BAKER CITY — As the world slowly opens back up to public events, many will be flocking to the Powder River Music Review for an evening of music.

This summer concert series, on Sunday afternoons starting around 4 p.m., is held in Geiser-Pollman Park in Baker City.

The concerts are free and open to the public, although donations are welcome. Additionally, raffle tickets will be sold for prizes — cost is $5 each, or 15 tickets for $20. Proceeds go to help keep the series providing free music to the public.

Gracing the stage Sunday, July 25, will be The Wasteland Kings, a local Americana band. For those unfamiliar, Americana is a term encompassing various genres with American roots, such as folk, rock, country, bluegrass, and the blues. The Wasteland Kings identify an eclectic list of bands as influences, including Steve Earle, The Rolling Stones, Townes Van Zandt, Muddy Waters, and The Pogues, among many others.

The band is led by guitarist and vocalist Kris Mallory, with backing vocals from Holly Sorensen, additional vocals and guitar from Mike Mallory (Kris’ dad), Jerry Smith on backing guitar, Mark Emerson on drums, and Al “Too Loud” MacLeod on bass.

Kris Mallory grew up working in La Grande Stereo & Music, owned by his father, and was subjected to all manner of blues, rock, and country growing up. He picked up the guitar at an early age (with MacLeod as an instructor) and has been the driving force behind the band, which has been together since 2008.

The band has original compositions, but mainly perform covers of classic songs, with an original production, to give a unique flair to each. Their website (found below) contains a selection of their live recordings — among them some covers of Bob Dylan and The Allman Brothers Band — as well as music videos showcasing their style. The vocals of lead singer Kris Mallory can be gravelly and strong over a driving beat — MacLeod refers to this as an impassioned “blues-shouting” — but meshes well with the tones of Holly Sorensen and Mike Mallory on slower songs, offering a nice balance of music that can be enjoyed on your feet or in your seat.

MacLeod said the band was finally able to get “back in the saddle” last month, and that they felt slightly nervous before their first show back, but were able to dive right in without missing a beat. He went on to express how enlivening it is to be back playing in front of an audience once more, as he missed the visceral response you can feel from a live audience during a performance.

Check out their website to get a taste of what the band has to offer, and take a look at the additional tour dates. For more information on The Wasteland Kings, visit: https://joebeanscoffee.wixsite.com/thewastelandkings or follow their page on Facebook.

4 p.m. Sunday, July 25

Geiser-Pollman Park

Baker City

Free