BAKER CITY — Brad Parsons is a familiar face — and voice — in Wallowa County, and this month he’s playing his first show in Baker City.

“I’ve been by dozens of times, but never thought there was a place to play,” he said.

His show is Thursday, April 18, 6 p.m. at Churchill School, 3451 Broadway St. Tickets are $12 in advance at eventbrite.com or $18 at the door. Food and drinks will be available to purchase. Morgan Stone will open the show.

Parsons grew up in Lewiston, Idaho, and spent a lot time singing in the church where his dad was the pastor.

“I did that for a long time,” he said. “At 25 or 26, I decided to leave that world behind.”

He moved to Portland in 2008.

“That was writing songs, playing with bands,” he said.

Although the experience was a bit of an adjustment, he found a common theme.

“The love of music and the need for community,” he said. “The community and connection is what drives me to go out into the world.”

In Portland, he was friends with musicians who played in the band “Fruition,” and in 2013, he started a two-year stint with “Horse Feathers.”

“That’s where I got my start touring,” he said.

He released his first album in 2016, and in 2018 he moved to Georgia and started writing songs that would eventually appear on the album “Slow Poke,” which was released in October 2023.

He did have a release between those two, although “The Starbird Sessions” was his “pandemic EP” that came out in 2020. Some of those songs appear on “Slow Poke.”

“But it’s got a few tunes that aren’t on anything else,” he said.

He now lives in Astoria, and tours both solo and with a full band. He hasn’t booked any long tours since 2019.

“I’m really focused on playing shows around the region that are fairly close to home,” he said.

However, this fall he will head farther east, to Denver and Atlanta.

“We’re slowly expanding the reach,” he said.

He describes his sound as bluegrass or “jam grass,” and is planning to release a new album this fall.

“I have all these songs — it’s time to get them out there,” he said.

Stone

Morgan Stone grew up in Baker City and graduated from Baker High in 2019. She earned a degree in media studies from Whitman College in May 2023.

Music has always been part of her life, but her performance on April 18 is a new experience.

“This is the first time I’m on stage by myself for more than 15 minutes,” she said.

She’ll play guitar and sing both originals and cover songs. She describes her style as “country, folksy, singer/songwriter.”