt Cora Norton; aunts and uncles- Anne McBee, Dava Cameron, Jim and Kathleen Cummings, and Larry Hegel; his great uncle and aunt Kenneth and Karen Matthiesen, and great aunt Carlyn Ramsey; and his step-grandmother Fay Norton; and his cousins Ted, Teri, Sarah, Crystal, Nicholas, Kristal, Bradley, Brittney, Victoria, David, Katie and Tali. Preceding him in death are his two sets of grandparents – Winnifred and Dan Norton, Myrna Frye and Robert Berns, aunts Suzanne Norton, Lizbeth Norton Nichols and uncles Richard Norton and Chester Norton and his cousins Kevin Norton, Kenneth Norton and Matthew Cameron.

Also surviving Skye are his vast network of friends from Missoula to New Orleans and all cities in between. We thank you all for loving our Skye-Bob, just as he was.

There’s two farewell tour events scheduled for Skye Robert Berns: 

West Fargo, ND | West Funeral Home - Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.

Missoula, MT | Skye High Festival - Saturday, October 5, 2024

West Funeral Home & Life Tribute Center

westfuneralhome.com

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