8
MARCH 16�23, 2022
BEHIND THE SCENES
FROIM THE
COVER
Jenny Don’t and the Spurs (finally) come to Churchill
By Lisa Britton
Go! Magazine
B
Lisa Dibbern/Contributed photo
Jenny Don’t and the Spurs will be live in concert March 25,
2022, at Churchill School in Baker City.
JENNY DON’T AND
THE SPURS
AKER CITY — It’s been a long
two years, but Jenny Don’t and
the Spurs will fi nally bring their style
of Western music to Churchill School.
“Be ready to dance and move,”
said Jenny, guitarist and songwriter
for the Spurs.
(She was told “don’t!” so many
times growing up that she thought
of it as her last name. Thus the band
name, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs.)
Their original concert date at
Churchill was in March 2020, but it
was canceled as the world shut down
with the coronavirus pandemic.
The band set a new date for Sep-
tember 2021. But Kelly Halliburton,
the bass player, fell seriously ill (it
wasn’t COVID) and they didn’t play
again until January 2022.
Now the Portland-based band is
coming Friday, March 25.
But they will be missing a familiar
face — drummer Sam Henry, who
helped found the punk band The
Wipers in the 1970s, suddenly fell ill
and passed away Feb. 20, 2022. He
was 65.
Friday, March 25
Doors open at 6 p.m.
Churchill School
Baker City
$10 in advance at www.
churchillbaker.com
$15 at the door
Proof of vaccination is required
Admission is free for fully
vaccinated youth age 15 and
younger who come with a
ticket holder
Jenny had played music with Sam
since 2008. He’s been with the Spurs
since it started in 2012.
“Sam and I have played together
for a third of my life,” she said. “It’s
devastating.”
Playing on, she said, will honor
Sam’s memory.
“We’ve all worked hard on the
band — Sam worked really hard to
get us where we are,” she said. “It’s
important to keep playing and do
what we love to do.”
The last two years, Jenny said,
have been “a nightmare.” The band
didn’t play many livestream shows
because those lack the energy and
interaction of a live audience.
“I didn’t want to just play to the
computer,” she said.
They didn’t rehearse much.
“I wasn’t feeling very creative. I
barely touched my guitar,” she said.
They did, however, release their
third album in June 2021. Although
Sam Henry won’t be playing with the
band anymore, his contributions are
preserved on each Spurs album.
“He’s on every Spurs release
we’ve ever done,” Jenny said.
Now they are back on the road,
with shows booked through August.
In the life of the Spurs, the band
has played throughout western
Europe and nearly all 50 states. Their
style, Jenny said, is ‘50s and ‘60s
country (as well as “Northwestern
western, garage country, surf west-
ern and Cal punk”).
The Baker City show features
Jenny, Halliburton on bass, Christo-
pher March on guitar and Dean Miles
on drums.
For more about the band, visit
www.jennydontandthespurs.com.
First Friday at Crossroads
Studio Art Quilt Associates
Regional Show
2020 Auburn Avenue
Baker City, Oregon
541.523.5369
www.crossroads-arts.org
Habitat
Exhibition on display Friday, March 4 through Friday, March 25
Crossroads is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm