In a community filled with talented local musicians and supporting venues, participation in a listening session in May aimed at providing more support for musicians was low. MusicOregon is returning to Bend, hoping to drum up a bigger crowd. The nonprofit is on a statewide listening tour to gather input that will influence future programming, partnerships and priorities for the local music industry over the next two years. Its mission is to support independent, professional music creators and the communities and businesses around them.
MusicOregon’s tour has stopped in seven locations including Bend, Hood River, Tillamook, Salem, Eugene, Ashland and Pendleton. A total of 92 people participated statewide, with only six showing up in Bend. The largest turnout was in southern Oregon with 36 participants. So far, the bulk of input has been from musicians/performers and venue operators.
MusicOregon’s Board President Tim Wilson told the Source that they’re seeing some themes emerge. He says music folks, no matter their role, are looking for ways to connect, whether in monthly meetups or online forums, and that performance rights organizations are choking off music in venues. He says even very small places are expected to pay $2,500 per year, which causes many to just stop offering live music instead of paying that much.
Wilson says MusicOregon has identified several priorities including statewide representation on its board, a statewide music directory, supporting local and regional meetups around the state and offering online professional development with panels, speakers and more.
The second Bend listening session on Monday, June 22, will be about two hours and is open to musicians, venue operators, music educators, producers, managers and anyone who works within the local music scene. There are no formal presentations or agenda. It’s billed as a conversation.
The tour is funded by the Oregon Community Foundation through its Arts Rebuilding Grant program. MusicOregon recently merged with MusicPortland and is interested in expanding beyond the metro area, something Wilson says the nonprofit hasn’t really done before. During COVID it did advocate for the Shutter Venues Act, which provided grants to eligible performing arts businesses that lost money during the pandemic. It also lobbied in Salem to change state unemployment rules so that musicians could draw unemployment insurance.
MusicOregon Listening Session
Mon, June 22 7-9pm
Tower Theatre’s Encore Room
835 NW Wall St, Bend
musicoregon.org/
Free
This article appears in the Source June 18, 2026.
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