ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County’s Bart Budwig brings his full band to the OK Theatre stage Thursday, Aug. 24.

On a brief break from his summer tour, Budwig sat down for a beer and some catching up at a picnic table outside the Range Rider in Enterprise.

GO: Where has your summer tour taken you?

Budwig: Some big loops around the West — from Joshua Tree in California to Seattle, Colorado Springs, Laramie, Missoula.

GO: Were you with your band or solo?

Budwig: The loops were on different short tours. Mostly I toured with my Astoria band — Luke Ydstie, upright bass; Kati Claborn, banjo and dulcimer; Olaff Ydstie, drums, and Ben Walden on guitar. I did a few solo shows, as well, and I have a Boise band. My musician friends play in a lot of bands — this way everyone can play music with everyone else.

GO: Like the Sawtooth Festival? There is a lot of that — everyone playing with everyone else.

Budwig: Normally at Sawtooth, I play with a lot of people — one year I sat in with six or seven different bands. This year for my own set I played with a six-piece band that included Matt Mitchell on the organ. He sat in with a few bands at the Festival.

GO: You even did an OK Theatre Underground show this summer?

Budwig: Yep – I did a solo show. I like to play the Underground and get other bands to, as well. There’s something really cool about those small venue shows in the basement.

GO: You were recently at another festival — somewhere in the Gorge?

Budwig: Yeah, my friend Jeremy James Meyer hosted the Cave Creek Ramble, probably my favorite festival of the year. It sold out with just 250 people, no lines, and there was only one show on stage at a time. Margo Cilker was there, too. When not playing music, there was this glacier-fed river surrounded by lava tubes where we hung out.

GO: Are you still recording albums at the OK Theatre?

Budwig: I’ve recorded three records this year, including seven days with the Shook Twins this spring. You know the first band I ever recorded there was “Magic Mirrors” — the lead in that band is playing bass for Margo Price, who was just at the Jackalope Fest, and he has played with Sturgill Simpson.

GO: How’s the song writing going?

Budwig: I have a few new songs I am playing live … I’m letting the songs come to me. I’ve been focusing on touring, running sound for other bands and recording. I’ve also learned a couple of my friends’ songs that I’m playing in my live shows.

GO: You have quite a catalog of your own material to choose from when playing live, don’t you?

Budwig: My last album was “Another Burn on the Astroturf” that came out before COVID but yeah, I have published 40 original songs.

GO: How has your work been since COVID?

Budwig: I spent a lot of my time writing grants during COVID. Filling out paperwork is more depressing than working — it was a big grind.

GO: What’s it like now — post-COVID — as a musician?

Budwig: It is definitely different. I have been trying to start over, as far as life patterns, and getting on a roll. There was absolutely nothing going on — no pattern or work flow — but I’m getting back in the flow and I’ve been working every day since February.

GO: What’s it like out on the road now that venues are fully open with no restrictions?

Budwig: It’s not the same. The local music scenes are not doing as well as the expensive shows with 20,000 or more people.

GO: It seems Wallowa County music lovers are hungry for live music and the shows at the theater this summer have been doing well.

Budwig: In that way — it’s like we are coming out of a Wallowa County winter and Wallowa County winters are slower than COVID.

GO: The “Fellow Pynins” are opening for you?

Budwig: Yes, they are a duo — the last time they played the OK was the last show before COVID when they opened for “Stone Foxes.”

The “Fellow Pynins” take the stage Thursday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m. at the OK Theater in Enterprise, followed by the Bart Budwig Band at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available for $15 at www.eventbrite.com.