Thursday, June 18, the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance will present its second in their 2020 series of Courthouse Concerts, with Portland musician Lewi Longmire.

The gig runs from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. But it’s not at the courthouse. It’s online.

To attend, find a comfy spot inside—or maybe outside, or maybe even on the Courthouse lawn in memory of old times, with your laptop or phone and log onto the Music Alliance Facebook page. You’ll spend a relaxed hour with the sweet sounds of one of Portland’s premier folk/electric musicians.

“We planned our concerts and pretty much had all of them scheduled before the COVID-19 restrictions hit,” said WVMA Executive Director Janis Carper. “And we thought about canceling the series this year. And although we’ve been presenting live music on the lawn of the Wallowa County Courthouse every summer since 2006, we also decided we did not want to take responsibility for managing people at the concerts if we had live musicians.”

So instead of live concerts, in person, at the courthouse, WVMA decided to go virtual.

“Those concerts can go beyond local now,” Carper said. “And on Facebook, you can watch them later if you can’t be there live at 5:30.”

Once they canceled the scheduled live performances, the booked musicians found other ways to fill those dates, she said. So now Carper is scrambling a bit to fill their summer schedule with online guests.

“We don’t have a full virtual schedule yet,” Carper said. “But we are hoping we can provide a performance every Thursday at 5:30 as we have for years. We will keep updating the schedule on our Facebook page.”

Some of the performances they had booked before the restrictions set in were outstanding. “We had one bluegrass group that was going to come all the way from Tennessee. They are really fabulous,” Carper said. “Now I’m going to see if we can find a Thursday at 5:30 when they can perform for us from a distance. It’s hard to schedule things now that people are into other routines. But we have to keep going,” Carper said. “We’re the music alliance.”

Carper has a very high regard for Lewi Longmire who will perform (via live Facebook link) on Thursday June 18th.

“He’s come out here to play for Tunesmith’s and he’s one of Portland’s most respected musicians, “she said. “But now all he does is sing from his living room for tips.”

Longmire has also taken to parking in neighborhoods and performing gratis from the back of his van to great acclaim and appreciation, Carper said.

Lewi Longmire has built a reputation as Portland’s multi-instrumentalist “go-to guy.” You can preview some of his music here. In the years since relocating to Portland from Albuquerque, New Mexico, he’s been included on shows and recordings by many of the Northwest’s finest bands and songwriters. Lewi is a key player in the all-star lineup of TK and the Holy Know Nothings. He’s played with national acts Michael Hurley, Victoria Williams, Dolorean, AgesandAges, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside, and Tara Jane O’Neill as well as local luminaries Denver, The Portland Country Underground, Midlo/Pancake Breakfast, Michael Jodell, the Freak Mountain Ramblers, and is an anchor member of Portland’s all-star tribute to the Allman Brothers, Brothers and Sister.

“We’re just really thrilled that Lewi is so willing to be one of the online starters of this season,” Carper said. “It’s going to be fun.”