Powder River Music Revue and 89.9 KBZR Baker City are sponsoring this year’s open event at Geiser-Pollman Park as part of World Play Music on the Porch Day-2024.

Musicians will be playing at the Powder River Pavilion from 2-6 p.m. If there is enough interest, we will add another session beginning at 1 p.m. (Please follow the link above for more information about World Play Music on the Porch Day)

These sessions are open to all ages and all experience levels. Each hour long session will host a 15-20 minute segment for each act. Depending on participation, there may be longer segments available. This is an opportunity for musicians of all ages and experience levels to share their love of music with an appreciative audience. The end the day, there will be an open jam session from 5-6 p.m. To facilitate the less experienced players, jam session participants should consider bringing lyric/chords sheets to share with other musicians. The format is much the same as many other jam sessions/song circles: as we move around the circle, each person presents a song for everyone to join in with and play. If the person does not have extra lyric/chord sheets, they should at least present the key and structure of the song to the other musicians. If a musician just wants to play along with everyone else, that is fine too. This is a “no pressure” situation; do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

Powder River Music Revue will supply the sound system for musicians to use, which includes microphones and stands, monitor speakers, main speakers, etc. Musicians are responsible for their own instrument amplification, should they decide to use it. We do have a limited number of mics available, so the number of musicians for each session is limited to 6. We strive to have a minimal time between performers, so less setup and breakdown is preferable. Drummers and percussionists are welcome as well. However, drummers are asked to work within the music presented and try not to overpower the other instruments. If a drummer is asked to solo, by all means, go for it! Last year we had a cajone player that worked very well through a couple of session.

Musicians and vocalists are asked to sign up for sessions by contacting powderrivermusicrevue@gmail.com with their preferred times. We ask that those signing up only select 1 session to give ample space for others who would like to join. If there is room, people could sign up for an additional session with different musicians or possibly perform a longer overall session. That will all depend on how many people are interested and wanting to play. There will also be a signup sheet at our Wednesday acoustic jam sessions mentioned above. Within the final week before the event we should know how the sessions are shaping up and could open additional time to those already signed up and/or open up the additional 1 p.m. session. As these sessions will only be a limited length, if you sign up, please try to be on time. The space between sessions is meant for setup/breakdown and announcements.

PRMR and KBZR will be taking pictures and shooting videos during the event for our website, social media sites, and for upload to the World Play Music on the Porch Day website. Others are welcome to do the same. We are also looking at an option to possibly broadcast the event live on 89.9 KBZR or at the very least, record the event to share on the radio at a later time.

Our hope is to have other nonprofit organizations attend this event and share information with everyone. Currently, we are discussing the event with several organizations. As organizations tell us they will be there, we will list them below. We also hope that families might consider making a day out of it by bringing a picnic lunch and just enjoy being together in the park listening to some live music.

One goal for this event is to share music with others, as we do with our Sunday Concert Series throughout the summer. One major difference is that these performers will mostly be local to Baker City. Another difference is that some of the musicians and vocalists performing at this event may be younger, inexperienced, or not seeking music as a profession. What drives them to play music may vary; however, their overall love of and passion for music is something to be enjoyed by others. Music draws us together; it is a universal language that we all may have heard-while many cannot speak, this language, we all seem to understand. Music is a journey that is far from over. Come listen to the music presented and see where it might take you.

ATTENDING ORGANIZATIONS

Broadcast Baker/89.9 KBZR Baker City (Baker City’s upcoming community radio station)

Baker County Health Department