16
SOUND CHECK
JUNE 29�JULY 6, 2022
WHAT’S PLAYING AROUND
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Music comes
back to the
OK Theatre
By Katy Nesbitt
Go! Magazine
ENTERPRISE — The mu-
sic industry was one of the
hardest hit by COVID-19
precautions as indoor gath-
erings were limited and travel
restricted. During that time
the OK Theatre underwent big
renovations and is reopening
its doors in June.
In March 2020, Wallowa
County music lovers were
anticipating the return of blue-
grass performer Sierra Hall,
but as the months dragged on
theater owner Darrell Brann
said it became impossible, for
the short term, to rebook her.
“We rescheduled four times
with Sierra, all the way into
2021, and then gave up,” Brann
said.
As the reality of a summer
without live music loomed,
Brann pivoted his attention to
the ongoing remodeling of the
100+ year old building.
In the spring of 2020, the
theater received its second
large grant — the first helped
pay to tighten up the building
envelope, rebuild the stage,
install a propane furnace and
change out the electrical
system. The renovation of
the stage included the hand-
carved wood artwork of Steve
Arment and Anna Vogel’s
mural paintings as well as two
MUSIC SCHEDULE
June 30: Joseph with
Meredith Lane
July 15: Zach Top
July 23: Amy Helm with
Elizebeth and The Catapult
Aug. 4: Caleb Klauder and
Reeb Willms with Country
Band
opera boxes. The new stage
was unveiled at “Joseph” band
concert — a trio of women
who named themselves, in
part, after the county’s most
memorable inhabitant, Chief
Joseph of the Wallowa Band
Nez Perce.
PROGRESS OF
THE THEATER
Brann and his wife Christi
bought the theater in Decem-
ber 2013. He said the fi rst show
under new ownership was the
Enterprise High School Christ-
mas concert. Beginning with
his own personal connections
with the music world, they were
able to draw up-and-coming
bands from around the West as
well as Grammy winning artists
like bassist Victor Wooten,
Bluegrass powerhouses The
Infamous Stringdusters, Billy
Strings, Mark O’Brien and Del
McCoury, and Northwest bands
Katy Nesbitt/Go! Magazine
A man of many talents, Darrell Brann brought world-class music to the OK Theatre. A builder by trade, he comes from a
family of musicians and performers often ask him to sit in for a song or two. Here he joins Kai Welch and Phoebe Hunt
onstage in 2016.
like Fruition, TK and the Holy
Know Nothings, the Shook
Twins, as well as a host of the
county’s wealth of local talent.
Brann said with the help of
volunteers, grants and dona-
tions the theater was the site of
the theater’s 100th birthday in
2019. The event was celebrated
with cartoons and donuts on a
Saturday morning followed by
live music on an outdoor stage
and a community meal in the
middle of Main Street.
By early 2020, the theater
was doing better than break-
ing even. No one could have
guessed the “Stone Foxes”
show in February of that year
would be the last for a long
time.
“We were booking shows and
the theater was starting to roll
into its own,” Brann said. “We
were working toward raising
money for a screen and all of
our other remodeling goals
when we had to close down.”
By early summer, the the-
ater received its second major
grant, this time for $85,000,
earmarked for the facade work.
“We completely stripped
the exterior to the original
concrete, but couldn’t get the
stucco repair work done until
2021 because of supply chain
issues,” Brann said.
Last September a contractor
Your Hometown Realtor
Keisha Anderson
Real Estate Agent
541.910.8827
www.bluesummitrealtygroup.com