Chris Pureka returns to Churchill School on Saturday, May 18.

BAKER CITY — Chris Pureka is returning to Churchill School as part of a short tour that began May 8 and toured through Oregon and Washington.

The show is Saturday, May 18. Lo Pony, also a Portland-based band on their first tour, will open the show.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the music starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 in advance at churchillbaker.com or $25 at the door. Admission is free for ages 15 and younger who attend with a paid adult.

Pureka, who grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Portland, played in Baker City for the first time in October 2023 during a tour that included Oregon, Colorado, California and the Southwest.

“It was long but really good,” Pureka said.

Pureka started playing music and writing songs in high school and joined a tour with a spoken word artist after graduating from college in 2001.

After working in a microbiology lab for four years at Smith College in Massachusetts, Pureka decided to pursue music full-time with genres including folk, Americana and indie-rock.

The past winter was a focus on writing with a full-length album on the horizon — eventually. Rather than release singles, Pureka “collects all the songs before the studio.”

“I’m very picky about what I release, and I take a long time to write,” Pureka said.

An EP, which Pureka describes as a “chimera” that includes live tracks, covers and unreleased materials, will come out before the next full album.

To learn more about Pureka, visit chrispureka.com.

More concerts

A full schedule is available at churchillbaker.com. Here’s a look at what’s coming up soon:

May 22: Lauren Napier and Vic Ruggiero, 6 p.m.

May 24: Daniel Adam Maltz, 6 p.m.

May 30: Pops and Pies fundraiser for Baker High School choir, 6 p.m.