Baker City band Trailer Hitch opens for concerts on July 9 and 30 at the Ison House Bed and Brew.

BAKER CITY — This weekend brings three nights of live music to downtown Baker City.

Back into Black

First up is Back into Black, an AC/DC tribute band that plays Friday, July 9, at the Ison House Bed & Brew, 1790 Washington Ave. Tickets are $20 and available online at www.theisonhouse.com. This event is for ages 21 and older.

Gates open at 5 p.m., and Trailer Hitch opens the show at 5:30 p.m. Back into Black takes the stage at 8 p.m.

This tribute band had an interesting start.

“It was a Craigslist band,” said Roger Jaime, lead singer.

Paul Panula posted the ad. He plays lead guitar.

“He jumps around, he plays great — that’s the Angus Young I was looking for,” Jaime said.

Jaime himself toured with a cover band for 20 years.

“I played six or seven nights a week, 50 weeks a year,” he said.

In addition to Panula and Jaime, Back into Black includes Mat “Hurrikane” Banke, Michael Simpson, and Jon Elkins.

“When we hit the stage, it was ‘bam!’ ” Jaime said.

For the show, they will play the AC/DC album “Back in Black” from front to back, plus about a dozen other songs from AC/DC’s five decades of work.

In a typical year, Back into Black tours in Oregon and Washington for eight to 10 shows a year. Jaime said they’d like to expand into Idaho.

Jaime belongs to three other tribute bands, as well.

“The appeal is keeping the music going,” he said. “People want to relive what they remember.”

Tribute bands, he said, do their best to portray the individual band’s style — both in music and appearance.

“They want that authentic look, the sound,” Jaime said. “We have a passion for the music, and want to do an authentic job.”

Levi Blom

A musician hailing from Butte, Montana, will give two shows this weekend.

Levi Blom’s first concert is Saturday, July 10, at the Ison House Bed & Brew, 1790 Washington Ave. Tickets are $20 and available online at www.theisonhouse.com. This event is for ages 21 and older.

Gates open at 3 p.m. for a full slate of music: Inertia, Buckshot Crazy, and Trailer Hitch. Blom takes the stage at 8 p.m.

Blom’s second show is Sunday, July 11, at 4 p.m. in Geiser-Pollman Park. This is part of the Powder River Music Review concert series organized by Baker City Events.

The park performance is open to the public, and admission is free (although donations are accepted). Raffle tickets will be sold for a chance to win a gift basket. Tickets are $5 each or 15 for $20.

Blom didn’t set out to be a musician. His first passion was hockey.

“Hockey was what I was doing every day of my life since I was 3,” he said.

At 18 he went semi-professional to play for a team in Bismarck, North Dakota.

But just two years later he suffered a shoulder injury that required reconstructive surgery.

Around the same time, several friends and family members passed away.

He turned to the drums and guitar.

“I had to put all the negative things somewhere and turn it into something positive,” he said.

He practiced the guitar while he recovered from the hockey injury.

“Thank God there’s music — it’s a little less rough on the body,” he said.

At first he just wanted to play music with friends. Then they put together a band and started playing shows.

He’s been touring for about six years.

“It’s hectic but so much fun,” he said. “I love traveling and meeting new people.”

He plays shows in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Colorado.

“COVID did a lot of damage to our schedule, but we rebuilt it,” he said.

Limited crowds are tough — he’d rather have a big audience.

“You find someone who’s having a blast and feed off that — that’s how you get your energy,” he said.

Band members rotate, but the Baker City shows will feature Blom, Russell Nelson, Nick Haines, Ryan Piazzola, and Brain Dubois handles sound.

He said they play “country rock.”

“My whole band has a metal background,” Blom said. “They bring their own taste — that’s we sound so different.”