Live music is returning to Eastern Oregon — the duo Fox and Bones, pictured here, plays Feb. 18 at Churchill School in Baker City.

I’m not musical, but I do enjoy music.

I didn’t realize, though, how much I love live music until we didn’t have it.

Concerts ceased in March of 2020, like so many other things we take for granted. Many musicians turned to the internet and offered livestreamed concerts. While this was the only solution at the time, it just wasn’t the same.

I interview musicians quite often for Go! stories. As live music slowly returns, there is a common theme throughout the interviews: They miss a live audience.

We have music events on the horizon. Joseph Mountain Jubilee announced its event for July 2, and the brand-new Chautauqua Music Festival is set for May 20-22 in Richland. In Baker City, where I live, the Ison House is bringing back Concerts on the Lawn, and the Powder River Music Review returns for the summer.

But those are a few months away.

For now, concerts are sporadic. Eastern Oregon University presents “We’ve Got Your Number” Feb. 25-26 after postponing the original dates. In Baker City, Churchill School is ramping up a schedule of concerts, including Fox and Bones on Friday, Feb. 18. Many of Churchill’s scheduled bands are based in Oregon, but this year brings several groups from Minnesota as well.

It was when my kids and I listened to the duo of Lauren Napier and Vic Ruggiero on Aug. 21, 2021, at Churchill that it struck me how much I missed live music — not just the lyrics, but also the interaction as the musicians tell stories between songs.

I think we all could use more music in our lives, now more than ever.

— Lisa Britton, GO! editor